Spare Snare
Spare Snare is a lo-fi band from Dundee, Scotland.
Founded in the early 90s, the band have released 13 albums to date, released on their own Chute Records, or licensed to another label. They have also recorded four John Peel Sessions. In the 1995 John Peel Festive 50, the band were number 32 with "Bugs".
Spare Snare have been cited as an influence on acts such as Snow Patrol and the Fence Collective.
Spare Snare were also voted as the 46th best Scottish band of all time.
In 2008 they had the bizarre privilege to cover Amazing Grace for BBC Radio Two’s Aled Jones Sunday show. Spare Snare are the only band to have recorded sessions for both John Peel and Aled Jones.
Spare Snare released their 10th album, Victor, in June 2010, which was voted the 19th Best Scottish Album of 2010.
The band made two rare live appearances at the Fence Collective Homegame festival in Anstruther and Tigerfest in Dunfermline in 2010.
Two live sessions were performed for the Marc Riley BBC 6Music radio show on 16 July 2009 and 25 September 2018.
Spare Snare released their 11th album, Our Jazz, in April 2013, which was voted the 7th Best Scottish Album of 2013.
In February 2018, Spare Snare recorded their 13th album, Sounds Recorded by Steve Albini with producer Steve Albini. As well as the recording, Spare Snare and Albini presented a one day Engineers' Workshop at Chem19 Studios in Blantyre, Scotland.
Members
- Jan Burnett – vocals, guitar, electronics, melodica
- Alan Cormack – bass, guitar, drums, synths
- Barry Gibson – drums, bass, guitar
- Graeme Ogston – guitar, bass, ukulele
- Adam Lockhart – guitar, synths, bass, voice
Discography
Albums
- Live at Home - released 1995 on Chute
- Disco Dancing - released 1995 on 100 Guitar Mania, licensed from Chute
- Westfield Lane - released 1996 on Wabana, licensed from Chute
- Animals and Me Released 1998 on Chute
- Love Your Early Stuff - released 1999 on Che, licensed from Chute
- Charm - released 2001 on Chute
- Learn to Play - released 2004 on Chute
- Garden Leave - released September 2006 on Chute
- I Love You, I Hate You - released June 2009 on Chute
- Victor - released June 2010 on Chute
- Our Jazz - released April 2013 on Chute
- Unicorn - released August 2017 on Chute
- Sounds Recorded by Steve Albini - released July 2018 on Chute
Singles and non-album songs
| Song title | B-side | Label | Year | Release info |
| "Super Slinky" | "As a Matter of Fact" | Chute | 1992/1993 | UK 7" with hand painted numbered sleeve. Original pressing of 110 had blue back print. Second pressing of 100 had red back print. Some copies included a 'Chute no wave' badge. |
| "Super Slinky" | "As a Matter of Fact" | Prospective | 1993 | US 7" with hand numbered sleeve. Slightly different mix of "As a Matter of Fact" compared to the UK 7". |
| "Thorns " | "Shine on Now" | Prospective | 1994 | US 7" with two colour sleeve. The first recording of "Thorns", before the UK single. |
| "Thorns" | "Skateboard Punk Rocker" | Chute | 1994 | UK 7" with hand painted numbered sleeve. Pressed as an edition of 617 in three different coloured sleeves. |
| "I Got You" | "If JFA Were Still Together" | Che | 1995 | UK 7" split with Majesty Crush released on numbered coloured vinyl. "I Got You" is a cover of the Split Enz song. |
| "Bruising You" | n/a | Fierce Panda | 1995 | Appears on Mortal Wombat, a UK 7" double pack compilation, featuring various artists, including Super Furry Animals and Baby Bird, among others. |
| "Smile, It's Sugar" | "French Campus" | Anti-Social | 1995 | US 7" split with Sone release with hand coloured umbrella, various colours and variations were available. |
| "Wired for Sound" | n/a | Deceptive | 1995 | UK one sided 7" featuring a cover version of the Cliff Richard song. "MERRY XMAS MR WEBB" is etched on side two. Available in a rubber stamped Christmas envelope as part of a series of Christmas singles on the Deceptive label. Around 200 copies were signed by Spare Snare and sent to their mailing list. |
| "Wired for Sound" | "Bugs" | Prospective | 1996 | US 7" featuring live tracks recorded at Radio K, Minneapolis in 1994. "Wired for Sound" is not the Cliff Richard cover version, but a Spare Snare song originally featured on the 1995 album Live at Home. |
| "Smile, It's Sugar" | "Indiekidsuck" / "Hanging Around" | Deceptive | 1996 | UK cassette single with 30 minutes of blank tape, allowing the owner to send it back and get 30 minutes of "live stuff, chat and noise" recorded onto the tape. Single also available on 7" and CD. |
| "Smile, It's Sugar" | "Indiekidsuck" / "Hanging Around" / "Boom Boom Boom" | Deceptive | 1996 | UK 4 track CD, also available on 7" and cassette. |
| "Haircut" | "Aye Aye Captain" | Chute | 1996 | UK 7" split with Lazer Boy, with hand painted rubber stamped sleeve. |
| "Boom Boom Boom " | "Away from the City" | 100 Guitar Mania | 1996 | Japanese 7" in blue vinyl and numbered. |
| "Bruising You" | "What You've Done" | Third Gear | 1998 | US 7" available on clear or black vinyl. Features a different version of "Bruising You" to that on the Mortal Wombat 7". |
| "Hard of Hearing" | "Lesbians in Waistcoats" | Lissy's | 1998 | UK 7" release. |
| "Everybody Knows That" | "Say My Name" | Chute | 2001 | UK 7" featuring covers of The Humblebums and Destiny's Child. |
| "Calling in the Favours" | "Launch" | Bad Jazz | 2001 | UK 7" on white vinyl. |
| "Sort It for Afterwards" | "In the City" | Chute | 2006 | UK 7" on purple vinyl. 525 copies pressed. |
| "Riding " | "Lost" | Bracken | 2006 | UK 7" two-tone numbered coloured vinyl split single with And His Voice Became. Both songs exclusive to this release. Hand-made artwork on 90% re-cycled paper, 300 copies pressed. |