The Bluetones
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| The Bluetones | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Hounslow, London, England | |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Britpop Indie rock |
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| Years active | 1994–present | |
| Label(s) | Fierce Panda Records Superior Quality Records Cooking Vinyl |
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| Website | www.bluetones.info | |
| Members | ||
| Mark Morriss Adam Devlin Scott Morriss Eds Chesters |
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| Former members | ||
| Richard Payne | ||
The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1994. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2001.
The band's biggest hit, "Slight Return", was released in 1995 and re-released the following year. They achieved eight Top 20 UK chart placings in total and retain a loyal fanbase.
The band's commercial success waned after the fall of the Britpop movement, yet they have continued to tour and release new records and are therefore often labelled as "Britpop survivors".
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[edit] History
After the release of two singles on Fierce Panda Records, they released Expecting to Fly on the Superior Quality Recordings label. The album (one of only a few debut albums to enter the charts at number one) featured the singles "Bluetonic" and "Slight Return", with the latter being beaten to number one by one-hit-wonders Babylon Zoo's "Spaceman". Following the touring and promotional duties for Expecting to Fly, the band released a standalone single, "Marblehead Johnson", as a bridge gap between albums.
The second album, Return To The Last Chance Saloon, was released in 1998 and possessed a decidedly Mexican flavour. While failing to generate the commercial success of their debut, it did spawn hits in the form of "Solomon Bites The Worm" and "If..." and remains a favourite amongst fans.
Whilst many of their mid-'90s peers had disbanded by 2000, The Bluetones released their third album, Science & Nature, which again reached the Top 10 and featured the hit singles "Keep The Home Fires Burning" and "Autophilia". Due to a change in musical climate and lack of press (most notably from the NME) the album failed to generate the commercial success of the previous efforts.
After releasing a best-of album in 2002, the band followed up with Luxembourg, somewhat stylistically spikier and less jangly than previous efforts and highly influenced by the bands of the day, such as The Strokes. The album received little attention in the music press and failed to produce any hit singles. After signing a three-album deal with the Cooking Vinyl record label in late 2005, a comprehensive boxset of all singles and B-sides, A Rough Outline, was issued in early 2006 by Universal.
A new single, entitled "My Neighbour's House", was released in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2006. The single is taken from their self-titled album, which was released on October 9, 2006. Despite largely positive reviews for the album, it failed to chart in the Top 75 UK Albums Chart after its first week on sale. The album was also released in the United States, the first such occurrence since their debut. On October 1, 2006, it was announced that a planned nine-date tour of North America and Australia had been scrapped.[1] No reason has yet been given.
On November 1, 2006, the band began a month-long tour of Europe in support of their new release, including two sold-out nights at Glasgow's King Tuts.
The band have built a strong live following over the years, and remain upbeat about their music and their career. In a December 2006 interview with stv music, Mark Morriss said of the Cooking Vinyl deal that it felt like "the start of a new era" for the band, which was partly the reason behind self-titling the album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
 1. Expecting to Fly - 30 May 1996 - #1 (UK) |
 2. Return To The Last Chance Saloon - 9 March 1998 - #11 (UK) |
 3. Science & Nature - 12 April 2000 - #7 (UK) |
 4. Luxembourg - 12 May 2003 - #49 (UK) |
 5. The Bluetones - October 9, 2006 - #100 (UK) |
[edit] EPs
 2. Mudslide - October 30, 2000 |
 3. Serenity Now - November 14, 2005 (limited release) |
[edit] Compilations
 1. Are You Blue? - May 2000 (limited edition promotional CD) |
 2. The Singles - 23 April 2002 - #14 (UK) |
 3. A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-Sides 95 - 03 - 7 March 2006 - #156 (UK) |
[edit] Live
 1. BBC Radio Sessions - February 2007 - #164 (UK) |
[edit] Singles
All chart positions are for the UK:
- 1995 - "Slight Return / The Fountainhead" - limited edition 7"
[edit] From A Bluetones Companion...
- 1995 - "Are You Blue or Are You Blind?" - #31
[edit] From Expecting to Fly...
- 1996 - "Bluetonic" - #19
- 1996 - "Cut Some Rug / Castle Rock" - #7
- 1996 - "Slight Return" (re-issue) - #2
[edit] Non-album single...
- 1996 - "Marblehead Johnson" - #7
[edit] From Return to the Last Chance Saloon...
- 1998 - "Solomon Bites the Worm" - #10
- 1998 - "If..." - #13
- 1998 - "Sleazy Bed Track" - #35
- 1998 - "4-Day Weekend" - did not chart (mail-order-only release)
[edit] From Science & Nature...
- 2000 - "Keep the Home Fires Burning" - #13
- 2000 - "Autophilia (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Car)" - #18
[edit] From The Singles...
- 2002 - "After Hours" - #26
[edit] From Luxembourg...
- 2003 - "Fast Boy/Liquid Lips" - #25
- 2003 - "Never Going Nowhere" - #40
[edit] From The Bluetones...
- 2006 - "My Neighbour's House" - #68
- 2006 - "Head On A Spike" - #135
- 2007 - "Surrendered" - did not chart
[edit] Trivia
- Members of the band have made cameo appearances in the British comedy shows Spaced, Little Britain and the Adam and Joe Show.
- The band was formerly named "The Bottlegarden".[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- www.bluetones.info The Bluetones' official website
- www.myspace.com/thebluetones The Bluetones' official MySpace
- www.bluetones.org.uk A Bluetones fan page
- www.bluetonic.co.uk A fans website with downloads
- The Bluetones at All Music Guide
| The Bluetones |
| Mark Morriss - Adam Devlin - Scott Morriss - Eds Chesters - Richard Payne |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: Expecting to Fly - Return To The Last Chance Saloon - Science & Nature - Luxembourg - The Bluetones |
| Singles: Slight Return/The Fountainhead - Are You Blue or Are You Blind? - Bluetonic - Cut Some Rug/Castle Rock - Slight Return - Marblehead Johnson - Solomon Bites the Worm - If... - Sleazy Bed Track - 4-Day Weekend - Keep the Home Fires Burning - Autophilia - After Hours - Fast Boy/Liquid Lips - Never Going Nowhere - My Neighbour's House - Head On A Spike |
| EPs: A Bluetones Companion - Mudslide - Serenity Now |
| Compilations: Are You Blue? - The Singles - A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-sides 95 - 03 |
| Live: BBC Radio Sessions |
