The Seahorses were formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire following his departure from The Stone Roses, and after recruiting bassist Stuart Fletcher, and vocalist/songwriter Chris Helme. Squire did admit early on that despite liking a couple of Helme's songs, including 'Blinded By The Sun' which he re-arranged for the album, he could see problems later if Helme wanted to record them with the band. In the summer of 1996, Squire rented a cottage in Coniston, Cumbria to write and rehearse with Helme and Fletcher, and after trying out several drummers, they finally settled on Andy Watts, who had previously gigged with Fletcher and also knew Helme. Due to Squire's past work with the Stone Roses, the band were met with intense media interest and speculation before they had recorded or released anything, and even the band name was the subject of various conspiracy theories, after the NME claimed that it was an anagram of He Hates Roses. Just weeks after Watts joined, they all headed to North Hollywood to record with David Bowie/T. Rex producer Tony Visconti, and they released their debut single 'Love Is The Law' on 28 April 1997 via Geffen Records, to whom Squire was still signed following his departure from the Stone Roses. The band's debut album 'Do It Yourself' was released in May 1997, and included the song 'Love Me And Leave Me', which was co-written with Liam Gallagher of Oasis, with whom the band toured in 1997. Shortly before the release of the single it was announced that drummer Andy Watts was leaving the group to spend more time with his family (or had been asked to leave, depending on who you believe), and he was temporarily replaced by session players Mal Scott and Toby Drummond. The band went on to play support slots with The Rolling Stones, U2, and Oasis, and in 1998 they began work on a follow-up album with another new drummer, Mark Heaney, having previewed several new songs during secret fan club gigs and festival appearances, including 'City in The Sky', '700 Horses', 'Tombraid', and two Helme compositions 'Won't Let You Fall' and 'Moth'. The band entered Olympic Studios with producer David Bottrill in January 1999 to record the album, with the working titles of 'Minus Blue' and 'Motocade', but tensions came to a head between Squire and Helme, and Squire walked out of the studio, never to return, resulting in the sessions being abandoned, and the group splitting up. The main arguments between Squire and Helme were to do with the writing process, with Squire becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the material being produced by Helme, until it reached a point where their partnership was no longer possible. Helme was also unhappy with Squire writing the majority of the band's material, and therefore picking up the majority of the publishing money, and due to this he attempted to launch a solo career whilst still in The Seahorses, later claiming that the Seahorses' management informed him that they would sue him if he started touring and playing his own material whilst still a member of the band. In 2005 some of the recordings from the abandoned sessions surfaced, and so we are now able to hear what 'Minus Blue' might have sounded like had the band managed to put their differences aside for a bit longer and complete the album.
Track listing
01 Night Train
02 700 Horses
03 Anamorphosis
04 I Want You
05 Cocksucker Blues
06 Reach Out
07 Dolphin
08 Something Tells Me
09 What Can You See? (Into The Light)
10 Tombraid
