432 Presents: The Vaselines

14+ (under 16s with an adult) Happy 40th Anniversary to The Vaselines! "Wait a minute, didn't The Vaselines break up years ago?" Yes,The Vaselines did break up in 1989 in the week that their debut album  'Dum Dum' was released. "So they're getting back together again?" No, the Vaselines reformed in 2008 and went onto release two more albums, 'Sex With an X' on Sub Pop in 2009 and 'V For Vaselines' on their own label Rosary Music in 2014. "Are they any good?" OK, let me tell you everything! The Vaselines were formed in Glasgow in 1987 by singers/guitarists Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, soon signing to The Pastels frontman Stephen Pastel's 53rd & 3rd label. They released two 12 inch singles 'Son of a Gun' and 'Dying For it' and one  album 'Dum Dum'. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain regularly cited the Vaselines in interviews with the music press and Nirvana would go on to cover the Vaselines' ‘Molly's Lips’ and ‘Son of a Gun’ (both later compiled on their Incesticide collection) as well as perform ‘Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam’ on their legendary MTV Unplugged appearance which went on to introduce the band to a new world wide audience. Though they were not widely known outside the United Kingdom during their short career, their association with Nirvana brought them exposure, with Kurt Cobain describing Kelly and McKee as his "favourite songwriters in the whole world". At the 1991 Reading Festival Eugene joined Nirvana onstage for a performance on The Vaselines song