The Vaselines

  • Glasgow, Scotland
    hometown
  • Alternative
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  • 1986
    started
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About The Vaselines


Conventional wisdom dictates that the Vaselines might have been relegated to footnote status were it not for Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who regularly cited the little-known Scottish quartet's influence in interviews with the music press. Cobain's gospel-spreading no doubt accelerated their rise to cult sainthood, but truth be told, the Vaselines would have gotten there sooner or later on their own accord. Lewd but naïve and abrasive yet tender, the band's shambling, primitivist squall remains a perfect distillation of pop at its most guileless and euphoric.

The Vaselines were formed in Edinburgh in 1987 by singers/guitarists Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, who were later joined by Kelly's brother Charles on drums and James Seenan on bass. Soon signing to Pastels frontman Stephen Pastel's newly formed 53rd & 3rd label, the Vaselines embarked on their first-ever studio session, which yielded their debut single, 1987's fantastic "Son of a Gun." The follow-up, "Dying for It," appeared a year later, with the inclusion of viola player Sophie Pragnell plainly acknowledging the band's debt to the Velvet Underground. The demise of 53rd & 3rd proved fatal to the Vaselines as well, however, and the group dissolved the same week its lone studio LP, 1989's Dum-Dum, was released via Rough Trade, although the following year the original lineup briefly reunited to open for Nirvana in Edinburgh. Nirvana would go on to cover the Vaselines' "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun" (both later compiled on their Incesticide collection) as well as perform "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" on their legendary MTV Unplugged appearance.

Renewed interest in the band resulted in the 1992 Sub Pop release of The Way of the Vaselines, an assemblage of all 19 of their official recordings. Eugene Kelly later went on to front Captain America (subsequently and rather unfortunately renamed Eugenius), while McKee spent the better part of the decade out of sight, resurfaced in Suckle, and released a solo album in 2006. Kelly and McKee eventually re-formed their band and played a series of shows -- including a small U.S. tour -- across 2008 and 2009. They recorded their second proper album, Sex with an X, and released it on Sub Pop in 2010. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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Music

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    • Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam (Album)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/6/3/7/8/4/880648736.mp3
    • Son of a Gun (Album)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/6/2/4/9/4/880649426.mp3
    • Dying For It (Album)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/5/7/3/9/4/880649375.mp3
    • The Day I Was a Horse (Live in London) (Album)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/0/0/2/9/4/880649200.mp3
    • Molly's Lips (Album)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/8/4/4/8/4/880648448.mp3
    • Sex With An X (Album )
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/3/3/8/5/3/250935833.mp3

Photos

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    The Vaselines
    The Vaselines
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News

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  • The Vaselines
    Vaselines, Mudhoney Rock Sub Pop 20 Bash
    www.billboard.com
    ), the Vaselines brought their portion of the house down with the electro-indie cover of Divine's "You Think You're a Man." Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, ...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    New Vaselines Collection Due From Sub Pop
    prefixmag.com
    The near future just got a whole lot brighter for Vaselines fans. The late-'80s Glasgow garage-pop savants only stuck around long enough to record two...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    Vaselines Anthology Gets a Deluxe Reissue
    www.pitchfork.com
    (demo) 23 Son of a Gun (live in Bristol) 24 Rosary Job (live in Bristol) 25 Red Poppy (live in Bristol) 26 Rory Rides Me Raw (live in Bristol) 27 You ...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    The Vaselines Return With New Album
    www.pitchfork.com
    has reunited for some light touring. And now, after more than two decades, we're about to get the second-ever Vaselines studio album. Sex With an X wi...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    The Vaselines Annouce First Album In 20 Years
    prefixmag.com
    The last time The Vaselines released a new album, their biggest fan, Kurt Cobain, had not yet recordedNevermind. It fact, it was shortly after they re...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    Hear New Albums From Grinderman, Black Mountain, Vaselines, Underworld, and More
    www.pitchfork.com
    MySpace and is out September 13 in the UK and the next day in the U.S. via Jagjaguwar -- Underworld's Barking is streaming over at Spinner, and will s...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    The Vaselines Announce Tour
    www.pitchfork.com
    - Emo's Outside 10-19 Los Angeles, CA - The Music Box ! 10-20 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall # 10-23 Vancouver, British Columbia - Bilt...
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  • The Vaselines
    New Vaselines: "Sex With an X"
    www.pitchfork.com
    -14 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live Studio 10-15 Dallas, TX - The LOFT at the Palladium 10-16 Austin, TX - Emo's Outside 10-19 Los Angeles, CA - The Musi...
    Read More
  • The Vaselines
    Watch: Krist Novoselic Joins the Vaselines at Bumbershoot
    www.pitchfork.com
    Photo by David D. Kim Yesterday at Bumbershoot, Nirvana's Krist Novoselic joined the Vaselines on stage, playing accordion on "Jesus Doesn't Want Me f...
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  • The Vaselines
    Watch Krist Novoselic Join The Vaselines Onstage at Bumbershoot
    Paste
    Nirvana performed a number of covers during their iconic 1994 MTV Unplugged performance, one of which was Scottish duo The Vaselines' 1987 song "Jesus...
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Discography

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  • Sex with an X (2010)
    The Vaselines
    Sex with an X (2010)
    Sub Pop Records
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