"Actor: Christopher Geddes"

• Belle And Sebastian - Fans Only | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Considering their reputation for hating interviews and photo sessions, Belle & Sebastian's Fans Only is a surprisingly intimate affair. Over 136 minutes, the main feature documentary follows Belle & Sebastian from their inception in 1996 through every step of their six-album career, tracking the band to America, Brazil, and Japan, and hanging out with them in their hometown of Glasgow. At times, Fans Only feels like a lovingly crafted home video, with private photos and previously unseen segments of super-8 footage merging with the commercial promos and television appearances. It's all here: childhood snaps, Stuart Murdoch behind the wheel of an orange city bus, a song from the legendary Session At West 54th (still the holy grail for some devotees), a self-made documentary of a band rehearsal from 1999, Richard and Mick's acceptance speech at the Brits (with Richard captioned as Nick Cooke), Stevie and Stuart serenading the queue at the Bowlie Weekender, the band appearing on a Brazilian chat show, it goes on and on. Belle & Sebastian have always been a fans' band, close to those that understand them and inaccessible to those that don't. Fans Only is that relationship caught brilliantly on video. On the DVD: Fans Only on disc also includes live versions of "Dog on Wheels", "Landslide" and "The Kids are Alright" from The Bowlie Weekender. There are questions from the band's press conference for Fold Your Hands, You Walk Like a Peasant, plus Stevie singing "Darlin'" at Coachella, a 60s' version of "Jonathan David" and a Discography. --Ian Watson