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 Formed in 1986, the band was originally made up of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and drums respectively from the band Secession.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.
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THE VASELINES TICKETS
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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. 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] 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."
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.
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.
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]
On 19th July 2009, The Vaselines played the Uncut Arena at the
Latitude festival in Suffolk.
On 9th October 2009, The Vaselines are to make a long awaited return to Edinburgh to support
Mudhoney at HMV Picture House.
[11]
Members
- Eugene Kelly - vocals, guitar
- Frances McKee - vocals, guitar
- James Seenan - bass
- Charlie Kelly - drum
Discography
Year
| Title
| Label
| UK Indie Chart
[12]
|
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
| All the Stuff and More...
| Avalanche
|
|
2009
| Enter the Vaselines
| Sub Pop
|
|