Stuart David

{{short description|Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist}} {{Use British English|date=January 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = Stuart David | image = StuartAuthorPic warm.jpg | caption = David in 2010 | image_size =  | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Stuart David Black | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|12|26|df=yes}} | origin = Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, Scotland | death_date = | genre = Alternative rock, indie pop, spoken word | occupation = Musician, songwriter, novelist | instrument = Vocals, bass guitar, samplers, keyboards, synthesizer | years_active = 1985–present | label = Mute Records, SubPop, Jeepster | associated_acts = Looper, Belle and Sebastian }}

'''Stuart David''' (born 26 December 1969) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist. He co-founded the band Belle and Sebastian and was a member from 1996 to 2000, and then went on to front Looper (1998–present).<ref name="Strong">Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}, p. 620, 621, 839</ref><ref name="Williamson">Williamson, John (2000) "Made of the write stuff; Musician, songwriter, and novelist: Stuart David is under pressure to deliver", ''Glasgow Herald'', 9 June 2000. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref> He has published seven novels – ''Nalda Said'' (IMP, 1999), ''The Peacock Manifesto'' (IMP, 2001), ''Peacock's Tale'' (Barcelona Review, 2011), ''Jackdaw & the Randoms'' (Hotkey, 2015),<ref name="Lawrence">Lawrence, Jon (2001) "[http://drownedinsound.com/releases/4669/reviews/1231- Stuart David ''The Peacock Manifesto''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010192359/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/4669/reviews/1231- |date=10 October 2012 }}", Drowned in Sound, 1 June 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref><ref name="Battista">Battista, Anna (2001) "[http://www.erasingclouds.com/02david.html Mondo Peacock: Interview with Stuart David]", Erasing Clouds, July 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref> ''Peacock & The Poet'' (2016), ''Peacock's Alibi'' (Polygon, 2018),<ref name="Revesz">Revesz, Janet (2018) "[https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/books/fiction-books/best-scottish-fiction-2017-2018-new-books-contemporary-modern-a8187216.html- 9 best Scottish fiction books]", ''The Independent'', 1 February 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019</ref> and ''Dying For A Dram'' (2021)– and one volume of memoir, ''In The All-Night Cafe'' (Little, Brown, 2015), chronicling the formation of Belle and Sebastian.

==Early life== David grew up in the small town of Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, on the west coast of Scotland<ref>{{cite news |last=Sandhu |first=Sukhdev |date=15 April 2015 |title=In the All-Night Café by Stuart David review – a love affair with Belle and Sebastian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/15/in-the-all-night-cafe-stuart-david-review-belle-and-sebastian-murdoch#:~:text=For%20David%2C%20being%20in%20a%20band%20was,after%20being%20diagnosed%20with%20chronic%20fatigue%20syndrome. |work=The Guardian |location=London, England |publisher= |access-date=21 September 2025}}.</ref> The son of a toolmaker, he had a traditionally working-class upbringing, attending The Vale of Leven Academy (1981–1987). He began writing songs at the age of 14, and started his first band a year later. In 1989 he attended a year-long course in Electronic Music Recording at Clydebank Technical College, writing his first two unpublished novels when the course ended (''Francis' Point'' and ''The Bleach Field''). In 1994 he joined a course for unemployed musicians in Glasgow called Beatbox, where he met Stuart Murdoch. Together they played in two early bands (Lisa Helps The Blind and Rhode Island) before forming Belle and Sebastian to make a single for the Stow College label Electric Honey. The planned single quickly became the album ''Tigermilk''.<ref name="Whitelaw">Whitelaw, Paul (2005) ''This Is Just A Modern Rock Story'', Helter Skelter Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1900924986}}</ref>

==Belle and Sebastian== David made four albums with Belle and Sebastian (''Tigermilk'', ''If You're Feeling Sinister'', ''The Boy With The Arab Strap'', and ''Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant'') and a series of four EPs (''Dog on Wheels'', ''Lazy Line Painter Jane'', ''3.. 6.. 9.. Seconds of Light'', and ''This Is Just a Modern Rock Song''). His main role throughout his period with the band was bass player, although he also performed electric and acoustic guitar, as well as piano and vocals on a number of tracks. He was responsible for establishing the band's initial web presence, building their first website in 1996, and he wrote the songs "Winter Wooskie", "A Space Boy Dream", "Paper Boat" and "A Century of Elvis". He also published two books documenting the band's early days: ''Ink Polaroids: Of Belle and Sebastian''<ref name="David">David, Stuart (1997) ''Ink Polaroids'', Treehouse Books, {{ISBN|978-0953285402}}</ref> and ''Little Ink Movies: Of Belle and Sebastian in New York''.<ref name = "David S.">David, Stuart (1997) ''Little Ink Movies'', Treehouse Books, {{ISBN|978-0953285419}}</ref> He left Belle and Sebastian in 2000 to concentrate on his novels and the band Looper.<ref name="Whitelaw"/>

==Looper== Looper initially began as a side-project to Belle and Sebastian, a place for David to further explore the spoken-word style he had developed in the songs "A Century of Elvis" and "A Space Boy Dream". The first Looper release was on Subpop in 1998, a 7" vinyl containing two spoken word songs, "Impossible Things" and "Spaceboy Dream #3". To date, David has recorded six albums with Looper – ''Up A Tree'' (Subpop, 1999), ''The Geometrid'' (Subpop, 2000), ''The Snare'' (Mute, 2002), ''Offgrid:Offline'' (Mute, 2015), ''Quiet and Small'' (Mute, 2018), ''A Luminous Place'' (Mute, 2023) – and a series of three EPs, all of which mixed the original spoken-word style with more conventional pop songs and instrumentals.<ref name=barca /> Mute released the entire back catalogue of Looper's recordings as a five CD boxset in 2015, entitled ''These Things'',<ref name="Tuffrey">Tuffrey, Laurie (2015) "[http://thequietus.com/articles/17083-looper-announce-box-set-these-things-new-album-offgrid-offline- ''Looper Announce Box Set & New Album '']", The Quietus, 22 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2018</ref> and a 25th Anniversary edition of Looper’s debut album ''Up A Tree'' on vinyl and CD in 2024.

==Novels== ===''Nalda Said''=== ''Nalda Said'' was David's first published novel. The story concerns the nameless son of a jewel thief, brought up by his aunt Nalda, who convinces the boy that he carries one of his father's hidden jewels inside his stomach. The fantasy-like narrative details his subsequent terror of and interaction with society, who he fears will discover his secret and steal his jewel.<ref name=Simpson /> The book was originally published in the UK by IMP Fiction in 1999, and has since been translated into ten languages. It was described by Dana Kennedy of the ''New York Times'' as "At once riveting and sad...uncomfortably true to life".<ref name="barca">"[http://www.barcelonareview.com/32/e_sd_int.htm TBR Interview with Stuart David]", ''The Barcelona Review'', September–October 2002. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref><ref name="Kennedy">Kennedy, Dana (2003) "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807EFD91630F93BA35755C0A9659C8B63 ''Nalda Said'' By Stuart David]", ''The New York Times'', 8 June 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref> ''The Guardian'' added "Nalda Said is a stunning insight into reclusion, a sideways glance at conservatism and an allegory of the way the business world treats art...It's a fabulous novel."<ref name="Simpson">Simpson, Dave (1999) "[https://www.theguardian.com/books/1999/nov/22/artsfeatures]", 22 November 1999. Retrieved 4 February 2013</ref>

===''The Peacock Manifesto''=== ''The Peacock Manifesto'' was originally published by IMP Fiction in 2001. It tells the story of Peacock Johnson and his journey across America.<ref name="McHugh">McHugh, Stuart (2001) "[http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/a-peacock-s-feathers-are-well-and-truly-ruffled-the-hero-of-stuart-david-s-new-fictional-novel-insists-he-is-real-stuart-mchugh-investigates-1.191558 A peacock's feathers are well and truly ruffled The hero of Stuart David's new fictional novel insists he is real. Stuart McHugh investigates]", ''Glasgow Herald'', 12 April 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref> The character Peacock Johnson also appeared in Ian Rankin's novel ''A Question of Blood'', after David won an auction for a fan to have a character named after themselves, with David entering under the 'Peacock Johnson' pseudonym.<ref name="Mirror">"[https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2009/12/27/musician-dupes-novelist-rankin-115875-21925710/ Musician dupes novelist Rankin]", ''Daily Mirror'', 27 December 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref>

Peacock Johnson returned in 2018 in David's novel ''Peacock's Alibi'' in which the protagonist is attempting to escape charges for several crimes he has not committed.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Official website|www.stuart-david.com}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Stuart}} Category:Living people Category:Scottish bass guitarists Category:Belle and Sebastian members Category:Scottish electronic musicians Category:British indie pop musicians Category:1969 births Category:Scottish male songwriters Category:Scottish writers Category:People from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire