Supernaturals

The Supernaturals were a five-piece guitar based pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. Fronted by singer-songwriter James McColl, they signed to Parlophone in 1996, and had a string of singles which were taken from their three albums and four EPs. Other members included Mark Guthrie, Derek McManus and Ken McAlpine.The band’s best known songs («Smile» and «I Wasn’t Built To Get Up») were featured prominently in a series of television advertisements, but the group never achieved mainstream success. In total they scored five Top 40 entries in the UK Singles Chart.
The band’s sound was similar to many 1960s rock bands, with elements of 1990s synth culture, especially later on. Two guitars were used, often one acoustic and one electric, and a variety of effects. Drums were for the most part subdued.

The band were nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 1998 for best contemporary song for «Smile» along with The Verve’s «The Drugs Don’t Work» and Radiohead’s «No Surprises». The band won a Tartan Clef award in 1997 as the best new Scottish band.

Songs are often related to other songs on the same album by a common theme. The album It Doesn’t Matter Anymore received good reviews (8/10 NME and 4/5 Q) as did the follow-up A Tune a Day (7/10 NME and 4/5 Q). The band’s third album saw a change of musical direction into europop and electronica. This album struggled to get good reviews, with the lead single not receiving media coverage of its release following the September 11 attacks.

The creative output saw around 100 songs written in five years. They played at music festivals in the UK, and around Europe, and supported other artists including Robbie Williams, Paul Weller, The Boo Radleys and Tina Turner. They were also a staple on compilation albums such as Shine, and played radio sessions for BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, Virgin and others. Television appearances included Top of the Pops, TFI Friday, The Jack Docherty Show, Fully Booked and The Big Breakfast, with keyboardist Ken McAlpine appearing as a contestant on Never Mind the Buzzcocks (for Phill Jupitus’ team).

«The Day Before Yesterday’s Man» was used in the TV series Teachers, and the film Shooting Fish.

The song «Smile» was the theme tune for bank Smile.co.uk’s TV advertisements, and was re-recorded for use as the main theme of the Nine Network idents in 2008, and was also parodied in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights. The song was also used on As If, Holiday Showdown, Wife Swap, That’ll Teach ‘Em and Grumpy Old Men, and in 2005 was included in VH2’s list of the best indie songs of all time.

The band split up soon after their third album’s release in 2002. At their peak, they enjoyed a loyal fanbase, with several high-quality fansites.