Saw this band at Bunbury. Both of the 'named' musicians impressed me with their multi-instument chops, Belle especially. Sebastian does most of the lead singing.

As far as induction chances (and we inducted them into Rock Hall Projected), I would say that if their set was 'Belle & Sebastian's greatest hits', then I would say 'no effing way' (and I might have voted for them in RHP). To use an example. Styx has many more killer tunes than what I heard on Sunday.

If the set was mostly new stuff & only a few 'greatest hits', then I would say 'you need to show me more'. Another great album or two to show me you still have it.

Am glad I saw them, though.

Posted by Paul in KY on Tuesday, 07/16/2013 @ 10:27am

LMAO (and responding to a six year old post). There's no "Belle" or "Sebastian"...they were just having a laugh with the crowd. So, Sebastian was clearly Stuart Murdoch.

Also, Belle & Sebastian is one of the few acts that totally mixes up their setlists from one night to the next, so you never know what you'll get. Some are deeper on fan favorites, some have a lot of rare cuts, etc.

If you give their records a listen, you'll find they have way, way more great cuts than Styx. Styx rarely ever wrote melodies as complex as Stuart Murdoch's.

Posted by Casper on Thursday, 04/25/2019 @ 20:55pm

What, there's no Sebastian??!!

All along I thought it was John B. Sebastian from The Lovin' Spoonful or maybe one of his sons??

LOL!

Posted by joker on Thursday, 04/25/2019 @ 22:15pm

Casper, have more important stuff to do than track down the correct names. :-)

They were at a fest, and my view always on fests, is that you play your best stuff. Period.

I'm now guessing they did not & that is/was disappointing. Maybe I'll see them again sometime.

I did know that wasn't John Sebastian, LOL!

Posted by Paul in KY on Friday, 04/26/2019 @ 10:09am

The name comes from a French TV series about a boy and his dog.

Posted by The_Claw on Friday, 04/26/2019 @ 14:06pm

B&S have been a quality band for a long time and put together some really fun and innovative songs. I don't think they have the mainstream recognition needed to be inducted but stranger things have happened.

Posted by A-Killa on Thursday, 08/1/2019 @ 17:47pm

They certainly deserve to be in! Unfortunately, they are only played on indie stations but deserve to be recognized as one of the greatest pop bands ever and are still going strong!

Posted by dinzdale on Wednesday, 11/20/2019 @ 07:33am

Their debut album was in 1996. Therefore they will be eligible next year.

Posted by Garrus on Monday, 12/14/2020 @ 02:49am

Who decides what their essential songs are? The three songs mentioned are not very essential at all. "Dylan and the Movies" comes closest. "State that I am in" , "I'm a coo coo", "Arab Strap". "Asleep on a sunbeam" " I don't Love Anyone" "I'm not Living In the Real world" ...Those are a few off of the top of my head.

Posted by T.J. Kiernan on Wednesday, 11/2/2022 @ 15:57pm

A little shocked they are inducted into RHP project here. Always think they are pretty cool indie act with solid outputs. Have multiple good albums. Their twee pop sound is pretty cool for younger people nowadays. Still don't feel they are that "important" (to be inducted into RHP project and real rock hall).

Posted by omar on Monday, 07/20/2026 @ 14:56pm

Omar, they're basically THE band that made indie rock big. I don't mean commercially but in terms of SOUND. When so much of 90s indie was going the lo-fi route, this band thought on a much larger scale with string arrangements, etc. It directly leads to The Decemberists, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens and indie becoming basically the only place where great music existed in the 21st century.

They had their own unique visual aesthetic on their album covers and throughlines in Stuart's lyrics (often highly literate and about troubled young individuals, particularly young women). They're basically the blueprint for a lot of people in indie (Yo La Tengo as well) and that's why both acts landed an album on the Rolling Stone list (probably receiving votes from people like Phoebe Bridgers) and will only be held in higher regard the further we move on in rock history.

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 10/10/2026 @ 04:11am

Casper,

I get what you say, and actually I like this band a lot and listened to their entire discography several years ago.

Still, I feel it would be pretty far-fetched to see them as a realistic Rock Hall candidate. Probably inducting them into the RHP project in FRL is as far as it goes for them.

When you talk about influential but commercially less successful 90s indie acts, Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, and PJ Harvey would probably rank ahead of B&S and these acts probably also are very long shot now.

And when you consider earlier, influential '80s underground artists with somewhat similar résumés to Belle & Sebastian, such as Minutemen, Fugazi, X, Dead Kennedys, Melvins, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Hüsker Dü, and so forth, you could say the chances of most of them ever being inducted are close to zero.

Even Sonic Youth, The Replacements, and Big Star, whose chances may be a bit higher, have been waiting forever.

So yeah, Belle & Sebastian seem too far-fetched as a realistic Rock Hall candidate, tbh.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 10/10/2026 @ 10:54am