19 September 2011 (gig)
21 September 2011
In 1996 The Bluetones knocked Oasis’ ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ off the top of the UK album charts with their sublime debut 'Expecting To Fly.' Fifteen years and five albums later, it’s still the Hounslow four-piece’s high water mark; a rich collection of guitar-heavy acid-pop that stands up against any album from that era. While misfortune hampered the band’s chances of major success in the wake of ubiquitous second single “Slight Return,” The Bluetones remain one of Britpop’s most enduring outfits; their decision to call it a day coming as sad news for the Fred Perry-clad thirty-somethings still clinging to their mid-nineties heyday.
Making an emotional entrance to The Walker Brothers’ “Make It Easy On Yourself,” there’s no denying that this is the end, the funereal atmosphere at odds with frontman Mark Morriss’s lighthearted onstage banter. The audience is subdued and it takes an hilarious Ice Cube medley to kick proceedings into gear. For all that UK pop history may remember them as little more than Britpop also-rans, The Bluetones have an enviable back catalogue. When Morriss jokingly describes “Never Going Nowhere” as a song that sums up The Bluetones’ career, there’s a feeling that they’ve deserved much more. Fine songwriters with a knack for melody, the likes of “Cut Some Rug,” “A New Athens,” “Keep The Home Fires Burning,” “Bluetonic” and “Marblehead Johnson” all shine, matching anything their more commercially successful peers have produced.
Returning to the stage for a second encore clad in dressing gowns, The Bluetones are put to bed with a cover of KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Give It Up,” a fitting joke from a band that have never taken themselves too seriously. Revisiting their debut for their final song, they close with “A Parting Gesture,” a poigniant end to a highly-charged gig. The time feels right for Morriss and co to call time on The Bluetones, but that doesn’t make it any less emotional. They expected to fly, and for much of their career they did. They’ll be sorely missed.
