White Biography

'From the mid eighties until their eventual break up at the end of 1992, WHITE gave us some of the eras most powerful, exciting, poignant and criminally under appreciated music. And now, over 20 years later, they're back!' 

'Formed in Glasgow in the summer of '85 from splinters of two disparate groups (hard rocking power trio M.O.T and jangly teen wannabes the Molotov Cocktails), WHITE blazed a trail for those who refused to dress like refugees from a Nicholas Ray film. A band out of and ahead of their time.  Lyrically and musically, they took their many influences, welded, deconstructed and cooked up a gumbo that drew the attention of the public as well as admiring and envious glances from a number of their more heralded contemporaries.

Many musicians served, some came and went, but at the core of the band there were ever the three mainstays. Up front, stood George Paterson on vocals.  A tousled, troubled, teen troubadour whose propensity for the dionysian pushed him ever closer to the sun. Though still tender and introspective when the muse sated him, the battle was constant. Gordon Moir, a genuine, bonafide Guitar Hero with an intricate, cultured and generous style which occasionally hinted at his personal darker edge. Developed an uncanny understanding with Paterson, becoming the main song writing axis of the band. The third of the main players was Billy Donaldson, a pillar of solidity with a unique bass sound that was always worth waiting for. The pumping blood to the heart of the machine, the regulator and with Moir, the muscle of the unit. Not for this band the easy buck of the coffee house, the patronage of a compliant media or connections of the art school, WHITE found themselves taking on all comers in some of the least salubrious venues the UK had to offer.  But when the final bell rang, they usually took the decision and left with a number of new admirers.

A move to London towards the end of the Eighties saw the band evolve and document the turbulent times of riots and revolution.  Critics from publications such as Time Out as well as convinced promoters and radio hosts believed that WHITE's time was coming. But it wasn't to be. By the end of 1991, Donaldson had called it a day and moved on.  Moir and Paterson battled on gamely but with the former finding himself in great demand as a session musician, the latter drifted to Europe and obscurity. Until now, that is...

2013 sees Donaldson, Moir and Paterson reunited after over 20 years with a burning sense of purpose, carrying a passion and hunger that is rare among bands half their age. They have songs to sing and a remarkable story to tell.

They could have been contenders?  Hell, WHITE deserve more than that platitude.  A band who could lift you, break you, make you laugh and make you cry.  They could scare you and surprise you, all within the same show.  They went for it, night after night and to them, it didn't matter if it was the Barrowland or a little bar at the end of your road. Watch Little Town at the PowerHaus and tell me you don't agree.

The best band you never heard?  Time for a reappraisal.'