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.
|
|
|
