Bis (Scottish band)

Bis (/bɪs/ BISS) (stylized as bis[3]) are a Scottish indie pop band composed of Steven Clark (Sci-fi Steven), John Clark (John Disco), and Amanda MacKinnon (Manda Rin), formed in 1994.[4] The band's name, rhyming with 'this', derives from "black iron skyline", a lyric from the song "Twilight of a Champion" by The The. The band broke up in 2003, but re-formed briefly in 2007 for a series of concerts. In 2009 they re-formed again this time with a bass player and a drummer, and released a fourth album in 2014. Their fifth album, Slight Disconnects, was released in February 2019.

Bis
Bis performing at London's Buffalo Bar in 2012. L-R: John Disco, Sci-fi Steven, Manda Rin.
Background information
OriginGlasgow, Scotland
Genres
Years active
  • 1994–2003
  • 2007
  • 2009–present
Labels
Associated acts
  • Manda Rin[2]
  • The Kitchen
  • The Amphetameanies
  • Data Panik
  • Dirty Hospital
  • Juno!
  • Batteries
Websitebisnation.com
MembersSteven Clark
John Clark
Amanda MacKinnon
Stuart Memo
Graham Christie

History

Formation (1994)

The three musicians formed Bis in late 1994 while Rin and Disco were in secondary school and Steven had recently finished there. After releasing their first singles the following year, they appeared on BBC Television's Top of the Pops in 1996 performing "Kandy Pop" from their Secret Vampire Soundtrack EP[4] ahead of its release. Much was made at the time about them being the first 'unsigned' band to do so, when in reality dozens of bands — especially in the late 1970s and in the cases of 'novelty' acts — had appeared on the show with singles released on labels they either had no formal contract with other than as a distributor or, as with Bis, agreements signed on a single-by-single basis.

Bis released a number of EPs, three of which entered the UK Singles Chart in 1996, followed by several singles between 1997 and 1999.[5] They contributed a song to the Gary Numan tribute album Random in 1997. "Eurodisco", from second album Social Dancing, became a minor success for the band in Australia as well as the UK.

Rise to fame

Two of the band's early releases were on Glasgow's Chemikal Underground label, run by The Delgados,[6] before they transferred to Wiiija where labelmates included Cornershop. In the United States, their records appeared on the underground label K Records, and on the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label.[4] They toured extensively both in the UK and abroad, their diverse influences reflected in the kinds of acts they appeared with; Foo Fighters, Garbage, Luscious Jackson, Gary Numan, and Pavement amongst them.

The group became a favourite of the likes of Blur, John Peel[7] and Green Day, despite a particularly hostile review by Steven Wells in the New Musical Express entitled "The Sinking of the Bis-Lark".

The band had gained American popularity during the closing credits of The Powerpuff Girls. Their song "Detour" was also given some radio airplay in the U.S. and was featured briefly in the film Bring It On. They enjoyed a period of success in Japan, selling nearly 100,000 copies of their debut album in its first week of release, but future releases failed to be anywhere near as successful.

Split and future projects (2003–2009)

The band broke up in 2003,[4] after playing a farewell show at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. All remained active in the local music scene. Steven and John Disco played in Dirty Hospital and Rin acted as a DJ. Rin was also in a band called The Kitchen, whilst Disco joined the ska band, The Amphetameanies, which included members of Belle & Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand and Pink Kross.

In 2005, they announced on the official Bis website that together they had formed a new band called Data Panik, with Stuart Memo on bass and drummer Graham Christie. After releasing two 7" singles, however, this band split up.

Bis contributed an old song to the game Jet Set Radio Future called "Statement of Intent". In 2005, Bis performed in animated form on the CBBC children's cartoon BB3B.

As of 2006 Rin was working on solo material.[8] In 2007 she teamed up with the Scottish electro-pop outfit, Juno!, and has collaborated on their independently released singles, "Smoke & Mirrors" and "These Boys Are Athletes", as well as regularly appearing live with the band, most recently at the Rock Ness 2008 Festival.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the release of their debut album The New Transistor Heroes, Bis re-formed in April 2007 for three shows in Glasgow, Manchester, and London. A greatest hits compilation, titled We Are Bis from Glasgow, Scotland, was released on compact disc to coincide with these shows.

In August 2008, Rin released the solo single "DNA", which she followed up with the release of her debut album, My DNA with This Is Fake DIY in September 2008.

More recently, singer Manda Rin provided the artwork for an iPhone game called "All Fridges Are Psychotic".[9] She has also made two guest appearances on the BBC music quiz programme Never Mind the Buzzcocks (on 18 November 2010 and 19 January 2011). She also teamed up with Hyperbubble on a track for their 2011 album Drastic Cinematic.

Reunion and fourth album (2009–2014)

In November 2009, Rin announced that the band would re-form to play at the Primavera Festival in May 2010, returning this time with a bassist and drummer, former Data Panik members, Stuart Memo and Graham Christie, respectively.

In February 2014, the band announced they would release their fourth album, Data Panik Etcetera, on 15 May on Rough Trade Records.[10] The album was made available for streaming at NME on 28 April.[11]

The same year, the band's first three albums were re-released as double CD deluxe editions by the Do Yourself In label.[12]

Fifth album (2017–2019)

In October 2017, the band announced that they were working on their fifth album, due for release in late 2018. The album, Slight Disconnects, was released in February 2019 on Last Night From Glasgow.[13]

Members

Discography
Bis discography
Studio albums4
Live albums1
Compilation albums6
Music videos10
EPs12
Singles17

Studio albums
Title Album details Chart positions
UK
[14]		 JPN
[15]		 SCO
The New Transistor Heroes 55 19 50
[16]
Social Dancing 161 60 —
Return to Central
  • Released: September 2001
  • Labels: spinART, Apex, Tilt
 — — —
Data Panik Etcetera
  • Released: 5 May 2014
  • Labels: Do Yourself In, Micro Inc
 — — —
Slight Disconnects — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles
  • "Sweet Shop Avengerz" (1997, Tristar/Sony) – (1997, Wiiija) UK No. 46,[14] SCO No. 37[20]
  • "Everybody Thinks That They're Going To Get Theirs" (1997, Wiiija & Shock) – (1997, Tristar/Sony) UK No. 64,[14] SCO No. 56[21]
  • "Tell It to the Kids" (1997, Sony Japan)
  • "Kid Cut (Demo Version)" (1997) (One-sided 7" single given out at gigs in Glasgow and London)
  • "Eurodisco" (1998, Wiiija, Grand Royal/Capitol) UK No. 37,[14] AUS No. 54,[22] BE No. 41,[23] SCO No. 27[24]
  • "Action and Drama" (1999, Wiiija, Shock) UK No. 50,[14] SCO No. 45[25]
  • "Detour" (1999, Wiiija & Grand Royal) UK No. 80,[14] SCO No. 72[26]
  • "What You're Afraid Of" (2001, spinART)
  • "Protection" (2001, Tilt)
  • "The End Starts Today" (2002, Artful)
  • "Rulers and the States" (2014, Rough Trade)
  • "Keep Your Darkness" (2014, Do Yourself In Records)
  • "Minimum Wage" (2014, Do Yourself In Records)
  • "Twilight Cafe" (2014, Do Yourself In Records)

Splits
  • "Trophy Girlfriend" b/w "Keroleen" – Heavenly/Bis split (1996, K)
  • "Pop Song" / "Clockwork Punk" b/w "Rococo Neggro" / "Harrap Ageing Fast" – Bis/Lugworm split (1997, Guided Missile)
  • "Signal in the Sky (Let's Go)" b/w "The Powerpuff Girls (End Theme)" – The Apples in Stereo/Bis split (2000, Kid Rhino)
  • "Minimum Wage" b/w "Hair Metal Shame" - Bis/Ghosts Of Dead Airplanes split (2014, Do Yourself In Records)

Various artist compilations

Music videos
  • "Kandy Pop" (1996)
  • "This Is Fake D.I.Y" (1996)
  • "Starbright Boy" (1997)
  • "Sweet Shop Avengerz" (1997)
  • "Tell it to the Kids" (1997)
  • "Everybody Thinks They're Going To Get Theirs" (1997)
  • "Eurodisco" (1998)
  • "Action and Drama" (1999)
  • "Detour" (1999)
  • "The End Starts Today (Single Edit)" (2001)
gollark: I was replying to this.
gollark: Oops, wrong reply.
gollark: School makes most subjects bad.
gollark: Just use neural networks™.
gollark: This is a good idea.

References
  1. "50 Greatest Britpop Songs Ever - As Voted By You". NME. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  2. "Manda Rin - Album Discography - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. "bis". Open.spotify.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  4. "bis - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  5. "BIS - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  6. "Bis". Chemikal.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  7. "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - bis". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  8. "Featured Content on Myspace". Myspace. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
  9. "人妻掲示板を利用して人妻をセフレにする". Flaghippo.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  10. "bis To Release New Album". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. "Bis, 'data Panik etcetera' - Exclusive Album Stream". NME. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  12. Wilson, Martin (5 December 2014). "bis - Album Re-issues - Review - Overblown". Overblown.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  13. "The band Bis - We have a new 10 track album "Slight Disconnects"..." The band Bis. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  14. "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  15. "Japan: Album positions". oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  16. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 13 April 1997. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  17. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 24 March 1996. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  18. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 16 June 1996. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  19. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 3 November 1996. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  20. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 9 March 1997. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  21. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 4 May 1997. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  22. "ariaNET The Chart! Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 22nd March 1999". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  23. "ultratop.be – Discografie Bis". 2006–2011 Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  24. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 8 November 1998. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  25. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 21 February 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  26. "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Officialcharts.com. 25 July 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
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