The Blue Nile were a Scottish band which originated in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
.
The group's early music was built heavily on
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s and electronic instrumentation and percussion, although later works featured guitar more prominently. Following early championing by established artists such as
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
and
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
(the band later worked with both acts), the Blue Nile gained critical acclaim, particularly for its first two albums ''
A Walk Across the Rooftops'' and ''
Hats
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
'', and some commercial success in both the UK and the US, which led to the band working with a wide range of musicians from the late 1980s onwards.
The Blue Nile's highest chart placement came when "
Tinseltown in the Rain
"Tinseltown in the Rain" is a song by Scottish pop band The Blue Nile. It was released as the second Single (music), single from their 1984 debut album ''A Walk Across the Rooftops''. The song was written and produced by lead singer Paul Buchanan ...
" reached No. 28 in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 1984, their only Dutch charting song. The band has had four top 75 hits on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, the highest being "
Saturday Night" which reached No. 50 in 1991. In the United States, "
The Downtown Lights
"The Downtown Lights" is a song by Scottish band The Blue Nile, released in 1989 as the lead single from their second studio album ''Hats''. It was written by Paul Buchanan and produced by the band.
"The Downtown Lights" reached No. 67 in the UK ...
" was its only chart entry, peaking at No. 10 on
''Billboard'''s
Alternative Songs
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart.
The band members have also gained a reputation for their avoidance of publicity, their idiosyncratic dealings with the recording industry and their perfectionism and slow work rate, which has resulted in the release of just four albums since the group's formation in 1981. The group appears to have disbanded since the release of the fourth album ''
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
'' in 2004, although there has never been any official confirmation.
In 2006, Buchanan had a top 10 hit in the UK when he featured on
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
' song, "
Sleep
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
", which reached No. 6.
History
Early years
Paul Buchanan (born 16 April 1956,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
) and his childhood friend Robert Bell grew up together in Glasgow, they both attended the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
in the late 1970s, Buchanan gaining a degree in literature and medieval history,
Bell in mathematics. Buchanan's civil-servant father had been a semi-professional musician and had musical instruments in the house, but it was only after he and Bell had graduated that Buchanan began to think seriously about a career in music.
Although Buchanan had grown up in the same neighbourhood as Paul Joseph "PJ" Moore, they only became well acquainted at university, where Moore was studying electronics,
[Brown (2010). "Introduction"] and the three friends became part of a band, first known as McIntyre (named after the John McIntyre Building, the university's administrative offices) and then Night by Night, although Buchanan later commented that Night by Night only played "twice, maybe three times" in its short existence. The band struggled to retain a settled line-up and, by 1981, Buchanan, Bell and Moore were the only remaining members. They decided not to recruit anybody else, trading in a guitar for an effect pedal and borrowing an old drum machine that only played
Hispanic American music
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...
rhythms.
Buchanan later recalled, "We went and gigged, because we needed the money, we'd do gigs where we'd do cover versions with the cassette of Latin American rhythms. And we were terrible. But we picked songs that were so completely durable and well known that people recognized them. No matter how badly we mangled them."
Renaming themselves the Blue Nile (after the title of the 1962 book by
Alan Moorehead
Alan McCrae Moorehead, (22 July 1910 – 29 September 1983) was a war correspondent and author of popular histories, most notably two books on the nineteenth-century exploration of the Nile, ''The White Nile'' (1960) and ''The Blue Nile'' (196 ...
), the group managed to raise enough money to record and release its first single, "I Love This Life", on their own Peppermint Records label.
Only a limited number were produced, but one found its way to
RSO Records
RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation.
RSO managed the careers of several ma ...
via their friend and engineer
Calum Malcolm. Malcolm had been a member of short-lived Edinburgh punk band
The Headboys who had released their records on the RSO label, and he still had contacts with the company. RSO licensed the single for distribution,
but almost as soon as the record was released RSO went bankrupt and was absorbed into the
PolyGram
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
recording company, and the single consequently disappeared.
''A Walk Across the Rooftops'' (1982–1984)
Undaunted by this setback, they continued to play gigs around Glasgow, starting to write their own songs alongside the cover versions they were playing. Having no drummer and with limited musical ability, particularly in Buchanan's guitar playing (he later admitted that "we could play a little, but I was the worst by a long way"
), the newly formed Blue Nile adopted an atmospheric, electronic approach primarily out of pragmatism. The band also made the most of their imagination, thrift and mechanical ingenuity. Buchanan recalled, "PJ had bought a tray from a waiter. It was made of zinc and it made a good noise when you hit it. We sampled it and PJ made a pad to trigger it from for £3. It was all very primitive back then — you had to hit it about two seconds before you wanted the sound to appear in the song."
The most commonly told story about the Blue Nile is that in 1983 they were approached by a local
hi-fi manufacturer,
Linn Products
Linn Products is an engineering company that manufactures hi-fi and audio equipment. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1973, the company is best known as the manufacturer of the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable.
From 2007 Linn was ...
, and asked to produce a song that would showcase the Linn equipment to best effect. Linn was so pleased with the resulting record that it offered the Blue Nile a contract to make a whole album, and set up its own record label specifically to release it.
In interviews, both Buchanan and Moore have categorically denied that Linn approached the band to make a record for them, or that the record company influenced the album's sound in any way at all, with Moore saying, "It was a myth that we were a 'hi-fi band signed to a hi-fi company'. We just got lucky that we'd found our way to an excellent engineer who knew the company." The engineer in question was Calum Malcolm, with whom the band had already recorded some
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
in his Castlesound studio near Edinburgh. Since Malcolm was a friend of Linn's founder
Ivor Tiefenbrun
Ivor Sigmund Tiefenbrun MBE (born March 1946) is the founder and chairman of Linn Products Ltd, Glasgow-based manufacturers of high-fidelity audio equipment and home theatre equipment. He was influential in the manufacture and retail of Britis ...
, and had ties with the company, his studio was fitted out with Linn equipment. When Linn representatives visited one day and asked to hear some music to test out their new speakers, Malcolm played them the demo of "
Tinseltown in the Rain
"Tinseltown in the Rain" is a song by Scottish pop band The Blue Nile. It was released as the second Single (music), single from their 1984 debut album ''A Walk Across the Rooftops''. The song was written and produced by lead singer Paul Buchanan ...
". Impressed, Linn offered the band a contract with the record label it was in the process of setting up.
Despite the fact that the group took nine months to reply to Linn's offer, the contract was eventually signed and its first album, ''
A Walk Across the Rooftops'', was released as
Linn Records
Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products.
History
While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
' first album in May 1984.
On its release, ''A Walk Across the Rooftops'' gained widespread acclaim from music critics for its mixture of sparse, detailed electronic sounds and Buchanan's soulful vocals, later described as a "fusion of chilly technology and a pitch of confessional, romantic soul". In 1984, the band gained greater exposure in Europe, with the
videos
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
for their two
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
, "Stay" and "Tinseltown in the Rain", often shown on the video channel
Music Box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...
. The band's profile began to grow, although its existence remained precarious. Buchanan commented, "I've always found it strange that people missed the 'punk' aspect of ''A Walk Across the Rooftops''. We were living in a flat in Glasgow with no hot water. We barely knew what we were doing and that was very liberating."
''Hats'' (1985–1990)
Keen to capitalise on the positive critical reception awarded to ''A Walk Across the Rooftops'', Linn sent the band back to Castlesound studio early in 1985 to produce a quick follow-up record. However, as the band later admitted, there was no new material ready to record, and they were not happy with the songs they were producing under pressure in the studio. The lack of progress led to stress and arguments among the band members, and matters were not helped when
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
, to whom Linn had licensed the band's records, began legal proceedings against the group and the label for not producing the new material stipulated in the licensing agreement. After two years with almost nothing to show for its efforts, the band was forced to leave the studio to make way for another band, and had to return home to Glasgow. Away from the pressures of the studio, the group overcame the
writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...
and, eventually returning to Castlesound in 1988, was able to rapidly complete a new album.
''
Hats
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
'' was released in October 1989 to rave reviews, including a rare five-star rating from ''
Q'' magazine. Warmer and smoother sounding than the first album, and exploring the highs and lows of romantic love, ''Hats'' peaked at #12 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. It was also the group's breakthrough record in the
US, where it reached #108 on the US
''Billboard'' 200 album charts in May 1990. All three singles released in the UK from the album made the top 75 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
The Blue Nile's first live public performance after making ''A Walk Across the Rooftops'' was in December 1989 on the television programme ''Halfway to Paradise'', a Scottish-based arts magazine show broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. The band also composed and performed the theme tune for the programme, later released as a single B-side. The band played two songs with the American singer
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
(who had recently befriended the band and had become one of its biggest supporters), performing her own "Flying Cowboys" and the Blue Nile's "Easter Parade". The duet version of "Easter Parade" was used as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
of both Jones's 1990 single, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", and the
12" single of "
Headlights on the Parade". During 1990, the Blue Nile supported Jones on her US tour (their experience in America was filmed by
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
for a documentary titled ''Flags and Fences''), followed by a tour of the UK culminating in two homecoming gigs in September 1990 at the
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket v ...
, becoming the first non-classical band to play at the newly opened venue.
''Peace at Last'' (1991–1996)
The radio play gained by ''Hats'' in the US, in particular the single "
The Downtown Lights
"The Downtown Lights" is a song by Scottish band The Blue Nile, released in 1989 as the lead single from their second studio album ''Hats''. It was written by Paul Buchanan and produced by the band.
"The Downtown Lights" reached No. 67 in the UK ...
", brought the Blue Nile to the attention of several well-known US-based musicians. In 1991, the band was invited to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to work on songs by
Julian Lennon
Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian i ...
,
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...
and
Michael McDonald. As a result, Buchanan moved to Los Angeles and lived there for a while, and had a relationship with the actress
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song ( ...
between 1991 and 1993.
Speaking about that period of his life Buchanan said, "It really was interesting. I have to say it was lived in all earnest ... And there was much good there, I enjoyed it, I really enjoyed it ... The great thing all the time was you were constantly wanting to phone friends and say, Guess who's in the shop? Guess who's in the supermarket? I'm not immune to all that. In the movies—celluloid's better than life isn't it? It makes everything glossy. I don't mean it's better, but it's so glamorous, I met lots of people—it was fascinating."
The band also worked on
Annie Lennox
Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...
's first solo album, ''
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...
'', co-writing the track "The Gift". Lennox later covered "The Downtown Lights" (from ''Hats'') for her second album, ''
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
'', released in 1995.
Having been let go by Linn and Virgin Records, the group signed a deal with
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
in 1992, although it later transpired that Buchanan had made the deal by himself without informing his bandmates. His explanation was that "none of the others were in town at the time". The band decided that it wanted to find somewhere private to record its new album with its portable studio, and began travelling around Europe searching for suitable locations. Having spent two years looking at and dismissing locations in cities such as
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, the record was finally recorded piecemeal over three locations in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
In June 1996, seven years after ''Hats'', the Blue Nile released a third album, entitled ''
Peace at Last''. It displayed a marked difference in style to the first two albums, with Buchanan's acoustic guitar work more to the fore. Buchanan recalled that he had bought the guitar in a New York music shop, and by coincidence Robert Bell had seen the guitar earlier the same day and called Buchanan to tell him about it.
A gospel choir made a brief appearance on the first single, "
Happiness
Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...
". Despite the release of ''Peace at Last'' on a major label, critical reaction to the album was more mixed than for the band's previous records,
although sales were good, entering the UK album chart at #13.
''High'' (1997–2004)
In 1997, the Blue Nile appointed a full-time manager for the first time - the experienced ex-
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...
manager,
Ed Bicknell
Ed Bicknell is a British music manager and drummer, best known for managing rock band Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Gerry Rafferty, Bryan Ferry, Scott Walker and The Blue Nile.
Career
Ed Bicknell was Chairman of Hull University entertainment’ ...
- who extricated the group from the deal with Warner Bros. He also attempted to persuade the band to change its recording habits, but had little success. Bicknell parted ways with the band in 2004, later saying that "in terms of the modern recording world the history of the Blue Nile was the most screwed-up I had ever encountered".
Following tour dates in 1996 and 1997, culminating in an appearance at the
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
in June 1997, the Blue Nile disappeared from public view for the next seven years, apart from an appearance at a 2001 tribute concert at the
Olympia Theatre in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
for the Irish music presenter
Uaneen Fitzsimons
Uaneen Fitzsimons (11 April 1971 – 22 November 2000) was an Irish music critic, television presenter and DJ. She presented alternative music programmes on RTÉ television and radio during the 1990s and became an influential music c ...
, following her death in a car crash. A remixed version of the single "Tinseltown in the Rain" was used as the
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
for the BBC Scotland TV series ''
Tinsel Town'', broadcast in 2000 and 2001.
After the longest period yet between albums, the Blue Nile released ''
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
'' in August 2004. Part of the lengthy delay in making the record was due to Buchanan contracting a form of
chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...
which affected his health for two years, but as he explained on the album's release, it was mostly a result of the band's perfectionism taking hold once again, "We recorded an album and a half and ... we realised we weren't in love with it ... The vast majority of it we just dumped; we just put it to one side and didn't touch it any more." The album reached number 10 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, the highest position to date for the band. Although acoustic guitar is still present on some tracks, the overall musical sound is more reminiscent of ''Hats''.
Rift and subsequent activity (2005–present)
It became apparent during the recording of ''High'' that old tensions among the band members had resurfaced. Buchanan's comments in a 2012 interview seemed to indicate that the album was finished out of a sense of duty and loyalty rather than any willingness to do so. "When we eventually finished ''High'', I don't think it was bristling with the same joy and naivety we'd felt when we started. We'd gathered ourselves long enough to make it. It seemed to me a stoic record, to some extent a record about ourselves, though I didn't realise that 'til later. It was a collected and fairly stoic record which I was proud of and, in a sense, we just made ourselves focus. We showed up, we went into the room and worked, and whatever drift had set in we were loyal to each other and we knew we had to form the wagons into a circle."
During preparations for the tour in February 2005 following the album's release, Buchanan and Bell realised that Moore had stopped contacting them and would not be showing up for the tour.
Although in interviews around the time Buchanan brushed aside questions about Moore's absence and insisted that they remained friends,
he acknowledged years later that in fact he and Bell have had virtually no contact with Moore since the recording of ''High''.
Buchanan and Bell toured England and Scotland in May and June 2006, followed by Scotland and Ireland in November 2006, billed as "Paul Buchanan sings the songs of the Blue Nile", refraining from simply calling themselves the Blue Nile as a mark of respect for Moore's absence. The band consisted of Buchanan on vocals and guitar, Bell on bass guitar and keyboards, Alan Cuthbertson and Brendan Smith on keyboards, Stuart McCredie on guitar, and Liam Bradley on drums. On 14 July 2007, Buchanan and Bell played at the
Bridgewater Hall in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
as part of the
Manchester International Festival
The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first taking ...
. In July 2008, the band played shows at the
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket v ...
,
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...
in London and the
Radisson Hotel
Radisson Hotels is an international hotel chain headquartered in the United States. A division of the Radisson Hotel Group, it operates the brands Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Radisson RED, Radisson Collection, Country Inn & Suites, and Park In ...
in
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
.
Although there has never been an official statement to clarify whether or not the Blue Nile still exists, the indications are that the band has split up. There appears to be disagreement among the band members themselves as to whether they will ever make another record together. Moore is emphatic that he will never rejoin the band, saying in communications sent in 2010 to the band's biographer that he was "finding it healthier to put all that behind me", and in a 2013 interview his terse reply to the question of a reunion was, "I think stuff happened that was simply beyond the pale. It's a shame, but if the feeling for sitting down together really isn't there, then continuing to do so even because you want to is pointless."
On the other hand, Buchanan has not given up hope that the three members of the Blue Nile may make more music together in the future,
saying, "I don't know where things stand with the other two guys ... In a way, I think it would be the right and proper thing to do but I'll just need to wait and see. If the others say let's do this ... Certainly, if I bump into them on a corner my hope would be that we could say: so what are you doing tomorrow?"
He also lamented the estrangement with Moore, saying, "We're inhibited by the Scottish male thing where you have to give the other guy space, but I love PJ and there isn't a month goes by where I don't think about phoning him".
In September 2010, a biography of the Blue Nile by the Scottish journalist Allan Brown, titled ''Nileism: The Strange Course of the Blue Nile'', was published. Although Brown was a long-time acquaintance of Buchanan, he found Buchanan reluctant to participate, and both Bell and Moore refused Brown's invitations for interviews or any co-operation with the book's writing.
In May 2012, Buchanan released his first solo album, ''Mid Air'', a collection of short, stripped-back songs mostly with just Buchanan's voice and piano, recorded with Calum Malcolm's son Cameron as the album's engineer and released on Buchanan's own Newsroom Records label. In a radio interview, Buchanan mentioned that towards the end of the recording process he had called in Robert Bell to help out on two tracks ("Mid Air" and "My True Country") that neither he nor Cameron Malcolm were satisfied with. Bell also later remixed "Buy a Motor Car", which appeared on the deluxe edition of the album released in October 2012.
The album peaked at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart of 2 June 2012, and its title track, "Mid Air", was used a year later in the Richard Curtis film, ''
About Time''.
In November 2012, Virgin Records released two-CD "Collector's Edition" versions of the band's first two albums, ''A Walk Across the Rooftops'' and ''Hats''. Each version had the original album remastered by engineer Calum Malcolm, along with a bonus disc of rare and previously unreleased material selected by Buchanan and Bell. A similar reissue of the third album, ''Peace at Last'', was released on 3 March 2014.
In July 2016, Buchanan took part in the
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
Prom
A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school yea ...
at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
, performing "
Ashes to Ashes", "
I Can't Give Everything Away" and, as a duet with
Laura Mvula, "
Girl Loves Me
"Girl Loves Me" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It is the fifth track on Bowie's twenty-sixth and final studio album, '' Blackstar'', released on 8 January 2016. The track was written by Bowie and produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. " ...
".
In 2019, the band's major label albums were re-issued on vinyl, with a re-issue of ''
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
'' charting at number 74 in the UK charts after being released by Confetti Records on 5 June 2020 as vinyl or double CD edition.
Legacy
The band has influenced future musicians such as
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed ...
, who covered the song "Stay", as well as
Wild Beasts
Wild Beasts were an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Records. They have rele ...
.
The 1975
The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in 2002 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Now based in Manchester, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew "Matty" Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer G ...
lead singer Matt Healy labeled The Blue Nile his "favorite band of all time" and declared ''Hats'' to be his "favorite record of the ‘80s." Healy would describe The 1975's 2018 song "
Love It If We Made It" as the "Blue Nile on steroids", while critics drew comparisons between the song's construction and that of "
The Downtown Lights
"The Downtown Lights" is a song by Scottish band The Blue Nile, released in 1989 as the lead single from their second studio album ''Hats''. It was written by Paul Buchanan and produced by the band.
"The Downtown Lights" reached No. 67 in the UK ...
".
Discography
Albums
Singles
Unreleased material
Four unreleased tracks from the ''Rooftops'' and ''Hats'' sessions can be found on bootleg recordings.
[Brown (2010). "Fashion"] These include:
* "St Catherine's Day"
* "Christmas"
* "Young Club"
* "Broadway in the Snow"
The first two of these were subsequently included on the deluxe releases of the first two albums.
An instrumental version of "Stay Close" from ''High'' was available as an MP3 download from the band's website. The remixed version of "Soul Boy" that appeared on the "She Saw The World" single was also available as an MP3 download.
A remixed version of "Tinseltown in the Rain" was used as the theme music for the BBC Scotland drama series ''
Tinsel Town''.
Buchanan played a number of new tracks in his 2006 solo shows which are regarded by many fans as unreleased Blue Nile songs. These can be found on live bootlegs, and include:
* "Runaround Girl"
* "Meanwhile"
* "Start Again"
Paul Buchanan solo records
* ''Mid Air'' (Newsroom, 2012)
Collaborations with other artists
*
Julian Lennon
Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian i ...
– ''
Help Yourself
Help is a word meaning to give aid or signal distress.
Help may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film
* ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film
* '' ...
'' (1991): the track "Other Side of Town" features vocals by Buchanan, written by Buchanan and Bell
*
Robbie Robertson
Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...
– ''
Storyville'' (1991): the track "Breakin' the Rules" features vocals and guitar by Buchanan and bass guitar and drum programming by Bell; the track "Sign of the Rainbow" features bass guitar by Bell. Paul Joseph Moore (as Paul Moore) plays keyboards on four of the songs, including "Breakin' the Rules", on which he also does the drum programming.
*
Nicky Holland
Nicky Holland (born 20 February 1959) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, notable for being a previous backing pianist/keyboardist, vocalist and co-songwriter for the band Tears for Fears during the 1980s.
Early life
Nicky Holland ...
– Nicky Holland (1992): the track "Running Around Again" produced and co-written by Bell
*
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
– "Easter Parade"
*
Annie Lennox
Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...
– ''
Diva
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...
'' (1992): the track "The Gift" co-written by Annie Lennox and the Blue Nile
*
Michael McDonald – ''Blink of an Eye'' (1993): the track "I Want You" written and produced by Paul Buchanan & Robert Bell
*
The Devlins
The Devlins were an alternative rock band originating from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, although the eponymous Devlin brothers were born in Newry, County Down.[Drift
Drift or Drifts may refer to:
Geography
* Drift or ford (crossing) of a river
* Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States
* In Cornwall, England:
** Drift, Cornwall, village
** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village
...]
'' (1993): the track "I Don't Want to Be Like This" produced by Bell
*
Matraca Berg
Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...
– ''The Speed of Grace'' (1994): the track "Let's Face It" written by Buchanan
*
Máire Brennan
Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...
– ''
Misty Eyed Adventures'' (1995): the track "
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album '' Ladies of the Canyon''. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Aust ...
" produced by the Blue Nile
*
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer.
In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''.
He was also nominated in ...
– ''
Midnight Without You
''Midnight Without You'' is the second studio album by trumpet player Chris Botti. It was released by Verve Forecast Records on May 20, 1997. Botti co-wrote the album title track with The Blue Nile.
Track listing
Personnel
* Chris Botti ...
'' (1997): the track "Midnight Without You" features the Blue Nile, written by Chris Botti, Buchanan and Moore
*
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
– ''
OVO'' (2000): the tracks "Downside Up" and "Make Tomorrow" feature vocals by Paul Buchanan
* Quiet City (aka the Blue Nile's drummer Nigel Thomas) – ''Public Face, Private Face'' (2002): the tracks "Due North" and "Things We Should Say" feature vocals by Buchanan
*
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
– ''
Red Book'' (2005): the track "Sleep" features vocals by Buchanan
*
Michael Brook
Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the worl ...
– ''RockPaperScissors'' (2006): the track "RockPaperScissors" features vocals by Buchanan
*
Aqualung – ''
Memory Man'' (2007): the track "Garden of Love" features vocals by Buchanan
*
Paula Cole
Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, ''Harbinger (Paula Cole album), Harbing ...
– ''
Courage
Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle.
Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...
'' (2007): the track "Until I Met You" features vocals by Buchanan
* Various Artists – ''Seasons of Light'' Christmas album (2007): the tracks "Seasons of Light" and "
Silent Night
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...
" feature vocals by Buchanan
*
Robin Danar – ''Altered States'' (2008): the track "Message of Love" features vocals by Buchanan (cover version of the
Pretenders
Pretenders may refer to:
* The Pretenders, a rock band
** ''Pretenders'' (album), the 1980 debut album by the group
* ''Pretenders'' (TV series), a 1972 British television series
* ''The Pretenders'' (play) (Norwegian: ''Kongs-Emnerne''), an 18 ...
song)
* Aqualung – ''
Magnetic North
The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed t ...
'' (2010): the track "36 Hours" co-written by Matt Hales and Paul Buchanan
*
Up Dharma Down
UDD, shortened for Up Dharma Down, is a Filipino band formed in Manila in 2004. They have released four albums '' Fragmented'', '' Bipolar'', '' Capacities'' and ''U D D released under independent record label Terno Recordings.
In 2005, the ba ...
– ''
Capacities'' (2012): the track "Feelings" features vocals by Buchanan
*
Craig Armstrong –
''The Space Between Us'' (1998) a new version of the track "Let's Go Out Tonight" by The Blue Nile is performed by Buchanan with Craig Armstrong
*
Craig Armstrong – ''
It's Nearly Tomorrow'' (2014) — two tracks featuring vocals by Buchanan: "All Around Love" and "It's Not Alright"
*
Jessie Ware
Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and broadcaster. Ware came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, ''Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, produce ...
–
''Glasshouse'' (2017): the track "Last of The True Believers" features vocals by Buchanan
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Nile, The
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical groups from Glasgow
Scottish art rock groups
Scottish musical trios
British synth-pop new wave groups
Scottish new wave musical groups
Scottish pop music groups
Sophisti-pop musical groups
RSO Records artists
Virgin Records artists
Warner Records artists
Sanctuary Records artists