stephen pastel: guitars/vocals
katrina mitchell: drums/vocals
aggi wright: bass/vocals
Sounds Like
the jesus and mary chain, my bloody valentine, echo & the bunnymen, the field mice, talulah gosh, international airport,television personalities, jack de marseille, BMX bandits, shop assistants, eugenius
The Pastels formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982, starting the indie-rock movement known variously as "shambling," "anorak pop," "twee pop," and "C-86," characterized by infectious melodies, and simple, unaffected performances. It was a movement towards wistful musical primitivism, and willful naïveté.
Founder Stephen Pastel's now legendary 53rd and 3rd record label helped to launch the careers of such bands as the Jesus & Mary Chain, Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub, the Vaselines, the BMX Bandits, the Shop Assistants, and the Soup Dragons.
The Pastels released their first single, "Songs for Children," in 1982. For several subsquent years, they released new music only sporadically on a string of various record labels. The Pastels existed as a loose collective of players and their line-up changed frequently.
In 1986, the single "Breaking Lines" appeared on the C-86 collection assembled by British music guide the New Music Express, which transformed the "anorak" movement into an overnight media sensation quickly accompanied by intense critical backlash.
After recruiting one-time Shop Assistants keyboardist Aggi Wright, the Pastels recorded the 1986 single "Truck Train Tractor," followed by "Crawl Babies" and "Coming Through."
In 1987, the band finally released their first LP, Up For A Bit With The Pastels. A second LP, Sittin' Pretty, appeared in 1989.
In 1990 Stephen and Aggi split from the other band members and joined forces with Katrina Mitchell, a long-time fan and member of the band Melody Dog.
Since then, the Pastels have existed as a trio responsible for two more LPs; Mobile Safari in 1995 and Illumination in 1997.
The Pastels are revered by rock luminaries such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana, and heavily inspired the English band Talulah Gosh
