Linden

Linden is the working name for Scottish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe McAlinden. Hailing from Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, McAlinden began playing music in his teens and was a member of such formative '80s guitar pop bands as the Boy Hairdressers and the Groovy Little Numbers, which featured future <a href="spotify:artist:2Sp19cOHSqAUlE64hekARW">Teenage Fanclub</a> founders <a href="spotify:artist:6nC2QUWQf9EldmFq3iQwoL">Norman Blake</a> and Gerard Love, respectively. In the '90s, McAlinden briefly joined the seminal Scottish pop band <a href="spotify:artist:7dl9xeD8jLQYMQyCfpK8TE">the BMX Bandits</a> before forming the group <a href="spotify:artist:3oJKDT5tMZ47zicaYapx7t">Superstar</a>. After releasing several acclaimed albums on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Creation+Records%22">Creation Records</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3oJKDT5tMZ47zicaYapx7t">Superstar</a> broke up in 2000 and McAlinden took a few years off from recording his own music. In 2011, McAlinden was signed to music impresario James Endeacott and former <a href="spotify:artist:2u7xZP39dtED9EuRX9MUwu">Orange Juice</a> frontman <a href="spotify:artist:5Qlt3zQ63Z99mNhuun0JAT">Edwyn Collin</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22AED+Records%22">AED Records</a>. In 2012, working under the name Linden, he released his full-length debut album, Bleached Highlights. His second solo effort Rest and Be Thankful arrived in June 2015. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi