The Bluetones are a British Britpop band, formed in Hounslow in 1994, and featuring Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums.
Their best known song is 'Slight Return', which was released in 1995, and re-released the following year. This, like many of their records, features "jangly" electric guitar arpeggios, reminiscent of The Byrds, The Stone Roses and The Smiths. The band's lyrics, mostly written by Mark Morriss, are introspective and influenced by Morrissey's work with The Smiths and as a solo artist. They achieved 7 top 20 UK chart placings in total, but have struggled to achieve chart success since the late 1990s. They retain a loyal fanbase, and continue to tour.
After the release of two singles on Fierce Panda Records, they released 'Expecting to Fly' on Superior Quality Recordings. It included the singles 'Bluetonic' and 'Slight Return', with the latter been beaten to number one by one hit wonders Babylon Zoo's 'Spaceman'. Following on from this they released the standalone single 'Marblehead Johnson'. The second album, 'Return to the Last Chance Saloon', with a strong Mexican flavour came out in 1998. The album reached the top 10 but failed to generate the commercial success of the first album. However many of the songs from this album continue to be popular with the live following. The album contains the top 20 singles 'Soloman Bites the Worm' and 'If' along with '4-day Weekend' and 'Sleazy Bed Track'. While many of their mid-Nineties peers had split up by 2000, The Bluetones released their third album (Science and Nature) which again reached the top 10 and included the singles 'Keep the Home Fires Burning', 'Autophilia' and 'Mudslide'. Many believe this album, particularly the aforementioned singles, to be the Bluetones' finest accomplishment and to contain some of their best lyrical work.