Jesse Garon & the Desperadoes

This Edinburgh-based act emerged in 1986. Originally viewed as a casual project – its founding line-up was generally drawn from associates of another group, Rote Kopelle – the Desperadoes non-etheless set up themselves as the primary exponents from the town’s ‘shambling’ picture, alongside the greater fêted Store Assistants. Fran Schoppler (vocals) Andrew Tully (electric guitar/vocals), Angus McPake (bass) and Marquerita Vazquez Ponte (drums) supplied the core of the unit that produced its debut using the melodic ‘Splashing Along’, an individual sympathetically made by ex-Jesus And Mary String bass participant Douglas Hart. The Desperadoes’ deft mixture of attraction and melancholia was captured on some exceptional singles, including ‘The Rainfall Fell Down’ and ‘And If The Sky Should Fall’, although their lone record, Nixon, revealed a far more forthright perspective. The Desperadoes split by the end of the 10 years, unable to completely exploit their significant early promise.