Feeling Blue?
YES, ALRIGHT. I know what you're thinking. The Bluetones: whiney, untalented middle-class chancers who should have been chucked away sometime at the end of the last century. Of course, anyone who witnessed their explosive performance at a packed and sweaty Zodiac last June, or one of their festival appearances over the summer, will know that the Bluetones deserve much more than this. The fact that they have actually survived, more than survived, where so many of their contemporaries fell apart has surprised many. Not least the band themselves, who admit to having found it much harder in the current dance-orientated climate. As they themselves put it, "there's a lot of shit music around".
They weren't helped by nightmare experiences with record labels, going from starlets on their own label to mere cogs in the corporate machine, drowning in 'the business shit we don't understand'. What has been made clear, however, is that they're not a priority to their label, and that there's little they can do about it. They've been pushed back into the margins, reflected by their bizarre appearance at Radio 1's Big Day Out where they felt they were gatecrashing someone else's party.
As well as the album, they also managed to sneak child abuse into the charts with the semi-autobiographical Keep the Home Fires Burning. Having experienced such treatment themselves, the public's distasteful reaction in the aftermath of Sarah Payne left a bad taste in the mouth. Not that they're in any way apathetic, just disillusioned by a post-Diana society which now has to be seen to mourn openly. There are so many fakers, so many sycophants - and so many of them attach themselves to music.
Still, there's not too much to be pessimistic about. The past gives ample encouragement, for musical history has been a whole series of peaks and troughs. By looking to the past on their latest tour, the Bluetones hope to ride the wave back to mainstream success. After seeing all the kids complaining on their website, the Bluetones decided to put a poll on-line to let the fans choose the set. Although the band hoped they'd be playing rare tracks, the voters compiled a greatest hits set. So, Saturday night should be a treat, if not for the hardcore fans then at least for everyone else.
And if you're still not convinced, there's always the prospect of seeing the French deconstructionalists Phoenix. They've worked with Air and Daft Punk, but don't let this fool you. Despite joining Les Rhythmes Digitales' mission to bring 80s pop back to the charts, they've left his novelty blueprint far behind, trying not merely to recreate the sound, but to cram the whole era into their work, from Prince to Van Halen. The Bluetones, incidentally, think they're amazing. In the office we reckon they sound like Simply Red. Should be interesting if nothing else...
12th Oct 2000