The Bluetones - Are You Blue Or Are You Blind? (1996)

The Bluetones formed in Hounslow in 1990 with an original line-up of Scott Morriss on bass, Eds Chesters on drums, Adam Devlin on guitar, and Scott's bother Mark James Morriss on vocals, and they spent the next four years practicing in garages and playing gigs, quickly establishing a strong fanbase - no less than three fanzines were dedicated to the band before they had released their third single. In 1994 they contributed 'No. 11' to the Fierce Panda compilation EP 'Return To Splendour', and that led to an appearance on Channel 4's The White Room TV series . The band then signed to Superior Quality Records, and their debut single 'Are You Blue Or Are You Blind? entered the UK Top 40 in June 1995. It was followed in October by 'Bluetonic', which was a re-recording of 'No' 11' from the Fierce Panda EP, and they ended the year by releasing the third single, and their biggest hit, 'Slight Return'. Their first album 'Expecting To Fly' (named after a classic Buffalo Springfield song) reached number 1 in the UK album charts in February 1996. Between their first single for Fierce Panda and the debut album in 1996 the band had already shown how prolific they were by including a dozen otherwise unreleased songs on the b-sides of their five singles, and this was to continue for the rest of their career, so the first of four posts collects all those songs that were issued between 1995 and 1996, plus their contribution to the 1994 Fierce Panda EP. 

Track listing

01 No. 11 (from the Fierce Panda EP 'Return To Splendour' 1994)
02 Colorado Beetle (b-side of 'Bluetonic' 1995)
03 Glad To See Y'Back Again (b-side of 'Bluetonic' 1995)
04 Are You Blue Or Are You Blind? (single 1995)
05 String Along (b-side of 'Are You Blue Or Are You Blind?' 1995)
06 Driftwood (b-side of 'Are You Blue Or Are You Blind?' 1995)
07 Marblehead Johnson (single 1996)
08 The Simple Things (b-side of 'Marblehead Johnson' 1996)
09 Nifkin's Bridge (b-side of 'Marblehead Johnson' 1996)
10 Castle Rock (b-side of 'Cut Some Rug' 1996) 
11 The Devil Behind My Smile (b-side of 'Cut Some Rug' 1996)
12 Nae Hair On't (b-side of 'Slight Return' 1996)
13 Don't Stand Me Down (b-side of 'Slight Return' 1996)