The Aliens

This Scottish indie rock band was formed in 2005 by founder members of the Beta Band, who gained success in the late 90s and early 00s with their unique brand of trip-hop and psychedelic rock. Gordon Anderson (b. Fife, Scotland; guitar/vocals) was an early member of the Beta Band, helping write the first of the band's EPs, but left before it was released as he was suffering from acute psychosis and spent eight years in a mental institution. Out of hospital (where he learnt to master many instruments), Anderson started to record some of the thousands of songs he had written while inside, under the name Lone Pigeon. When the Beta Band split in late 2004, Anderson joined his former bandmates Robin Jones (b. Scotland; drums/vocals) and John Maclean (b. Scotland; keyboards/vocals) to form the Aliens. The band's first release, the space rock-inspired Alienoid Starmonica EP, was released in mid-2006 on the Pet Rock label. The trio's dramatic live performances, which saw them attired in gowns with bastardised Kiss-style make-up, quickly attracted a large indie following. The excellent album, Astronomy For Dogs, followed in March 2007, again on Pet Rock. From the Jimi Hendrix-style opener "Setting Sun" to the blues rock of the closing "Caravan", the album paid explicit homage to the psychedelic pop and acid rock scenes of the 60s.