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Shop Assistants

City of Origin: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Period of Activity: Mid-1980s to early 1990s

Members: Joan Bride, Moray Crawford, Ann Donald, David Keegan, Sarah Kneale, Laura MacPhail, Karen Parker, John Peutherer, Alex Taylor, Margarita Vasquez-Ponte, Annabel Wright

Related Artists: The Fizzbombs, Jesse Garon and the Desperados, The Motorcycle Boy, The Pastels

Discography:

• "Something to Do" (1984, single, as Buba and the Shop Assistants)
• Shopping Parade EP (1985)
• "Safety Net" (1986, single)
• Shop Assistants (1986, reissued as Will Anything Happen)
• "Here It Comes" (1990, single)
• "Big E Power" (1990, single)

Social Media: None

Although I didn't quite fall in love with them they way I did with other bands I discovered around the time, the Shop Assistants were actually my first real foray into discovering indiepop after I heard "It's Up To You" on C86 and "Safety Net" on the Rough Trade indiepop sampler. For the most part, they're not too dissimilar from the Jesus and Mary Chain with the noise toned down to somewhat more acceptable levels (they even have a Shangri-Las cover!). There's a lot of the bands of the era that did that, though I think maybe Shop Assistants were among the first? They're also among the best, even if they're not a band I find myself reaching for all that much anymore.