The Vaselines
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist The Vaselines are a Scottish alternative rock band. Formed in Glasgow in 1986, the band was originally a duo between its songwriters 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.<ref name="Strong">Template:Cite book</ref>
McKee had formerly been a member of a band named the Pretty Flowers with Duglas T. Stewart, Norman Blake, Janice McBride and Sean Dickson. Eugene Kelly had formerly played in the Famous Monsters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The band formed in 1986, initially as a duo backed by a drum machine. Originally intending to create a fanzine, Kelly and McKee decided to form a band instead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stephen Pastel of the Pastels is credited with coming up with their name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After playing their first gigs, they signed to Pastel's 53rd & 3rd label and recorded the Son of a Gun EP with him producing, released in summer 1987.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The EP featured a cover of Divine's "You Think You're a Man" on its B-side.
By late 1987, Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly had joined on drums with James Seenan on bass. With this line-up and with Stephen Pastel producing again, they recorded the Dying for It EP, released in early 1988. It featured the songs "Molly's Lips" and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," both of which American rock band Nirvana would later cover.
In June 1989 they released their first album, Dum-Dum, again on 53rd & 3rd but distributed by Rough Trade.<ref name="Ankeny">Template:Cite web</ref> The band broke up concurrently with its release, due jointly to the dissolution of 53rd & 3rd<ref name="Ankeny"/> and the end of Kelly and McKee's romantic relationship.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They briefly reformed in October 1990 to open for Nirvana when they played in Edinburgh.<ref name="Ankeny"/>
Kelly went on to found the band Captain America (later renamed Eugenius after legal threats from Marvel Comics), supporting Nirvana on their UK tour.<ref name="Strong" /> Following solo performances, Kelly released the album Man Alive in 2004. McKee founded the bands Painkillers in 1994 and Suckle in 1997 before releasing her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006.
Though they were not widely known outside Scotland during their short career, their association with Nirvana brought them exposure, with Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain once describing Kelly and McKee as his "favorite songwriters in the whole world".<ref name="Albertson">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Sandford">Template:Cite book</ref> At the 1991 Reading Festival, Kelly joined Nirvana on stage for a performance of "Molly's Lips".<ref name="Strong" /> In 1992, Sub Pop released The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, a compilation that contained the Vaselines' entire body of work at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After Nirvana covered "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun", both of which were released on their compilation album Incesticide (1992), and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" (retitled "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam") for their live special MTV Unplugged in New York (1994), the Vaselines gained a new audience.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "I've never made any money apart from my Nirvana royalties," Kelly noted. "It was my tiny bit of rock history, but a strange feeling because by then I was striving for recognition with other bands. I still haven't come to terms with it, although it allowed me to go on playing, and get a mortgage without having a job."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Reformation
In 2006, McKee and Kelly reunited for a joint tour to promote both of their solo albums, alternating as headliners and performing Vaselines songs as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Vaselines reformed (minus the old rhythm section) on 24 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.Template:Citation needed
The Vaselines performed on 16 May 2008 at Scotland's Tigerfest.<ref>NME: The Vaselines set to reform – NME, 7 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Members of Belle and Sebastian supported their live set. The band then played their first-ever U.S. performance at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey on 9 July.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band also performed at Sub Pop Records' 20th Anniversary SP20 music festival on 12 July at Marymoor Park, just outside Seattle, Washington.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On 27 March 2009, they played their first London date in 20 years at the London Forum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 5 May, Sub Pop released Enter the Vaselines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 a remixed version of their sole album (Dum-Dum), as well as demos and live recordings from 1986 and 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pitchfork">Template:Cite web</ref> The band then played six tour dates in the U.S., beginning on 10 May in Los Angeles and moving on to San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago and Brooklyn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band finished their May tour at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In July, they performed at the Uncut Arena for the Latitude Festival in Suffolk.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 9 October, the Vaselines made a long-awaited return to Edinburgh to support Mudhoney at HMV Picture House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Vaselines' second studio album, Sex with an X, was released by Sub Pop on 14 September 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band were chosen by festival curators Belle and Sebastian to appear at the second Bowlie Weekender festival in the UK, presented by All Tomorrow's Parties in December of that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2011, the band performed a cover version of the Nirvana song "Lithium" as part of Spin magazine's exclusive album Newermind, a tribute album to Nirvana's Nevermind (1991) performed by different artists.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Vaselines announced their third studio album, V for Vaselines, in June 2014, which was released on 29 September 2014 by Rosary Music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "One Lost Year" from the album was made available for free download from their SoundCloud page.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The single "High Tide Low Tide" followed in August,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> promoted with a music video.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The story of the Vaselines from 1986 to the early 1990s is covered in the 2017 documentary Teenage Superstars, in which both McKee and Kelly feature.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The band features in the 2024 book Postcards from Scotland, detailing the 1980s and 1990s independent music scene in Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Current members
- Eugene Kelly – vocals, guitar, harmonica (1986–1990, 2006, 2008–present)
- Frances McKee – vocals, guitar (1986–1990, 2006, 2008–present)
- Michael McGaughrin – drums (2009–present)
- Graeme Smillie – bass, keyboards (2014–present)
- Carla Easton – keyboards (2017–present)
Former members
- James Seenan – bass (1987–1990)
- Charlie Kelly – drums (1987–1990)
- Stevie Jackson – guitar (2008–2014)
- Bobby Kildea – bass (2008–2014)
- Paul Foley – guitar (2010–2011)
- Gareth Russell – bass (2010–2011)
- Scott Paterson – guitar (2014–2016)
Timeline
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</timeline>
Discography
LPs
| Year | Title | Label | UK Indie Chart<ref name="Lazell">Template:Cite book</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Dum-Dum | 53rd & 3rd | - |
| 2010 | Sex with an X | Sub Pop | - |
| 2014 | V for Vaselines | Rosary Music | - |
EPs
| Year | Title | Label | UK Indie Chart<ref name="Lazell"/> |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Son of a Gun | 53rd & 3rd | 26 |
| 1988 | Dying for It | 11 |
Compilations
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Sources
- Ankeny, Jason. "The Vaselines AllMusic. Retrieved 2 May 2004.