“Jonathan David” by Belle & Sebastian

"Jonathan David" came out on Jeepster on 18 June 2001, and it put a new voice out front for Belle & Sebastian: it was the Scottish band's first single sung by guitarist Stevie Jackson, with Stuart Murdoch on keyboard and backing vocals. The title borrows the biblical pair Jonathan and David, and the B-side, "The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner", winks at an Alan Sillitoe story, so the bookishness survives intact.

The writing credit is split seven ways, and the playing credits read like a roll call, from Isobel Campbell's cello and Mick Cooke's trumpet to Sarah Martin's violin and Richard Colburn's drums, with Tony Doogan producing alongside the band. It went further in Canada, reaching number nine, than in Britain, where it stalled at 31, and all three tracks later resurfaced on the Push Barman to Open Old Wounds compilation.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.