The Bluetones - The Happy Lobotomy (2006)

The years after the release of 'Luxembourg' were quiet for The Bluetones, but eventually a three-album deal was signed in late 2005 with Cooking Vinyl Records, promptly followed by the limited release of the 'Serenity Now' EP and a full UK tour, and their first eponymous album for the label spawned the single 'My Neighbour's House' in September 2006. It would be four years before the next studio album, with 'A New Athens' appearing on CIA Recordings, but it failed to chart and the writing was on the wall for them, with the band announcing that they'd split after a farewell tour in the autumn of 2011. While they were active they released nearly two dozen singles and EP's, and nearly every one of them had exclusive songs on the b-sides, so this last volume collects the tracks from the final single from the 'Luxemboug' album, plus the flips from their Cooking Vinyl singles, and altogether these four volumes contain 55 non-album tracks released in just an eleven year career.   

Track listing

01 Suffer In Silence (b-side of 'Never Going Nowhere' 2003)
02 Pram Face (b-side of 'Never Going Nowhere' 2003)
03 Choogie Monbassa (b-side of 'Never Going Nowhere' 2003)
04 Serenity Now (single 2005)
05 Autumn Tones (b-side of 'Serenity Now' 2005)
06 Mine In The Morning (b-side of 'Serenity Now' 2005)
07 The Happy Lobotomy (b-side of 'Serenity Now' 2005)
08 Untitled #6 (b-side of 'Head On A Spike' 2006)
09 Surrendered In The Living Room (b-side of 'Head On A Spike' 2006)
10 Your Psychotic Friend (b-side of 'My Neighbour's House' 2006)
11 S. Thoresby (b-side of 'My Neighbour's House' 2006)
12 The Last Song But One (b-side of 'Surrendered' 2006)
13 Wasn't I Right About You (b-side of 'Surrendered' 2006)

The Bluetones - Groovy Roussos (2003)

In 2002 the band released their fourth album 'Luxembourg', and it carried on in the style of their previous record 'Science & Nature'. 'After Hours' was released as a single, with a multitude of exclusive tracks on it's many formats, and they also recorded a number of songs for 'Luxembourg' which didn't make the final cut, and which have since surfaced on one of their singles collections. This penultimate volume includes the b-sides from the 'Mudslide' EP, the 'Luxembourg' singles, and those out-takes from the 2002 sessions. 

Track listing

01 Zero Tolerance (from the 'Mudslide EP' 2000)
02 Fock Da Brain-Hole (from the 'Mudslide EP' 2000)
03 After Hours (single 2002)
04 Reverse Cow Girl (b-side of 'After Hours' 2002)
05 Woman In Love (b-side of 'After Hours' 2002)
06 Groovy Roussos (b-side of 'After Hours' 2002)
07 Sail On Sailor (b-side of 'After Hours' 2002)
08 Ingimarsson (b-side of 'After Hours' 7" single 2002)
09 The Bluetones Big Score (previously unreleased 2002)
10 That's Life (previously unreleased 2002)
11 Freeze Dried Pop (Dumb It Up) (previously unreleased 2002)
12 Persuasion (previously unreleased 2002)
13 Move Closer (b-side of 'Fast Boy' 2003)
14 Beat On The Brat (b-side of 'Fast Boy' 2003)

The Bluetones - Vostok Of Love (2000)

Following the release of 'Expecting To Fly', many pundits predicted great things for the band, but their critics cited their lack of originality as a potential stumbling block, and so with the addition of Richard Payne on keyboards/guitar they attempted to make a clean break from the style of their debut. However, 'Return To The Last Chance Saloon' met with a limited success, and even more worryingly it received an indifferent commercial response. It did give the band two hit singles in 'If...' and 'Solomon Bites The Worm', and as usual the fans were treated to some new songs on the flips. Their next album 'Science & Nature' was released in 2000 and marked a more successful attempt to retool their sound, but by this point the band was playing for a small but devoted fanbase. Those fans, however, continued to be treated to previously unheard songs on the band's singles, and so this second volume collects those tracks that appeared from  1998 to 2000.  

Track listing

01 The Ballad Of Muldoon (b-side of 'Sleazy Bed Track' 1998)
02 Blue (b-side of 'Sleazy Bed Track' 1998)
03 Mr Soul (b-side of '4-Day Weekend' 1998)
04 Pretty Ballerina (b-side of '4-Day Weekend' 1998)
05 Blue Shadows (b-side of 'If...' 1998)
06 The Watchman (b-side of 'If...' 1998)
07 I Was A Teenage Jesus (b-side of 'Solomon Bites The Worm' 1998)
08 I Walked All Night (b-side of 'Solomon Bites The Worm' 1998)
09 Thought You'd Be Taller (b-side of 'Autophilia' 2000)
10 Soup Du Jour (b-side of 'Autophilia' 2000)
11 Vostok Of Love (b-side of 'Autophilia' 2000)
12 It's A Boy (b-side of 'Autophilia)
13 Armageddon (Outta Here) ft. Matt Lucas (b-side of 'Keep The Home Fires Burning' 2000)
14 Be Careful What You Dream (b-side of 'Keep The Home Fires Burning' 2000)
15 Please Stop Talking (b-side of 'Keep The Home Fires Burning' 2000)

16 The Favourite Son (b-side of 'Keep The Home Fires Burning' 2000)

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)