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Rock/Pop

The Bluetones Tickets

Concerts6 results

Concerts in United Kingdom

About

Playing Expecting To Fly in full in 2021

Buy The Bluetones' Expecting To Fly here

The Bluetones were probably the crest of Britpop’s final wave, arriving just as many of their peers and influences were on the wane. The West London band provided a midpoint between the swaggering psychedelia of The Stone Roses, the brash guitar pop of Oasis and the melodic charm of Cast.  

Formed in Hounslow in 1994, Mark Morriss (vocals), Adam Devlin (guitar), Eds Chesters (drums) and Scott Morriss (bass) debuted with two singles on their own label, Superior Quality Recordings. The latter of these, Bluetonic, made its way onto their 1996 debut album Expecting To Fly.

The album, named after the Buffalo Springfield song of the same name, knocked Oasis’s What’s The Story (Morning Glory)? off its No.1 perch for a week en route to going Platinum in the UK. The single Slight Return made its way to No.2 in the UK singles chart, kept off the top spot by Babylon Zoo’s Spaceman.

If Expecting To Fly arrived just in time for Britpop’s final hurrah, its successor, 1998’s Return To The Last Chance Saloon, felt like its eulogy, its title and dusty sepia tones seeming to nod to the genre’s numbered days. While it didn’t land with the same instant impact as its predecessor, it still achieved Gold status in the UK and went to No.10 in the album charts, mirroring lead single Solomon Bites The Worm’s top ten success. More importantly, it cemented the band’s place in the hearts of a devoted cult fanbase.

Rather than fade away like so many of their ilk, The Bluetones managed to go even better with their third album Science & Nature, released by Mercury in 2000, which peaked at No.7 in the UK. Luxembourg followed in 2003, with the self-titled The Bluetones arriving to a positive reception in 2006.

Even as Mark Morriss pursued a solo career, releasing four albums, joining Matt Berry’s backing band and scoring David Walliams’ audiobooks, The Bluetones remained active, releasing their sixth album A New Athens in 2010. In 2011, they confirmed that the supporting tour would be their last. The split proved temporary, however, and the band reformed in 2015.

The band announced a special tour with fellow Britpoppers Sleeper for 2020 that would see The Bluetones play all of Expecting To Fly and Sleeper play their 1995 hit record SMART in full. In July 2020, they announced that the tour was being rescheduled to 2021.

Setlists

    1. 1.Are You Blue or Are You Blind?
    2. 2.Bluetonic
    3. 3.A New Athens
    4. 4.You're No Fun Anymore
    5. 5.Cheap Hotel
    6. 6.Fast Boy
    7. 7.Marblehead Johnson
    8. 8.Billy Balfour
    9. 9.Carnt Be Trusted
    10. 10.In the Cut
    11. 11.Cut Some Rug
    12. 12.Keep the Home Fires Burning
    13. 13.The Fountainhead
    14. 14.Slight Return
    15. 15.The Last Song But One
    16. 16.Putting Out Fires
  1. Encore

    1. 17.London Weekend Television (New song)
    2. 18.If..
    1. 1.Are You Blue or Are You Blind?
    2. 2.Bluetonic
    3. 3.Marblehead Johnson
    4. 4.Cut Some Rug
    5. 5.Slight Return
    1. 1.Are You Blue or Are You Blind?
    2. 2.Bluetonic
    3. 3.A New Athens
    4. 4.You're No Fun Anymore
    5. 5.Cheap Hotel
    6. 6.Fast Boy
    7. 7.Marblehead Johnson
    8. 8.Billy Balfour
    9. 9.Carnt Be Trusted
    10. 10.In the Cut
    11. 11.Cut Some Rug
    12. 12.Keep the Home Fires Burning
    13. 13.The Fountainhead
    14. 14.Slight Return
    15. 15.The Last Song But One
    16. 16.Putting Out Fires
  1. Encore

    1. 17.London Weekend Television
    2. 18.If...
    1. 1.Are You Blue or Are You Blind?
    2. 2.Marblehead Johnson
    3. 3.A New Athens
    4. 4.Bluetonic
    5. 5.You're No Fun Anymore
    6. 6.Cheap Hotel
    7. 7.Fast Boy
    8. 8.Carnt Be Trusted
    9. 9.In the Cut
    10. 10.Cut Some Rug
    11. 11.Keep the Home Fires Burning
    12. 12.Billy Balfour
    13. 13.The Fountainhead
    14. 14.Slight Return
    15. 15.The Last Song But One
    16. 16.Putting Out Fires
  1. Encore

    1. 17.London Weekend Television (Live debut)
    2. 18.If...
    1. 1.Keep the Home Fires Burning
    2. 2.Surrendered
    3. 3.Bluetonic
    4. 4.Madeline
    5. 5.4 day weekend (with "I know him so well" snippet at end)
    6. 6.Billy Balfour
    7. 7.A Parting Gesture
    8. 8.Never Going Nowhere
    9. 9.Marblehead Johnson
    10. 10.Drive Thru
    11. 11.The Fountainhead
    12. 12.Into the Red
    13. 13.Stay Another Day (East 17 cover)
    14. 14.Slight Return
    15. 15.Cut Some Rug
    16. 16.If..
  1. Encore

    1. 17.Sleazy Bed Track

FAQS

The Bluetones are touring the UK in 2021 with Sleeper. The tour will see both bands play their seminal albums (Expecting To Fly and SMART) in full.

The Bluetones are playing in the following UK cities next year:

• Manchester

• Newcastle

• Glasgow

• Leicester

• Liverpool

• Leeds

• Sheffield

• Bristol

• London

• Oxford

• Bournemouth

• Birmingham

The Bluetones are playing co-headline shows with Sleeper. The tour will see both bands play their seminal albums (Expecting To Fly and SMART) in full.

The Bluetones are:

• Mark Morriss (vocals)

• Adam Devlin (guitar)

• Scott Morriss (bass)

• Eds Chesters (drums)

The Bluetones biggest hits are:

·      Slight Return

·      Bluetonic

·      Cut Some Rug

·      Marblehead Johnson

·      Solomon Bites The Worm

·      If…

·      Keep The Home Fires Burning

Reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5 based on 1 reviews
  • Good vibes

    by A Little Dave Time on 31/03/2025O2 Academy Islington - LondonRating: 4 out of 5

    Had a lovely time on Saturday, took my son and one his mates to the Bluetones gig but we go there early to listen to some of the other new bands which was fun.