Francis Macdonald set up the labels Shoeshine Records in 1996 and Spit & Polish in 2000.
As a musician he has worked with Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Alex Chilton, Kim Fowley, Ben Vaughn, Robert Forster, Laura Cantrell, Dan Penn, Chip Taylor, Michael Shelley, Eddie 'Tenpole' Tudor , Ian McCulloch, The Scruffs, Kate Rusby, Radio Sweethearts, John Herald, Kevin Ayers, Emma Curran and Maeve O' Boyle among others.
Francis co-produced "Friday Night Lights", the debut album from Attic Lights on Island Records.
He produced an unreleased album by Jerry Lee Lewis (without meeting him). His songs have featured in the films "Zemanovaload", "Wedding Daze" (aka "The Pleasure Of Your Company"), this Korean mobile phone ad and this US car ad.
Francis has released two solo albums under the project names Nice Man ("Sauchiehall And Hope - A Pop Opera") and Nice Man & The Bad Boys ("The Art Of Hanging Out"). He once wrote a song for The Cheeky Girls. They never got back to him.