The Vaselines
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| The Vaselines | |
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 The Vaselines in July 2008
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, indie pop |
| Years active | 1986–1990, 2008- |
| Label(s) | K Records, 53rd & 3rd, Rough Trade, Sub Pop |
| Members | |
| Eugene Kelly Frances McKee James Seenan Charlie Kelly |
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The Vaselines are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1986, the band was originally made up of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and drums respectively from the band Secession.[1] McKee had formerly been a member of a band named The Pretty Flowers with Duglas T. Stewart, Norman Blake and Sean Dickson. Eugene had formerly played in The Famous Monsters.
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain once described Kelly and McKee as his "most favorite songwriters in the whole world", and even named his daughter Frances Bean Cobain after McKee.[2][3]
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[edit] History
The band formed in 1986, and released two short EPs, Son of a Gun, which featured a cover of Divine's "You Think You're a Man" on its B-side, and Dying for It, which featured the songs "Molly's Lips" and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," both of which Nirvana would later cover. In 1989 they released their only album, Dum-Dum, on 53rd and 3rd Records. The band broke up shortly after its release. They briefly reformed in 1990 to open for Nirvana when they played in Edinburgh.
Though they were not widely known outside of Scotland during their short career, their association with Nirvana brought exposure to the band. With their songs "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" covered on Nirvana's album Incesticide and "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" covered on MTV Unplugged in New York, the band gained a new audience. At the 1991 Reading Festival, Kelly joined Nirvana on stage for a performance of "Molly's Lips."[1] In 1992, Sub Pop released The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, a compilation that contained The Vaselines' entire body of work.
Kelly went on to found the band Captain America (later renamed Eugenius after legal threats from Marvel Comics), supporting Nirvana on their U.K. tour.[1] He currently performs solo and released a solo album Man Alive in 2004. McKee founded the band Suckle along with Seenan and released her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006.
[edit] Reformation
In the summer of 2006, McKee and Kelly took to the stage together for the first time since 1990 to perform a set of Vaselines songs, as part of a joint tour to promote their individual solo albums.
The Vaselines reformed (minus the old rhythm section) on the April 24, 2008 for a charity show for the Malawi Orphan Support group at Glasgow's MONO venue. Invitation was by word-of-mouth with no press announcements and the band played to a packed, enthusiastic audience.
The Vaselines performed on May 16, 2008 at Scotland's Tigerfest.[4][5] Members of Belle and Sebastian supported their live set. The band then played their first-ever U.S. performance at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ on July 9. The band also performed at Sub Pop Records' 20th Anniversary SP20 music festival on July 12 at Marymoor Park just outside Seattle WA.
On March 27, 2009, they played their first London date in 20 years at the London Forum.
On May 5, Sub Pop released Enter the Vaselines.[6] A deluxe-edition reissue of the 1992 Sub Pop release, it includes remastered versions of the band’s two EPs (Son of a Gun and Dying for It), and their sole album (Dum-Dum), as well as demos and live recordings from 1986 and 1988.[7][8] The band toured the U.S. in May of 2009, playing six dates, starting in Los Angeles on May 10, then heading up the west coast to San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Dates for Chicago, IL and Brooklyn, NY would end the tour on May 18.[9] The band is scheduled to finish their May tour at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona.[10]
The Vaselines are set to play at the Latitude festival in Suffolk, UK on the 19th of July, 2009.
[edit] Members
- Eugene Kelly - vocals, guitar
- Frances McKee - vocals, guitar
- James Seenan - bass
- Charlie Kelly - drum
[edit] Discography
| Year | Title | Label | UK Indie Chart[11] |
| 1987 | Son of a Gun (EP) | 53rd & 3rd | 26 |
| 1988 | Dying for It (EP) | 53rd & 3rd | 11 |
| 1990 | Dum-Dum | 53rd & 3rd | |
| 1991 | The Vaselines / Beat Happening - Recorded Live In London, England 1988 | K Records | |
| 1992 | The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History | Sub Pop | |
| 1992[1] | All the Stuff and More... | Avalanche | |
| 2009 | Enter the Vaselines | Sub Pop |
[edit] Sources
- Ankeny, Jason. "The Vaselines". Allmusic. Retrieved May 2, 2004.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 0-86241-913-1.
- ^ Albertson, Jeff (2008) ""You Think You're A Man, You Are Only A Boy"", Seattle Times
- ^ Sandford, Christopher (2004) Kurt Cobain, Carroll & Graf, ISBN 9780786713691, p.242
- ^ NME: The Vaselines set to reform - NME, May 07, 2008. Retrieved on June 28, 2008
- ^ Exclaim! News: The Vaselines Reform
- ^ Enter The Vaselines Deluxe Reissue, New Tour Dates
- ^ Sub Pop! - The Vaselines Bio
- ^ Granzin, Amy (05 May 2009). "Enter the Vaselines". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12989-enter-the-vaselines/. Retrieved on 2009-05-05.
- ^ Enter The Vaselines Deluxe Reissue, New Tour Dates
- ^ Primavera Sound 2009 line-up
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
[edit] External links
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