Arab Strap poster for the Red Thread album Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap whose core members are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton were signed to independent record label Chemikal Underground. They were a central part of Glasgow's influential late 1990s music scene. Vocalist Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton grew up in Falkirk, and began collaborating in 1995. Over the course of their ten-years, Arab Strap worked with a numerous musicians, including Jenny Reeve and Stacey Sievewright, as well as Adele Bethel, who went on to form Sons and Daughters. Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian featured on the album Philophobia, but the Belle & Sebastian album/song "The Boy with the Arab Strap" would later create something of a feud between the two singers. Arab Strap's marked characteristics include sordid, personal, yet honest, lyrics – described by the NME as "fly on the duvet vignettes". Like fellow Scottish band The Proclaimers, their lyrics are sung in their native Scots tongue.[3] At first essentially an electro-acoustic band with a brooding, spare sound, later albums and gigs saw them develop a fuller sound that drew deeply on both indie and dance music. In 2006, the band announced they were to split up as they celebrated the ten years since their first studio album with the release of a compilation record, Ten Years of Tears. They went on tour in Europe for the last time at the end of the year, and played their final show at the end of a secret tour of Japan at Shibuya O-Nest in December 2006. In June 2016, a new website for the band was revealed with a countdown and a lone statement saying - "Hello Again", teasing a reformation. Arab Strap confirmed that they have reformed for three shows at London's Brixton Electric, Manchester's O2 Ritz and Glasgow's Barrowlands Ballroom scheduled for October, marking the band's 20th anniversary. With this announcement, the band released a new version of their debut single, titled "The First Big Weekend of 2016", as remixed by Miaoux Miaoux. Size 30" x 20" inches Condition Good 'Original' Condition
