Belle and Sebastian to score Inbetweeners’ Simon Bird debut film

The Scottish group will compose the music for Simon Bird’s Days of the Bagnold Summer

Article by Jamie Dunn | 10 Oct 2018

We’ve not heard much about Stuart Murdoch’s film career since his fizzy directorial debut with Glasgow-set musical God Help the Girl. The Belle and Sebastian frontman does look to be back working in the film world in some form though, as it’s been reported by Deadline that his band is providing the score to Days of the Bagnold Summer, the first film directed by Simon Bird. Bird is best known for his acting roles in sitcoms The Inbetweeners and Friday Night Dinner.

Belle and Sebastian's back catalogue often crops up in movies: it features in films like High Fidelity, 500 Days of Summer, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Juno, but this is their first time on official score duty.

Days of the Bagnold Summer is based on Joff Winterhart’s graphic novel of the same name, and is described on Deadline as a coming-of-age comedy about a heavy metal-loving 15 year-old (played by Nick Cave's son Earl Cave) whose Florida summer holiday is cancelled last minute, meaning he has to spend six weeks at home with his mother, played by Monica Dolan. Rob Brydon, Alice Lowe, Tamsin Greig and Elliot Speller-Gillott are also reportedly among the cast.

Belle and Sebastian have suddenly become prolific of late. At the start of 2018 they released How to Solve Our Human Problems as three EPs and they’re getting set for their Boaty Weekender – a curious four-day festival they’re planning for next summer on a Mediterranean cruise ship. News of this score is icing on the cake.


Scroll on to read our review of Belle & Sebastian's Glasgow show with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, or click here to read our in-depth career retrospective with Belle and Sebastian from our February 2018 issue

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