The Vaselines
The Vaselines |
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The Vaselines were a indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland. Formed in 1986, the band was originally made up of only Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and drums respectively from the band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".
History
The band formed in 1986, and released two short EPs, Son of a Gun, which featured a reworking 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 and released her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006.
In summer 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 on the 24th of April 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 Vaselines played to a packed, enthusiastic audience. On May 7th, 2008, it was announced in NME and Exclaim! that the Vaselines would perform on May 16th at Scotland's Tigerfest.[2][3] The band have stated that members of Belle and Sebastian will support their live set. The band will also perform at Sub Pop Records' 20th Anniversary SP20 music festival on July 12 at Marymoor Park just outside Seattle WA, which will mark the first Vaselines live performance in the US.
Members
- Eugene Kelly - vocals, guitar
- Frances McKee - vocals, guitar
- James Seenan - bass
- Charlie Kelly - drum
Discography
| Year | Title | Label | UK Indie Chart[4] |
| 1987 | Son of a Gun | 53rd & 3rd | 26 |
| 1988 | Dying for It | 53rd & 3rd | 11 |
| 1990 | Dum-Dum | 53rd & 3rd | |
| 1991 | The Vaselines / Beat Happening - Recorded Live In London, England 1988 | K Records | |
| 1992[1] | All the Stuff and More... | Avalanche | |
| 1992 | The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History | Sub Pop |
References
- Ankeny, Jason. "The Vaselines". All Music Guide. Retrieved May 2, 2004.
- ^ a b c d Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 0-86241-913-1.
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/vaselines/36456/ NME: The Vaselines set to reform
- ^ http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=121&csid2=844&fid1=31268/ Exclaim! News: The Vaselines Reform
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.