The Blueskins

Last updated

The Blueskins
Years active1999–2008
Labels Domino Records
Past members Ryan Spendlove
Andrei Nosov
Tom Bailey
Paul Brown
Matthew Smith
Ritchie Townsend
Website Official Website
Official Myspace page

The Blueskins were a four-piece band who were based in Gawthorpe, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. [1]

Contents

Career

The band was formed after Spendlove and Brown met at music college in 1999. After college they continued to play together and drafted in school friends Smith and Townsend. In 2003 considerable interest in the band resulted in an influx of A&R men to Gawthorpe and a signing to Domino Records. Three singles, an EP and an album followed, and the band embarked on a tour of Europe and the United States, recording in Mississippi with record producer, Dennis Herring.

In 2005 a change of direction saw Smith and Townsend leave the band and, later that year, the remaining two founder members brought in the Russian former tennis professional Andrei Nosov on guitar and Welsh student Tom Bailey on five-string bass guitar to replace them. The new members brought with them a range of new influences including native Siberian music and dance-inspired indie.[ citation needed ]

The band spent much of 2006 writing new material and showcasing it to fans across the country. In the summer their 2003 single "Change My Mind" was featured on a television advertisement for Lynx shower gel. [2] It generated considerable interest in the single, leading it to be re-released. Despite the interest from fans, the band's record label did not push the single and it received limited airplay.[ citation needed ] Finding themselves unable to market the band, and choosing to concentrate on their more commercial signings, Domino Records parted company with The Blueskins, leaving them on the lookout for a new label.

The band spent the latter months of 2006 touring their new songs and writing new material. At the end of the year they played a small gig in their local pub in Gawthorpe, inviting friends to take to the stage and perform with them. After writing new tunes and touring the UK for two years with the new line-up, they decided to disband in April 2008.

Following the split, Ryan Spendlove, The singer and frontman of The Blueskins decided to go solo and formed his own style of acoustic Blues/Folk. In January 2011 he signed a record deal with Candyrat Records in the United States where he recorded his first solo album in 3 days titled "Fable" which was released on 5 April 2011. [3]

Band members

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devin Townsend</span> Canadian musician

Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strapping Young Lad</span> Canadian metal band

Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aztec Camera</span> Scottish musical group

Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/new wave band founded by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter, and only consistent member. Formed in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six studio albums: High Land, Hard Rain (1983), Knife (1984), Love (1987), Stray (1990), Dreamland (1993), and Frestonia (1995). The band garnered popular success for the songs "Oblivious", "Somewhere in My Heart", and "Good Morning Britain".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pram (band)</span>

Pram are a British post-rock band formed in Birmingham, England in 1988 by Rosie Cuckston, Matt Eaton (guitar), Andy Weir (drums), and Samantha Owen (bass). Subsequent lineups have changed frequently, most notably with Cuckston's departure in 2008. Their electronic pop sound, described by AllMusic as "equally quaint and unsettling," employs unconventional instruments and draws on stylistic influences such as krautrock, exotica, and dub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GZR</span> American heavy metal band

GZR was an American heavy metal band founded by and named after Black Sabbath bassist/lyricist Geezer Butler. The band has been marketed with three different names on different releases, g//z/r in 1995, geezer in 1997, and GZR in 2005. Most fans refer to the band as "geezer," although Butler himself refers to the band name as "gee-zed-R". This incarnation of the band is not to be confused with Butler's previous attempt in 1985 to form a solo band, then known as the Geezer Butler Band – the two outfits are largely unrelated.

<i>Accelerated Evolution</i> 2003 studio album by The Devin Townsend Band

Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred Reasons</span> English alternative rock band

Hundred Reasons are an English alternative rock band from Aldershot, Hampshire, and Teddington, South West London, formed in 1999. The band consists of Colin Doran (vocals), Larry Hibbitt, Andy Gilmour (bass) and Andy Bews (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agathodaimon (band)</span> German gothic/symphonic black metal band

Agathodaimon is a gothic/symphonic black metal band from Mainz, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxïmo Park</span> English rock band

Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: A Certain Trigger (2005), Our Earthly Pleasures (2007), Quicken The Heart (2009), The National Health (2012), Too Much Information (2014), Risk to Exist (2017) and Nature Always Wins (2021). The first two albums went gold in the UK and their debut was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

<i>Strapping Young Lad</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Strapping Young Lad

Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quasi</span> American indie rock band

Quasi is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by former spouses Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss. Joanna Bolme performed and recorded with the group as a bassist from 2007 to 2011.

<i>Synchestra</i> 2006 studio album by The Devin Townsend Band

Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Salads</span>

The Salads are a punk rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, with strong reggae tendencies. They are currently signed to their own label, Maui Wowie Records, after having been signed to Kindling Music, a sub-division of Warner Music Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jed Simon</span> Canadian musician

Jedson Louis Simon is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is currently a member of VIMIC.

"Goin' Against Your Mind" is a song recorded by the American rock band Built to Spill for their sixth studio album, You in Reverse (2006). It was released as the lead single from You in Reverse on January 17, 2006 through Warner Bros. Records.

<i>Of Malice and the Magnum Heart</i> 2004 studio album by Misery Signals

Of Malice and the Magnum Heart is the debut full-length album by American-Canadian metalcore band Misery Signals. It was released through Ferret Records on June 1, 2004. The album was produced by Devin Townsend of Strapping Young Lad.

The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.

English Dogs were a British hardcore punk band that began life in the early eighties. Two versions of the band exist, the punk and metal crossover band featuring original drummer Andrew "Pinch" Pinching and second-era members Graham "Gizz" Butt and Adie Bailey and a punk-based one featuring original vocalist Pete "Wakey" Wakefield.

Ryan Spendlove is an English singer-songwriter, born in Gawthorpe, West Yorkshire, signed to the American-based record label CandyRat Records. He was the former singer and guitarist of The Blueskins who had international success. Since going solo after their split in 2008, Spendlove has performed extensively in the UK and the US and recorded two studio albums.

Society's Finest is a metalcore band from Dallas, Texas. Their first full-length album, The Journey...So Far, was released on Solid State Records in May 2000. Due to member changes and personal matters the band took a break from touring and recording to focus on their personal lives. During this hiatus, vocalist Josh Ashworth toured with the metalcore band Zao.

References

  1. "Band's debut is 10 years in the making". The Batley News. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  2. Hudson, Neil (17 November 2006). "'Lynx' factor pays off for the Blueskins". Yorkshire Evening post. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  3. Wilson, Natalya (4 May 2011). "Review: Ryan Spendlove, The Duchess". York Press. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 67. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.