The Beta Band

The Beta Band were formed in 1996 by vocalists and guitarists Steve Mason and Gordon Anderson, who had originally planned to call themselves The Pigeons before changing their minds. Gordon Anderson is the brother of Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote.

The name "The Beta Band" came from a suggestion by a friend. "The alpha band were the top of the class, keyboardist John Maclean explained to The List. "The beta band were the worst."

Although widely identified as an Edinburgh band, the group's founding members Mason and Anderson actually came from St. Andrews, Fife, and the band coalesced while living in a flat in Shepherd's Bush, London.