The Bluetones – in session for Steve Lamacq – BBC Radio 1 – July 5, 1995 – BBC Radio 1 –
The Bluetones in session to start the week. In session for Steve Lamacq at BBC Radio 1, recorded live on July 5, 1995.
A band so synonymous with the 90s, yet became strangely underrated and overlooked once Britpop began to fade by the end of the decade. It’s baffling, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that The Bluetones are a very good and well regarded band by the Press and a dedicated fan base. They also scored a huge success early on, but it wasn’t duplicated with subsequent follow-up releases.
After the release of two singles on Fierce Panda Records, the band signed to A&M Records and released Expecting to Fly on their own sublabel Superior Quality Recordings. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, and featured the singles “Bluetonic” and “Slight Return”, with the latter climbing to #2 on the UK charts. Following the touring and promotional duties for Expecting to Fly, the band released stand-alone single “Marblehead Johnson” to bridge the gap between albums.
The second Bluetones album, Return to the Last Chance Saloon, was released in 1998. While failing to repeat the commercial success of their debut, it reached the top 10 in the UK album charts and spawned the hit singles “Solomon Bites the Worm” and “If…”.
In 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”.
After a best-of album in 2002, the band released their fourth studio album Luxembourg to mixed reviews in 2003.
A three-album deal was signed in late 2005 with the Cooking Vinyl record label, promptly followed by the limited release of E.P. Serenity Now and a full UK tour.
In early 2006, Universal issued a comprehensive box set of all The Bluetones singles and B-sides released between 1995 and 2003, A Rough Outline.
A single, entitled “My Neighbour’s House”, was released in the UK on 18 September 2006. The single was taken from their self-titled album, which was released on 9 October that year. It failed to chart in the 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. Although no reason was cited, on 1 October 2006, it was announced that a planned nine-date tour of North America and Australia had been scrapped. However, on 1 November 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 Bluetones decided to call it a day in 2011 with a farewell tour. Mark continued to record and tour solo material. The band reformed for an anniversary tour in 2015/6 and also re-released two demos (including Slight Return) on a limited 7″ vinyl for the occasion.
For a reminder of their earlier successes, here’s the Steve Lamacq session for BBC Radio 1 on July 5, 1995.
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