The Bluetones / The Race

Ah...Britpop, memories of mid 90’s unabashed lad-culture summarised by heavy boozing, Beatle’s copycat groups, and the emergence of Britain’s proudest sub-culture; The Chavs.

Only a few perennial strugglers of this short period in British musical history remain, and most of these exist purely in a nostalgic time warp, their hits seemingly becoming all the more dated with each successive tour.

Whilst unlikely to feature anywhere near the top of a certain music magazines’ ‘Cool List’, The Bluetones have managed to do what most of the Britpop survivors have failed at. They have released a single that’s better than anything they’ve ever done before. Seriously, they have!

Faced with the choice of playing two nights at Glasgow’s King Tuts, the cities best venue, where Britpop in the form of Oasis was first discovered, or the opportunity to play a bigger, less intimate venue for one night only – and it wasn’t really a contest.


Tonight they were supported by Reading’s answer to Arcade Fire, ‘The Race’. Pounding, but graceful at the same time, the band share little in common with the current wave of British indie favourites, which could suggest they’ve come along a couple of years too late.

New single ‘When it Falls’ does sound a little bit too like Arcade Fire’s ‘Rebellion (lies)’, in fact – that could actually be the same bass line. But Dan Buchanan’s vocals are just as much to blame for the similarities between both bands.

Jovial and optimistic, The Race manage to carry a positively sanguine aura to their music, perhaps it’s no surprise that they are supporting Captain in December, both bands have a rich passion for upbeat melodies.

Despite making beautiful music, with obvious parallels to Arcade Fire and Secret Machines, The Race simply do not progress on this genre in any way. Unlike bands like Sigur Ros, any attempt at experimentation has been removed from the final product, leaving a rather attractive polished shell, with little or nothing inside it.

All in all The Race are a rather good band, that perhaps borrow a little too much from their contemporaries, resulting in a lack of originality.

I had got so comfortable with leasing my regular spot down the front at King Tut’s that I had forgotten what it was like when the venue was packed – and tonight’s sell out crowd had to be one of the most excited crowds I’d ever seen here. I wasn’t even that sure why, although I had pleasant memories of The Bluetones back catalogue I never really classed them in the same league as a lot of other similar groups.

The anticipation level was hitting the ceiling, which isn’t saying much when you’re in King Tut’s, but you get the picture. Milking the tantalising set up period, it was a while before The Bluetones showed their faces, but by the time they made it on stage the crowd had worked themselves into an over excited frenzy. Some girl behind me had actually fainted – I thought that only happened at Westlife concerts?


Within moments of the band coming on stage it suddenly becomes blindly obvious what all the fuss is about. The band launch into their set like seasoned pros. Well they bloody well should be – they’ve been doing this long enough.

While memories of Shed Seven and Ocean Colour Scene linger, it’s clear to see why The Bluetones have managed to stay at the top of their game for so long. Their irresistible charm and overwhelming feel good factor are attributes most bands yearn for. With The Bluetones, it’s an aptitude that comes naturally and their live performance is filled with charisma.



Hits aplenty come flowing, in particular the seminal ‘Keep the home fires burning’, and the unforgettable ‘Talking to Clarry’. After watching The Charlatans, The La’s, Kula Shaker and Ocean Colour Scene in the last couple of years it seems that it’s The Bluetones, probably the most unlikely of the bunch, who seem to be getting the best reaction for their material. Excuse the cliché, but this atmosphere really was electric.

Just as Bluetones had cornered the crowd as far as classic hits were concerned they completely rewrote the rulebook and launched into a string of new songs. Now, I’m familiar with this drill – old Britpop band plays their hits, crowd go wild, old Britpop band then plays new material, crowd get furious and start throwing things until they eventually start playing their hits again. But that simply wasn’t the case here. Not only was this material by far the best that The Bluetones had released in a long long time, but the crowd were also accepting it exceptionally well.

This is without doubt the best Bluetones material I have heard since I first sat back and stuck Expecting to Fly into my er...cassette player. Catchy, punchy, energetic and sustaining a criminally infectious chorus ‘Head on a Spike’ is the perfect bridge between a classic mid 90’s Britpop track and an anthemic indie magnum opus. It’s the musical equivalent of a circus merry-go-round designed by Evel Knievel. It’s due to be released in December, and it’ll probably bomb straight out of the charts within one week. If it does it will be a complete injustice – even The Young Knives aren’t releasing anything this catchy at the moment.



‘My Neighbour’s House’ isn’t on quite the same level, it hangs around on the subs bench, certainly showing promise but never good enough to displace ‘Head on a Spike’. It’s still a brilliant tune but it’s probably just a little too 1996. It doesn’t quite have the same youthful charm that you would expect from the first single off the new album. Good, bad, or just plain dull it wouldn’t have mattered as the Tut’s crowd were bouncing around like Duracell bunnies plugged into the national grid.

Not many songs epitomise the mid 90’s as much as ‘Bluetonic’. Although it sounds a bit dated now it isn’t a song that has been dragged into the limelight by the media, kicking and screaming until it’s forced to die by public execution at the hands of Radio 1. Instead it stands out like a classic British masterpiece, summing up a generation of great pop songs, never sounding tiresome or obsolete. Am I going a bit over the top? Maybe, but it is the genuine feeling you get when you hear the band march through this song.

“Here’s to another 12 years at the top” yells leads singer Mark Morriss as The Bluetones leave to adoring cheers. Most of the crowd seem contented enough to witness one of the best gigs in King Tut’s for some time. If tomorrow night’s as good as this I think King Tut’s might have to make this a regular booking!

Exclusive interview with The Bluetones will be online soon...

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