The Bluetones
An odd conundrum, The Bluetones have never been easy ones to hold down to a description. Sixties-guitar influenced pop? Cheeky, young chappies with knowledge on how to pen a tune or two? Well, yes, though there’s more than that...
In 1995, it was Mark Morriss – soon to be the band’s frontman and lyricist – that had spent two years in his native town of Hounslow in the UK messing about, looking for a musical-project that really appealed to him. However, when coupled with his brother, Scott, on bass, and Adam Devlin on guitar and Eds Chester on drums, it seemed that the band-unit he was looking for had assembled.
They spent twelve months sharing a house with the momentarily successful, yet sadly forgettable, Dodgy, during which they spent much of their time rehearsing in a garage. After a few gigs, the potential of their optimistic and hugely melodic tracks was apparent to key A&R-figures, with A&M eventually signing the band, under the condition that all of their future work would be released within the group’s own associated label-imprint – Superior Quality Recordings.
A limited-edition EP unleashed first on Fierce Panda records, though – containing the Radio One ‘Evening Session’ show favourite of the time, ‘No. 11’ (soon to be re-titled ‘Bluetonic’ and re-released, to become the band’s second single – and debut top-20 hit) – whetting music-audience’s appetites. The following single for their major-label, ‘Are You Blue Or Are You Blind’, however, reached number 31 in the UK charts. Combine this over-the-counter success with sell-out live-shows and hugely triumphant festival-appearances and you’ll see why the four-piece soon became one of the hottest tickets in the country.
However, what was to happen next was far more indicative of the band’s impact on radio-stations in Britain and general nationwide coverage. The anthemic ‘Slight Return’, with its memorable chorus and sweet innocence, hit number two in the charts, prompting their debut LP ‘Expecting To Fly’ into the album-charts at number one in its first week of release. It was a pair of top-ten singles later – ‘Cut Some Rug’ and ‘Marblehead Johnson’, respectively – and a Brit-Award nomination that acted as the pre-cursor incentives to get the band working on their second-LP.
Several traumas, such as the pressure to live up to the first wave of success they had already experienced, and the matter of their master-tapes missing for a week, didn’t help the recording of ‘Return To The Last Chance Saloon’, but – with a preceding top-ten hit ‘Solomon Bites The Worm’ confirming the band’s popularity in 1998, the album soon went gold following its placement in shop-shelves around Britain. Further singles of merit – arguably, their finest to date, ‘If...’, ‘Sleazy Bed Track’ and the net-only release ‘4 Day Weekend’ – aided their international popularity and opportunities to pack out main stages at major festivals.
‘Science & Nature’ surfaced in 2000, the band’s third LP – and was their best, according to the critics. Sadly, though, despite a healthy chart-performance, its staying-power was hardly as powerful as once before, and The Bluetones no longer seemed ‘cool’ by the press. Still, their shows kept selling out, and they continued to make regular appearances on ‘Top Of The Pops’... But it was just the turning-point in a career of such commercial highs up ‘til this point.
The issuing of ‘The Singles’ – their greatest-hits retrospective – in 2002, seems a wise move, to let everyone just remember what they thought they had forgotten, and for music-fans to cherish a band that’s always been there – hard-working, strong and focussed.
What happens next is a mystery, though there will always be so many people that remember The Bluetones’ charming importance – and the quality that their music has always conveyed
OFFICIAL SITE: It\'s a simple affair, yes, but - because of this - is easy-to-use and seems to be regularly updated. Woo-hoo!
WITH A LITTLE CHARM: With extensive links, details on the band\'s influences and so much more, this could be the best fansite.
BLUETONIC.CO.UK: With videos and sounds to download, plus a rather sexy background-colour, this site is quite impressive...
ARE YOU BLUE?: Well, are you?.. Find out by clicking to this and viewing yet another simple, but decent site.