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Bluetonic

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"Bluetonic"
Single by the Bluetones
from the album Expecting to Fly
B-side"Colorado Beetle"
"Glad to See Y'Back Again?"
Released2 October 1995 (1995-10-02)[1]
Recorded1995
StudioRidge Farm, Surrey, England
Genre
LabelParadox, Superior Quality
Songwriters
ProducerHugh Jones
The Bluetones singles chronology
"Are You Blue or Are You Blind?"
(1995)		 "Bluetonic"
(1995)		 "Slight Return"
(1996)
Music video
"Bluetonic" on YouTube

"Bluetonic" is a song by the English indie rock band the Bluetones. Primarily written by Mark Morriss, the song was released as the first single from their debut album Expecting to Fly (1996) on 2 October 1995,[2] by Paradox Records. Inspired by an Adrian Mitchell poem,[3][4] the song was originally called "No. 11" and its demo recording appeared on Fierce Panda Records' third EP compilation, Return To Splendour (1994).[5][6][7][8] The single peaked at number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart.[9] Its promotional music video was directed by Dom and Nic.[10]

Background

[edit]

"Bluetonic" was written on a Saturday night when Mark Morriss would usually see his former girlfriend and was the eleventh track by the band. He was up the whole night with a chord progression and completed the first draft on Sunday morning. When he was studying English, the poem "Celia Celia" by Adrian Mitchell was written on one of the walls in the room that ended up getting stuck in his head. Morriss said that he wanted to write something that was "melancholy, but not too depressing."[3] Its title changed in the same month it was released on Return To Splendour, December 1994.[11]

Reception

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Melody Maker called "Bluetonic" a "classic melancholy pop single", comparing it to the Smiths' "Well I Wonder", the Stone Roses' "Waterfall", and the Field Mice's "So Sad".[3] Sylvia Patterson of NME gave it Single of the Week in September 1995, writing it is "incorrigibly cheery".[12] In Everett True's February 1996 review of Expecting to Fly for Melody Maker, he stated that the single alongside "Slight Return" contains "incandescent beauty".[13] "Bluetonic" was voted number fifteen on 1995's John Peel's Festive Fifty.[14][15]

Music video

[edit]
Mark Morriss in front of the service station toilets.

The music video for "Bluetonic" was directed by Dom and Nic at their production company Oil Factory,[10] who also directed their later video for the Bluetones' second stand-alone single, "Marblehead Johnson",[16] released 16 September 1996. The beginning of the video was filmed at King's Cross in London, later at a service station corridor and toilets in the evening, and in a stubble field at sunrise.[17] The initial premise for the video was that the band were on the run from going on a heist, whilst wearing cat masks made out of papier-mâché.[17] The video also features Gareth McLennan, an old college friend of the lead singer Mark Morriss, who also directed the video for their single "Fast Boy",[17] released 21 April 2003.

The video was included on both the band's November 1997 Mondo Concerto VHS and DVD release and their October 2007 Blue Movies DVD.[18][19] Upon its release, it featured on The Chart Show and Top of the Pops.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Mark Morriss, Adam Devlin, Scott Morriss and Eds Chesters, except track 1; Mark Morriss, Adam Devlin, Scott Morriss, Eds Chesters and Adrian Mitchell.[20]

UK single (CD, 12")[21][22]

  1. "Bluetonic" – 4:07
  2. "Colorado Beetle" – 4:04
  3. "Glad to See Y'Back Again?" – 3:25

UK single (7", cassette)[20][23]

  1. "Bluetonic" – 4:07
  2. "Glad to See Y'Back Again?" – 3:25

Credits and personnel

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Credits are taken from the Expecting to Fly album booklet and CD single notes.[24][21]

The Bluetones

Additional personnel

  • Adrian Mitchell – songwriter
  • Hugh Jones – production
  • Helen Woodward – mix engineering
  • Geoff Pesche – mastering
  • Trevor Ray Hart – photography

Charts

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Weekly charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts)[25]19

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Melody Maker, 23 September 1995". Melody Maker. 23 September 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "MM-1996-05-04.pdf" (PDF). Music & Media. 4 May 1996. p. 21. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Melody Maker, 23 September 1995". Melody Maker. 23 September 1995. p. 32. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Tyres, Simon (19 March 2009). "The Bluetones – Expecting To Fly (Expanded Edition)". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Fierce Panda Records". fiercepandarecords.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Release "Return to Splendour" by Various Artists". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Bluetones Biography Page". mechen.fsnet.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 December 2002. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "are_you_blue_band". Archived from the original on 14 April 2001. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "MM-1996-06-08" (PDF). Music & Media. 8 June 1996. p. 23. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Dom & Nic Videography". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "with a little charm...: faq: questions about songs". bluetones.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Single of the Week". NME. 30 September 1995. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  13. ↑ True, Everett (February 1996). "The Bluetones - Expecting To Fly". Melody Maker. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - Festive 50s - 1995". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "John Peel Festive Fifty 1995". vinylnet.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "DOM&NIC". Dom and Nic. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 Blue Movies (DVD). Townsend. 22 October 2007.
  18. ↑ "with a little charm...: discography: videos". bluetones.org.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "with a little charm...: news: 2007: 6th October". bluetones.org.uk. 6 October 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  20. 1 2 Bluetonic (UK 7" single notes). Paradox. 2 October 1995. BLUE 002X.
  21. 1 2 Bluetonic (UK CD single notes). Paradox. 2 October 1995. BLUE 002CD.
  22. ↑ Bluetonic (UK 12" single notes). Paradox. 16 October 1995. BLUE 002T.
  23. ↑ Bluetonic (UK cassette single notes). Paradox. 2 October 1995. BLUE 002MC.
  24. ↑ Expecting to Fly (booklet). Superior Quality. 12 February 1996. BLUECD 004/540 475-2.
  25. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 8/10/1995 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
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