Degrassi is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

indie rock band, based in Edinburgh. The band formed in late 1999, with the initial line-up consisting of Scott Smith (guitar) and Michael Branagh (drums/vocals) with Stephen McColl and Stuart Turner on guitar and bass. They recorded a session in 2001 which was aired on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

's ''Evening Session'', and were subsequently invited to perform a

Peel session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

. By this point, McColl had left the band as work commitments forced a move to New York and then London, however he played on two of the four tracks recorded at

. Bass guitar on the remaining tracks was played by Chris Bathgate, formerly touring guitarist for Ganger, and latterly live bassist for

Arab Strap Arab Strap are a Scottish indie rock band whose core members are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. The band were signed to independent record label Chemikal Underground, split in 2006 and reformed in 2016. The band signed to Rock Action Reco ...

and now frontman for Edinburgh outfit Sans Trauma. Soon after this Peel Session, Chris Bathgate took on guitar and additional vocal duties and Tom Nicol was recruited on bass to help the duo of Branagh and Smith. Shortly thereafter, Bathgate departed and the band welcomed

Bob Fairfoull Robert James "Bob" Fairfoull (born 6 August 1976) is a Scottish musician. He was the bass guitarist for the Scottish rock band Idlewild. He attended Portobello High School in Edinburgh between 1992–96 and was in the same class as Paul Thomson, ...

, formerly of Idlewild on bass guitar. The line up of Michael Branagh and Scott Smith with Tom Nicol and Chris Bathgate released the 'Terminal Ocean' E.P. on SL Records in 2002 and were thereafter for a brief period accompanied by Paul "The Fingers" Phillips (Sans Trauma) incorporating keyboards into the following tours and live shows. The line up of Scott Smith (guitar/vocals), Michael Branagh (drums/vocals) and Bob Fairfoull (bass) with Tom Nicol (guitar/vocals) recorded an E.P for SL Records 2003's 'The Form' and the 'Tell Charles I'm on my way' 3 track single on the Adorno Records label in 2005. Signing to SL Records, they played a second Peel Session for the BBC at Maida Vale as part of an SL Records showcase. Degrassi have also appeared at

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

three times and played with bands such as Seafood, The 80s Matchbox B-line Disaster, Colour of Fire, The Coral, Faust and Wayne Kramer of MC5 fame. The band took a break in 2005 to pursue other ventures and the classic line up of Bob Fairfoull, Michael Branagh and Scott Smith re-formed in May 2006. Their initial recordings were supported by funding from the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...

, and were produced by Michael Brennan, who previously worked with

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...

and

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

Discography

Singles and EPs

*''Terminal Ocean'' (2002) *''The Form'' (2003) *''Tell Charles I'm on My Way'' (2004)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Degrassi Scottish rock music groups