The Vaselines

“My favourite songwriters in the whole world” – Kurt Cobain

The Vaselines were formed in Glasgow in 1987 by singers/guitarists Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, soon signing to Pastels frontman Stephen Pastel’s newly formed 53rd & 3rd label.

Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain regularly cited the Vaseline’s influence in interviews with the music press and 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.

Cobain’s gospel-spreading no doubt accelerated their rise to cult sainthood, but 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.

Eugene Kelly later went on to front Captain America / Eugenius, while McKee spent the better part of the decade out of sight, resurfaced in Suckle, and released a solo album in 2006. The Vaselines reunited proper in 2010 to record their second full album Sex With An X which was released on the Seattle label Sub Pop.

This was followed by V for Vaselines in 2014. The Ramones inspired album featured many of the same players who helped make ‘Sex…..’, including Belle and Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson, the 1990’s Michael McGaughrin and Teenage Fanclub’s Francis Macdonald.

“Even those too young-or not yet born-for the Vaselines’ heyday can appreciate the earnest fun of Sex With an X” – Billboard

“A welcome return, then – let’s hope they stick around for a bit longer this time.” – BBC Music