Norman Blake

Who is Norman Blake?

Norman Blake is a singer, instrumentalist and songwriter in the Glasgow based band, Teenage Fanclub.

Blake and Sean Dickson were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few. Blake and Carson were also in another Bellshill band Finding Faust which also had Paul Quinn and John & Bobby Nailen.

Blake was a member of the Glasgow group, The Pretty Flowers, with school friend Duglas T. Stewart, Frances McKee, Janice Cochrane and Sean Dickson. After the group split Blake formed the Boy Hairdressers in 1986, the original lineup being really just Blake assisted by Dickson and Stewart. Later Blake was joined by Joe McAlinden, Jim Lambie and three future members of Teenage Fanclub Raymond McGinley, Francis Macdonald and Paul Quinn. The group recorded one EP for 53rd and 3rd Records featuring three of Blake's compositions.

In 1986 Blake also joined BMX Bandits, originally on drums and later moving to guitar. Blake became a key song writer for the Bandits co-authoring some of their best loved material including "Disco Girl", "Serious Drugs" and "Right Across the Street". Blake also joined Glasgow garage group The Clouds for a short stay, playing all the guitars on their only single. In 1989 Blake formed Teenage Fanclub with McGinley, later enlisting Francis Macdonald and Gerard Love to record their debut A Catholic Education.The album was primarily composed by Blake and included the anthemic "Everything Flows". The album was recorded in Glasgow back to back with the debut album of Blake's other group at that time, BMX Bandits, the ironically titled C86, which Blake also wrote much of the material for.