SHAZAM

The Scottish drummer Will Bradley began his career with the band Life Without Buildings a bit less than a decade after what seem to be the final recordings of another drummer, Will Bradley, Jr., who was in turn the son of a jazz trombonist, Will Bradley, Sr. The latter performer is the most famous of all these musical Bradley people. The father and son are mentioned simply to clarify that they have as much relation to the Scottish chap as haggis has to sweet potato pie. That Will Bradley began his music career while a student at the Glasgow School of Art in 1999, as did bassist Chris Evans, guitarist Robert Johnston, and vocalist Sue Tompkins. The art school scene is a traditional fountain of rock bands in the United Kingdom, and the Glasgow institution was a place where avant rock of all kinds is welcome, as long as students are able to talk over it.

Bradley joined a combo that had named itself after an obscure song by the group Japan, although the influence of bands such as Television, Talking Heads and ESG was a big part of what the Scottish band would create in the post-punk genre. It appealed to Tugboat, a label and not one of those sloppy looking vessels that chase cruisers around. An invitation to record a single was issued following the band's first London gig, like the excerpt from a dream of every Scottish rocker's trip to the big city. Bradley performed with the group on BBC radio broadcasts as well as several releases prior to the group's breakup in 2002. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi