The Soup Dragons

Before Scotland's Soup Dragons hit the mainstream with their reggae-infused cover of the Rolling Stones' I'm Free, the Glasgow four-piece were poised to carry the torch first lit by the Buzzcocks and the Adverts.

Formed in the mid-'80s around singer/guitarist - and eventual programmer - Sean Dickson, the band included guitarist Jim McCulloch, bassist Sushil Dade, and drummer Ross Sinclair.

By 1990, the previously underground sounds of UK rave culture began to infiltrate and inform the alternative rock scene, resulting in the birth of the Madchester sound, a drugged-out fusion of acid house and rock that the Soup Dragons were more than willing to get on board with.

By 1994, Dickson was the sole remaining member, relying on a bizarre array of session musicians from Bootsy Collins to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to help complete the funk, soul, rock, and hip-hop hybrid Hydrophonic.The record received mixed reviews, prompting Dickson to form a new group called High Fidelity.