How Japanese fans are going crazy for the top Scots indie bands

Organisers of the Connect Festival, at Inveraray Castle in Argyll, have said that more than 150 tickets have been bought by Japanese fans, who will travel halfway around the world for the weekend's entertainment. It is believed these committed fans have been drawn to what will be the inaugural year for the festival by the high number of alternative Scottish bands in the line-up.

Jody Hammersley, of promoters DF Concerts, who are behind Connect, said: "We always thought Connect would attract a diverse international audience, partly because there are so many Scottish bands on the line-up that are revered across the world.

"The likes of Teenage Fanclub, the Trashcan Sinatras, Mogwai and the Jesus & Mary Chain have huge cult followings internationally and in England and the Connect ticket sales reflect this."

She said they also had sales from as far afield as Brazil, Dubai and Australia.

Strange as it may seem, the Japanese love affair with Scottish indie bands is a long one, stretching back to the 1980s.

In Tokyo, there is a promoter who works solely on gigs for Scottish bands, particularly Glasgow ones, and can sell out concerts without radio or television promotion.

Bands who are used to walking the streets of their home cities without being recognised have spoken of hysterical fans fainting during concerts, mobbing them and sending ornate gifts.

Francis Reader, lead singer with the Trashcan Sinatras, said he felt the Japanese recognised a kindred spirit in Scots music: "We are always welcomed with open arms when we're fortunate to tour there. I think there is a streak of melancholy they share with us. They don't see us as strangers, they make a very strong emotional connection through the music."

Emma Pollock, former-singer with the Delgados and solo artist, believes that Japanese fans find something unique in the Scottish music: "There was a time when the likes of the Teenage Fanclub toured there with a massive profile. Scottish bands could pay part of their mortgages off with a single tour. It's harder now, they have to be a bit bigger.

"There is a brutal honesty to Scottish music that you don't get with other UK bands, and I think it resonates with the Japanese fans. Also, with the honesty comes a certain cuteness, especially with the likes of Bis and the BMX Bandits, and that's obviously very appealing to them."

But for Glasgow-based singer songwriter Jo Mango, who is currently playing with Scots folk singer Vashti Bunyan, touring Japan earlier this year, the Japanese love of the "cutting edge" is part of Scottish music's attraction: "They are obsessive about discovering new things. To find something that's come from halfway around the world is a real attraction, and the internet has really fuelled that."

But despite the popularity of Scots bands, as Ms Mango points out, the music has had little impact on local musicians: "It's very strange, but even with all this following for Scots bands you don't really hear their influence on the music."

LAND WHERE BIS ARE BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES

THOUGH little known in Britain, in Japan the Glasgow pop trio Bis achieved success on a par with some of the biggest international US acts. When their first Japanese tour coincided with their first release there in 1997, they experienced Beatle-mania levels of hysteria.

The band's debut album sold 70,000 copies during the first two weeks of sales, the best figures for a non-domestic artist in the history of Sony, their record label - outstripping Mariah Carey and Celine Dion.

When their international sales reached the 200,000 mark, more than half of them were made in Japan.

Casio, the electronics company, made six different special edition Bis "G-shock" and "Baby G" watches which sold 30,000 in Japan.