Talk:Del Amitri

Untitled
Wow! I was surprised to find such a complete history of Del Amitri in here already. They are my favorite band and I was ready to publish some basic info just so they would be listed. I never expected to find the complete history (and correct info of that matter) of the band listed already. Good job to the author. I like how you added the UDS listing at the end *wink*

--acme401 15:57, Sep 29, 2004 (UTC)

On the name
I was unaware of the theory that the band's name is Greek. The story I heard was that "Del Amitri" is old Scottish or Gaelic for "Among Friends". Anyone else heard this? Robert 07:14, 17 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Never heard that one! The official website used to have a list of incorrect theories, but that's not around any more. Angmering 10:40, 7 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Andy Alston is my lecturer at Uni. I could ask him what the name means. Sefiros 18:19, 17 February 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually mean anything, but by all means ask. :-) (You may have to retreat to a safe distance, mind...) While you're at it, could you ask him if he knows when Justin's solo album is coming out? Angmering 21:33, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
 * the name is short for Derek Amitri 82.9.56.21 (talk) 15:50, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

According to Justin's myspace page he has just agreed a deal with a US record company to release the album, no date confirmed yet though.


 * I note that my copy of the Guinness British Hit Singles & Albums book (18th Edition 2005) repeats the "name is Greek for 'from the womb'" comment, I don't know if it appears in other editions. From what I can see 'del' is Spanish & Italian for 'of' & 'amitri' doesn't mean anything in any language, as far as I know. Gwladys24 (talk) 16:15, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

The name was completely invented, collaboratively by Currie, Bentley and Scobbie, at JCS. The aim was a name that was meaningless but sounded vaguely meaningful. It was as I recall partly inspired by the example of Aztec Camera, but used non-English words with the implication that it is some European language's phrase for "the X". A three-word version of the name, including the final made up adjective Rialzo, was also considered, but rejected before the first public performance, at Bearsden Burgh Hall. 81.86.104.165 (talk) 09:39, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * But how do we know that this explanation is itself not completely invented? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:29, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
 * You don't, and I can't prove it, just state it with confidence, having been there. What you can be sure of is that these are not words in any real language, but vaguely sound like they might be. You can also see the way the name extrapolated from Aztec Camera, which comprised real words (albeit ones borrowed from other languages originally) to make a meaninglesss phrase. You can also note Justin's facetious habit of creating incompatible and false stories to liven up interviews with the mainstream media. Wikipedia may be mainstream, but entries are contributed voluntarily, and don't need to be livened up for fun. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.83.93.22 (talk) 18:22, 15 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks, you may be right, but as you know "having been there" is not WP:RS. "Del" is certainly a word, for example is Spanish. It's quite possible that "Amitri" exists in some language. Currie's "facetious habit of creating incompatible and false stories" does ring a few bells though. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:58, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

shortest song?
I seem to remember hearing that 'roll to me' was the shortest song ever to chart (or reach the top 10, maybe?); is this a fact, and should it be mentioned? --147.134.45.215 13:09, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

It is not the shortest song to chart. Adam Faith's "What do you want?" (1959) is 1:59, and it reached #1 on the British charts.--Nufftin 14:39, 21 June 2007 (UTC)


 * At 2:12 it's not that short - even Everyday (Buddy Holly song), at 2:05, is shorter. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:15, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

US Chart Position
I have clear memories of hearing "Not Where It's At" on the radio in the US (SF bay area), so it seems to me that it must have charted in the US. Was that just a quirk of my local radio station? I tried searching the Billboard website and got no results for that particular song (maybe that's my answer...) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.130.144.93 (talk) 05:39, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

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Alternative Rock?
With reference to the sentance found in 'Reunion tours (2014, 2018)' section...

"On 18 August 2013, during an interview with Terry Wogan on his BBC Radio 2 programme, Currie hinted at a Del Amitri reunion".

...from a British perspective Del Amitri were always a bit more Radio 2 than 6 Music (even though Del Amitri have been played on the '6 Music Live Hour', but people who regularly listen to these stations in 2020 will get the idea), so I guess this is more an American categorisation especially if according to the 'Alternative rock' article "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop music".

In the UK (at least in England) Del Amitri have never been seen as that trendy, more (original version of) Q Magazine than the NME or Select...so maybe the categorisation needs to be changed to that of 'Alternative rock/pop rock' as per the article for Texas (band) or Deacon Blue (with a few other genres listed for the latter as well). Even better would be an article about all those Scottish bands that came up in the late 1980s/early 90s as they have so many similarities that I would say they are a genre in their own right...though I do not know what this category would be called, though I guess it would have to be linked to British folk rock/Folk rock/Heartland rock/Celtic rock at some point. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.154.172.230 (talk) 14:26, 14 November 2020 (UTC)
 * P.S. the 'power pop' genre might be a better place to place them, though as 'power pop' seems to be more an Amercian craze of the 70s it not something I know too much about. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.154.172.230 (talk) 14:37, 14 November 2020 (UTC)