A collection of Teenage Fanclub’s favourite songs
Teenage Fanclub were more than just your average power pop band. Having been regarded as cult heroes since the 1990s, they knew their way around a melody and have released several albums flexing this canny ability running up to the present day. While it’s their earlier material that seemingly had the most impact and influence on future generations of indie rockers, their continued activity has ensured that they continue to keep hold of their relevance in the modern age.
The Glasgow-based band emerged from the C86 scene of jangle pop acts, with some of the founding members having enjoyed stints in The Boy Hairdressers and BMX Bandits, but given the brevity of the movement, these bands wouldn’t last long before they morphed into what would become Teenage Fanclub in 1989. The group kept the C86 flag flying by injecting new life into the scene and borrowing from other trends in indie music at the time, such as the noisier grunge influences coming from across the pond in America, and combining it with the hooky nature of Britpop that was still in its infancy.
The ‘Fannies’ enjoyed their greatest period of success with a trio of albums in the ‘90s that included Bandwagonesque, Grand Prix and Songs From Northern Britain, all of which made a grand impression on the landscape of indie rock. In their 35 years as a band, they’ve also employed many different members who have each contributed new elements to the band’s sound.
It’s clear that an equally broad selection of tastes influenced their wide scope, but it’s worth noting that cult heroes can have cult heroes, too. Speaking to Bandcamp about some of their personal favourites in 2021 following the release of their 11th studio album, Endless Arcade, they took time to platform a number of acts that they either have a personal connection or affinity for, reeling off countless hidden gems in the process.
Bandleader Norman Blake would pick out one track from former bandmate Finlay Macdonald, selecting the song ‘Transfer’ released under his workspace moniker, which presents itself as an occasionally glitchy lo-fi indie project. He would also give a nod to a late-career highlight from folk troubadour and Pentangle co-founder Bert Jansch, underlining the brilliance of his 2000 effort ‘Crimson Moon’ which features what he calls “tasteful and sympathetic contributions” from the likes of indie rock royalty such as Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler.
While a proudly Scottish band, Norman Blake would form a strong working relationship with Euros Childs of Welsh psychedelic outfit Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci when the two united for their shared side project, Jonny. With Childs now part of the fold playing keys in Teenage Fanclub, his sole pick for the list was courtesy of fellow Welsh duo Tacsidermi, with their song ‘Gwir’ (translation: ‘True’), a band made up of Gwenllian Anthony from modern Welsh indie superstars Adwaith alongside Matthew Kilgariff.
Guitarist Raymond McGinley would opt for a song by Bristol act Snails, selecting their track ‘It Doesn’t Have to Be True’, which presents them as a post-rock group with similarities to the likes of Tindersticks and Kings of Convenience, while also plumping for Weyes Blood’s anthemic ‘Wild Time’, taken from her 2019 masterpiece Titanic Rising.
Dave McGowan, the band’s bassist, went decidedly jazzy with his selections, highlighting the brilliantly squelchy synth-funk of Eddie Chacon’s ‘Trouble’, which he described as an “understated masterpiece” that “manages to sound old and space-age at the same time”. In addition to this, he recommended the equally jazzy effort of Dutch artist Felbm and his song ‘Filatelie’, perhaps the most obscure and unrelated selection of the roundup.
Completing things, drummer Francis MacDonald selected Australian singer-songwriter Robert Forster’s “brilliantly charismatic” ‘One Bird in the Sky’ alongside Laura Cantrell’s modern country interpretation of Freedy Johnston’s ‘Radio For Heartache’, a song that previously a minimalistic folk and Americana track from the often overlooked songwriter.
Teenage Fanclub’s favourite songs
- Wor_kspace – ‘Transfer’
- Bert Jansch – ‘Crimson Moon’
- Tacsidermi – ‘Gwir’
- Snails – ‘It Doesn’t Have to Be True’
- Weyes Blood – ‘Wild Time’
- Eddie Chacon – ‘Trouble’
- Felbm – ‘Filatelie’
- Robert Forster – ‘One Bird in the Sky’
- Laura Cantrell – ‘Radio for Heartache’ (*not on Spotify)
