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The name Belle & Sebastian came from a French cartoon about a boy and his puppy. The formation of the group started in 1995, in Glasgow, Scotland. Under the influence of bands like The Smiths, James and Felt, B&S became one of the UK's most cultured indie pop groups in the second half of the 1990s.

In 1996, the band had its initial formation defined with university students Sarah Martin (violin), Stevie Jackson (guitar), Chris Geddes (keyboards), Stuart David (bass), Richard Colburn (drums), Isobel Campbell (cello) and Stuart Mordoch (voice and guitar). That year, the group released in May their first album, Tigermilk, initially on vinyl only, on the Electric Honey Records label, with a circulation of 1000 copies. Also, at the end of 1996, the second album, If You're Feeling Sinister, was released by the Jeepster Records label.

In 1997, Belle & Sebastian released three acclaimed EPs: Dog On Wheels, Lazy Line Painter Jane and 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light. The song "Lazy Line Painter Jane" features Monica Queen, a friend of the band, on vocals. Still in 1997, the band signed a contract with the American label Matador Records. And in September 1998 the album The Boy With the Arab Strap came out.

In 2000, after the release of Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, Stuart David left the group to dedicate himself to his solo project, Looper. Bobby Kildea was his replacement.

In 2001, the band released two EPs: Jonathan David and I'm Waking Up to Us. And the following, the soundtrack for 'Storytelling', Todd Solondz's film. During the 2002 tour, Isobel Campbell left the band. That same year, Belle & Sebastian signed to Rough Trade Records.

Through Rough Trade Records, the group released the albums Dear Catastrophe Waitress in 2003 and The Life Pursuit in 2006.

Belle and Sebastian Write About Love (2010) and Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (2015) were the albums released by the band in the sequence.

In 2019, Days of the Bagnold Summer arrived, an album that served as the soundtrack for the eponymous film by English director Simon Bird. The band returned in 2022 with A Bit of Previous. At the beginning of the following year, Late Developers arrived.

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