Aztec Camera
| Aztec Camera | |
|---|---|
| Origin | East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Indie rock,new wave,sophisti-pop |
| Years active | 1980–1995 |
| Labels | Postcard, Sire/Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | Roddy Frame |
| Past members | See 'Musicians' |
Aztec Camera were a Scottish Indie rock/new wave band formed by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter, and only consistent member. Formed in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six albums: High Land, Hard Rain (1983), Knife (1984), Love (1987), Stray (1990), Dreamland (1993) and Frestonia (1995). The band garnered popular success for the songs "Oblivious", "Somewhere in My Heart" and "Good Morning Britain" (a duet with former The Clash guitarist Mick Jones).
Aztec Camera first appeared on a Glasgow cassette-only compilation of local unsigned bands on the Pungent Records label, affiliated with the Fumes Fanzine run by Danny Easson and John Gilhooly. Fumes and Pungent Records championed several Glasgow bands before they achieved popular success.
The band's first United Kingdom (UK) single release was sold in a 7" format by Postcard Records—a Glasgow-based independent record label cofounded by Edwyn Collins and Alan Horne—in 1981. The single featured the song "Mattress Of Wire" and a B-side entitled "Lost Outside The Tunnel". Frame, aged 16 years, met Collins for the first time during the Postcard period when the latter was 21 years old.
A second single, also released in 1981, featured the songs "Just Like Gold" and "We Could Send Letters"—an acoustic version of the latter song appeared on a compilation album, entitled C81, that was released on cassette in 1981 through a partnership between NME magazine and Rough Trade Records. Following the two 7" releases with Postcard, the group signed with Rough Trade Records in the UK and Sire Records in the United States (US) for their debut album. At this point, the band was officially a quartet: Roddy Frame (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Bernie Clark (piano, organ), Campbell Owens (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums, percussion).
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