The Soup Dragons are a Scottish rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Named after a character in the 1970s children's television series Clangers, the group is best known for its cover of the Rolling Stones' song "I'm Free", which was a number 5 hit in the United Kingdom in 1990, and for its release "Divine Thing", a top 40 hit in the United States in 1992.

History The Soup Dragons formed in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, a town near Motherwell, Scotland, in 1985.Thompson, Dave (2000) Alternative Rock, Miller Freeman, San Francisco, , p. 646-647 The band members included Sean Dickson (vocals, lead guitar, and keyboards; born in 1966), Jim McCulloch (guitar, and secondary vocals) who replaced Ian Whitehall, and Sushil K. Dade (bass; born Sushil Kumar Dade, 1966, in Glasgow). The original drummer, Ross A. Sinclair (born 1966, in Bearsden, Glasgow) left the group after the band's first album, This Is Our Art, to pursue a career in art; he was replaced by Paul Quinn (born 9 August 1963). Most of the Soup Dragons' songs were written by Sean Dickson.

The Soup Dragons recorded their first demo tape,You Have Some Too, after playing a few local gigs. This was followed by a flexi disc single, "If You Were the Only Girl in the World". They signed to The Subway Organization in early 1986. Their first EP, The Sun in the Sky, was Buzzcocks-inspired pop punk. The band's breakthrough came with their second single for Subway, "Whole Wide World", which reached No. 2 on the UK Independent Chart in 1986.Lazell, Barry (1997) Indie Hits 1980 - 1989, Cherry Red Books, , p. 213 Dickson and McCulloch also played in BMX Bandits at this time.

The band were signed by former Wham! co-manager Jazz Summers' label Raw TV with further indie hits (and minor UK Singles Chart hits) following during 1987 and 1988.Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, , p. 515-6 Over the course of six singles (the first three collected in 1986 on a US-only compilation, Hang Ten), they gradually developed a complex rock guitar sound, which culminated in their first album This Is Our Art, now signed to major label Sire Records. After one single from the album - "Kingdom Chairs" - was released, they then returned to original label Raw TV and Big Life Records.

In the year after This Is Our Art, the Soup Dragons' sound underwent a change from an indie rock sound, to the rock-dance crossover sound; this was mainly due to being without a drummer and buying a sampler and drum machine and experimenting with sound with the release of the album Lovegod. This change can be attributed to the rise of the ecstasy-fueled acid house rave scene in the UK.

In 1990, they released "I'm Free", their most successful hit single in the UK and an up-tempo cover of a Rolling Stones song with an added toasting overdub by reggae star Junior Reid, which reached No. 5. The single later appeared on the soundtrack for the film The World's End (2013).

Subsequent albums continued in the band's own style and in 1992, they enjoyed their biggest US hit with "Divine Thing", which reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also hit No. 3 on the Modern Rock chart and its video was nominated by MTV as one of the year's best, though beaten by Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

The Soup Dragons disbanded in 1995. Paul Quinn joined Teenage Fanclub, Sushil K. Dade formed the experimental post-rock group Future Pilot A.K.A., Sean Dickson formed the High Fidelity (and has since released many records and albums with other artists, including Bootsy Collins, Yoko Ono, Crystal Waters and David McAlmont). Jim McCulloch joined Superstar, wrote and recorded music with Isobel Campbell, and formed the folk group Snowgoose. Ross A. Sinclair had a successful career in the visual arts, winning a number of international awards and becoming a Research Fellow at Glasgow School of Art, although he also still makes music to this day.

The story of the Soup Dragons is included as part of the 2017 documentary Teenage Superstars.

The original Soup Dragons line-up played six reunion shows in the UK in October and November 2023, with musical guests the Vaselines, BMX Bandits and a DJ set from the Pastels.

The band features in the book Postcards from Scotland, detailing the 1980s and 1990s independent music scene in Scotland.

Discography Albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Details Peak chart positionsCertifications UK AUS NZ US This Is Our Art Released: 1988 Format: LP, CD, cassette Label: Sire 60 — — — Lovegod Released: 1990 Format: LP, CD, cassette Label: Big Life/Polygram 7 54 27 88 BPI: Silver Hotwired Released: 1992 Format: LP, CD, cassette Label: Big Life/Mercury 74 177 — 97 Hydrophonic Released: 1994 Format: 2×LP, CD, cassette Label: Raw TV/Mercury — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilations Hang Ten! (1987), Sire – compiles the tracks from the singles "Hang-Ten!", "Whole Wide World" and "Head Gone Astray" 20 Golden Greats (2012)

Extended plays The Sun Is in the Sky (1986) Hang Ten! (1986)

Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album UK UK Indie AUS AUT BEL(FL) FRA IRE NLD NZ US "Whole Wide World" 1986 — 2 — — — — — — — — Hang-Ten! "Hang-Ten" — 2 — — — — — — — — "Head Gone Astray" 1987 82 3 — — — — — — — — "Can't Take No More" 65 1 — — — — — — — — This Is Our Art "Soft as Your Face" 66 2 — — — — — — — — "The Majestic Head" 1988 77 4 — — — — — — — — "Kingdom Chairs" 82 — — — — — — — — — "Backwards Dog" 1989 — 5 — — — — — — — — Lovegod "Crotch Deep Trash" — 6 — — — — — — — — "Mother Universe" 1990 94 4 — — — — — — — — "I'm Free" 5 2 9 26 38 33 15 52 6 79 "Mother Universe" (remixed version) 26 — 67 — — — — — 45 — "Electric Blues" 1991 — — — — — — — — — — "Divine Thing" 1992 53 — 133 — — — — — — 35 Hotwired "Pleasure" 77 — — — — — — — — 69 "One Way Street" 1994 — — — — — — — — — — Hydrophonic "Janice Long Session 01.09.86" 2022 — — — — — — — — — — rowspan="5" "John Peel Session 06.02.87" — — — — — — — — — — "Janice Long Session 30.08.87" 2023 — — — — — — — — — — "John Peel Session 24.02.86" — — — — — — — — — — "Love Is Love" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

External links The Soup Dragons at the BBC Soup Dragons interview on set of Mother Universe video, Oct 1990 by Chris Hunt trouserpress entry HiFi Sean Page