In the All-Night Café

Belle and Sebastian have been making music to critical acclaim since their formation in 1996. They have played hundreds of gigs and won a Brit Award; their music has been featured in popular films; and their unsettling, often surreal songs, delicate melodies, and alternative approach to pop stardom have earned them fans worldwide. In the All-Night Café is founding member Stuart David's charming and evocative memoir of Belle and Sebastian's first year, an as-yet-undocumented period of the band's history. Beginning with the fortuitous meeting of Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David at a course for unemployed musicians in Glasgow, it tells—in David's eminently readable and understated style—of their adventures in two early incarnations of Belle and Sebastian, culminating in the recording of the band's much-loved and highly praised debut album, Tigermilk. But this is not just a book for Belle and Sebastian fans: it's a universal story about being young, out of work, and trying to make something of your life—about discovering something you love, being fortunate enough to find similarly minded people, and making a go of it.