One of Scotland’s most famous musical acts is to be the focus of a new feature-length Hollywood documentary.
Nearly fifty years on from a breakthrough single that launched them to international fame, The Average White Band will now have a documentary made about them profiling their legacy and influence on the world, with big names set to work on the project.
Commemorating five decades since ‘Pick Up the Pieces’ was released, the film is due to be released in 2025 coinciding with the when the single and their album both reached Number 1 on the Billboard charts in 1975.
Sky, Warner Music Entertainment, and Screen Scotland will collaborate to make the documentary about the Scottish band.
It is currently going under the working title of 'Average White Band: Soul Searching' and will be directed by Anthony Baxter. Others involved in the project included four-time Oscar-nominated Kartemquin Films, Bulletproof producer Vertigo Films, and former Channel 4 entertainment boss Stuart Cosgrove.
Mr Baxter said: “I could not be more excited to be embarking on this film. When the Average White Band set out to make amazing music together down the road from me, little did they know they would soon be signed to Atlantic Records and recording in the same Miami studio as Aretha Franklin. This film has AWB’s incredible passion for music at its very heart."
Jack Oliver, Sky’s co-production boss, added: “Sky Arts audiences love great music docs with a layered story, so the opportunity to board this feature doc on the funkadelic Average White Band was simply too good to be true,”
“Director Anthony Baxter has an ambitious vision for the piece and assembled great co-production partners to the project.”
READ MORE:
Legendary band Average White Band to tour Scotland 'for one last time'
Full Queens Park Arena Summer Sessions programme announced
Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Ben E. King and a young Barack Obama were amongst the group’s early admirers, and Average White Band’s legendary appearances on Soul Train were followed by a string of R&B hits and Grammy nominations. And they continue to have an enduring influence on hip hop, as one of the most sampled bands in music history.
The legendary funk and soul band from Dundee performed their last ever gigs in Scotland in May this year with four dates in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Perth.
Founding members Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre still fronted the band in the formidable line-up - which included some of America’s finest soul musicians and soloists.
The director of the project, Anthony Baxter, is known for his work on another documentary titled Eye of the Storm, which follows pioneering landscape artist James Morrison as he struggles with completing one last work of art as his sight deteriorates.
The Eye of the Storm earned him a BAFTA Scotland nomination, while his 2011 feature, You’ve Been Trumped about Donald Trump, won awards at the Sheffield, Hamptons, Denver and Sedona International Film Festivals.
Artistic Director at Kartemquin Films, Stacey Robinson said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Director, Anthony Baxter on this film. Average White Band isn’t just a band, it’s a testament to the cultural crossroads where soul, funk, and rhythm resonate across generations, continents, and race.”
Mark Thomas, Screen Scotland, added: “It’s fantastic to be able to support Anthony Baxter’s latest feature documentary about the seminal Scottish Average White Band, whose enduring legacy and international reach exemplify the rich creative energy of Scotland. Working with Sky, Altitude and Warner Brothers, Anthony has gathered a fantastic team of partners with whom we are excited to join.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel