<Tr> <Th> Past members </Th> <Td> Isobel Campbell Stuart David Mick Cooke </Td> </Tr> <P> Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish band formed in Glasgow in January 1996 . Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released 9 albums to date . Much of their work had been released on Jeepster Records, but they are now signed to Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom and Matador Records in the United States . Though often praised by critics, Belle and Sebastian have enjoyed only limited commercial success . </P> <P> Belle and Sebastian were formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1996 by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David . Together, with Stow College music professor Alan Rankine, they recorded some demos, which were picked up by the college's Music Business course that produces and releases one single each year on the college's label, Electric Honey . As the band had a number of songs already and the label was extremely impressed with the demos, Belle and Sebastian were allowed to record a full - length album, which was titled Tigermilk . Murdoch once described the band as a "product of botched capitalism". The band took their name from the television adaptation of the French novel Belle et Sébastien . </P> <P> Tigermilk was recorded in three days and originally only one thousand copies were pressed in vinyl . These original copies now sell for up to £ 400 . The warm reception the album received inspired Murdoch and David to turn the band into a full - time project, recruiting Stevie Jackson (guitar and vocals), Isobel Campbell (cello / vocals), Chris Geddes (keys) and Richard Colburn (drums) to fill out the group . </P>

Where did the name belle and sebastian come from