The Vaselines are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland who formed in 1986. The core duo of the band are Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, who are famous for being two of Kurt Cobain’s all-time favourite songwriters.
It seems like a lot of people don’t realize the influence that Kurt Cobain had in the early 1990’s. He didn’t just become a god after he died, his words was gospel from the minute “Nevermind” was released. Such was his influence, that he could give a twenty five year career in music to a band who seemed to be destined to be obsessed over by a tiny cult of dedicated fans from the start.
That band are The Vaselines, who were originally active for just three years , forming in 1986 and splitting in 1989 the same week that they released their debut album, entitled “Dum-Dum”. They also released two E.P’s, the second of which, named “Dying For It”, would contain the songs “Molly’s Lips” and “Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam”.
These were the songs that were bought to worldwide attention when Nirvana covered them, both live and on their album “Unplugged From New York”. Cobain’s band were even able to bring them out of retirement for a one off gig supporting them at Edinburgh’s Calton Studio’s in October 1990. However, after that show the band was inactive for the next 16 years as McKee and Kelly pursued solo careers.
However, come 2006 McKee and Kelly found themselves promoting solo albums at the same time, so they decided to play a tour together that mixed their solo tracks with Vaselines classics. By 2008 the band had reformed full time, and they’ve since released a further two studio albums called “Sex With An X” and “V For Vaselines”. Truth be told, this band would be worth falling in love with without any celebrity patronage whatsoever, so they’re one to catch live as soon as possible.
Paul Heaton
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