Belle and Sebastian, a place for David to further explore the spoken-word style he had developed in the songs "A Century of Elvis" and "A Spaceboy Dream". The first Looper release was on Subpop in 1998, a 7" vinyl containing two spoken word songs, "Impossible Things" and "Spaceboy Dream #3". To date, David has recorded four albums with Looper – Up A Tree (Subpop, 1999), The Geometrid (Subpop, 2000), The Snare (Mute, 2002) and Offgrid:Offline (Mute, 2015) – and a series of three EPs, all of which mixed the original spoken-word style with more conventional pop songs and instrumentals. Mute released the entire back catalogue of Looper's recordings as a five CD boxset in 2015, entitled These Things. Novels Nalda Said Nalda Said was David's first published novel. The story concerns the nameless son of a jewel thief, brought up by his aunt Nalda, who convinces the boy that he carries one of his father's hidden jewels inside his stomach. The fantasy-like narrative details his subsequent terror of and interaction with society, who he fears will discover his secret and steal his jewel. The book was originally published in the UK by IMP Fiction in 1999, and has since been translated into ten languages. It was described by Dana Kennedy of the New York Times as "At once riveting and sad...uncomfortably true to life". The Guardian added "Nalda Said is a stunning insight into reclusion, a sideways glance at conservatism and an allegory of the way the business world treats art...It's a fabulous novel." The Peacock Manifesto The Peacock Manifesto was originally published by IMP Fiction in 2001. It tells the story of Peacock Johnson and his journey across America. The character Peacock Johnson also appeared in Ian Rankin's novel A Question of Blood, after David won an auction for a fan to have a character named after themselves, with David entering under the 'Peacock Johnson' pseudonym. Peacock Johnson returned in 2018 in David's novel Peacock's Alibi in which the protagonist is attempting to escape charges for several crimes he has not committed. References External links Living people Scottish bass guitarists Belle and Sebastian members Scottish electronic musicians British indie pop musicians 1969 births Scottish songwriters Scottish writers People from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire