BMX Bandits duo live in Leeds (Extra tickets available!)
Schedule
Sat, 27 Jun, 2026 at 07:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Hyde Park Book Club | Leeds, EN
“If I could be in any other band, it would be BMX Bandits", Kurt Cobain."Britain's ultimate cult group", The Guardian.
"Gentle genius", Q magazine.
2026 marks the fortieth anniversary of the release of BMX bandits first single E102.
BMX Bandits were formed in the ex-industrial town of Bellshill by songwriter and lead vocalist
Duglas T Stewart out of the ashes of The Pretty Flowers, a group that featured Stewart alongside
Frances McKee (The Vaselines), Sean Dickson (The Soup Dragons) and Norman Blake
(Teenage Fanclub).
BMX Bandits' songs blend melodic qualities and humour with, at times, raw and heartbreaking
pathos. Duglas describes their songs as being his world put to music.
Starting with the exuberant E102 in 1986 BMX Bandits released a series of singles on Stephen
Pastel's 53rd & 3rd label, where they were label mates with The Vaselines and Beat Happening. In
the early nineties BMX Bandits joined Creation Records, home of Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody
Valentine, Primal Scream and many others. The group's most celebrated song is the
autobiographical Serious Drugs, recorded in 1991 but not released until 1993. The song has since
been covered and released by several other acts. Fellow Creation Records’ band Oasis did their
first UK tour dates supporting the Bandits as a favour to Creation label boss Alan McGee.
In 2005 Stewart split with his long term musical partner Francis Macdonald. 2006 saw a new wave
of concert activity and the release of one the group’s most acclaimed albums, My Chain. Stewart's
writing on the album was compared to Brian Wilson, Michel Legrand, Ennio Morricone and even
Alan Bennet.
A highly acclaimed feature-length documentary called Serious Drugs
-
Duglas and the Music of
BMX Bandits was premiered in Glasgow in 2011, followed by a series of international festival
screenings and a DVD release. The film featured in Sight & Sound's top films of the year list. The
band were prominently featured in the 2017 documentary film Teenage Superstars, the National
Museum of Scotland’s major exhibition of 2018 Rip It Up, chronicling the history of Scottish Pop
and Rock, and the accompanying BBC TV series.
BMX Bandits are well known for their life affirming, celebrational live shows, inspiring smiles,
laughter and tears. BMX Bandits have released 12 studio albums. Their most recent album
Dreamers on the Run (2024) was declared by many as their strongest yet. Classic Rock
magazine said "Against the odds, BMX Bandits have finally painted their masterpiece" and Uncut
Magazine described it as “"a bold and seductive exploration of symphonic pop".
Duglas T Stewart remains the only permanent member of BMX Bandits, band leader and chief
songwriter. Over the years notable songwriting collaborators have included his old friend Norman
Blake and Sean Dickson a.k.a. Hifi Sean, David Scott (The Pearlfishers) and Anton Newcombe of
The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
2026 will see the release a career spanning “Best Of” album, newly recorded material and the
programme of reissues of their back catalogue continues with their 1997 lo-fi album Duglas
Stewart’s Frankenstein being released on vinyl for the first time . The line-up of the group
continues to be ever changing but the heart and soul of the Bandits remains the same, an
extended musical family led by the inimitable Duglas.
Where is it happening?
Hyde Park Book Club, 27-29 Headingley Lane, Leeds, United Kingdom
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
