Modesty
Blaise formed in 1993 and rapidly recorded their top hit single
Christina Terrace with Edwyn Collins producing. They signed to
Spirit of 86 Records and the single soon sold out and became an
instant classic, even topping a few end of year polls for finest
record released in 1994. Excited by the potential, the record
company made the mistake of saying that they could record anything
they wanted as the next single, so they recorded the ballad You Can
Do Better Than That in typical contrary fashion. This was definitely
not what was expected from what many people thought were a little
indie band, but The 'Blaise always had higher ambitions. Recorded
while Jonny had a really bad cold, it had backing singers from a
soul band and (pretend) strings. Strangely, this was the record that
started it all in Japan. Spirit of 86 couldn't sell them in Britain
so they exported them where they were eagerly snapped up, to the
eternal credit of the Japanese record buyer.
Such
success, however, can emphasise internal divisions and everything
fell apart after a huge fight in a Swansea curry house after a live
appearance on BBC Radio Wales. It happened at a bad time because
Harlech TV, the ITV station for the West Country, had just
approached Jonny as they wanted to make a documentary programme on
songwriters. Recruiting a new drummer, the band hung around long
enough for filming before imploding.
So
the remaining band members, Jonny and Dave who had been together
since the influential but highly unpopular Boats Not Ships, set
about getting a new one. Gregory Jones of the guitar and French horn
was found in Marky Mark's band, and other members were found in
equally salubrious surroundings.
They
set about recording an album, Modern Guitars With Amplification
which was released in October 97, to general public rapture,
followed by a vinyl version in March 98. The first single was the
definitive Blaise song, Blue and Beautiful, a statement of intent
wrapped in 3 minutes of guitars, organs and horns. The second
single, Lets Get Together, continued this remarkable run of 7 inch
classics, and subsequently became the theme tune for the annual
Swedish equivalent of the BRITS. All of this served to bring the
band to the welcome attentions of Apricot Records of Germany, who
released a compilation album of all the early singles and various
other rarities entitled A Beginners Guide To Modesty Blaise, which
was just as well because Christina Terrace was beginning to change
hands for egregious amounts of money.
The
'Blaise toured some of Spain in June 99, where Modern Guitars... had
been licensed to Animal Records of Madrid, and made lots of friends
and played some great concerts (Modesty Blaise do not play gigs).
When
they got back to Blighty, they recorded the Uranium Girl EP for
Apricot. The title track Theme From Uranium Girl was a space-pop
song with another of those trademark MB choruses which became a big
turntable hit in Germany. The sessions continued into the second
proper album Melancholia a huge project involving strings and horns
and loads of musicians. It was finally finished in June 2000, 11
months after its inception, but worth the wait. Modesty Blaise have
always been ambitious for their records and this one was no
exception.
The
first single from the album, I'm Going Out , was included in the 20
best singles of the year on Radio Eins (Radio 1) in Germany, helped
by extensive touring there in the Fall of 2000. Melancholia was
finally released in Europe in February 2001 and garnered fantastic
reviews, including one from ME Sounds "Bacharach, Beatles,
Beach Boys, believe everything that is said about Jonny
Collins" and "already one of the albums of the year,
6/6".
Again
there was a cull and four or five line-up changes until Jonny and
Gregory toured Germany with acoustic guitars in June 2001. The
success of Melancholia meant that it was licensed to various labels
worldwide and another new line-up toured Spain in 2002. There have
been another three line-up changes since so things are back to their
natural state. 2015 was quiet on the live front, only The Cavern in
Liverpool and Arlene's Grocery in New York.
Work
has finally started on The Modesty Blaise, the third album which
will continue the long association between MB and Apricot Records.
Modesty
Blaise are: Jonny Collins - Vocals, guitar
David W.Brown - Bass guitar
Gregory Jones - Guitar, vocals
Mark Bradley- Drums, vocals
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