Frances McKee | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | 1966 |
Origin | Parkhead, Glasgow, Scotland |
Genres | Indie |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals, keyboards |
Labels | Chemikal Underground |
Associated acts |
The Vaselines Suckle Painkillers The Pretty Flowers |
Notable instruments | |
Fender Coronado |
Frances McKee is a singer and songwriter known best for her work in the Scottish indie band The Vaselines.
The Vaselines formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1986. Following the release of two EPs, Son of a Gun and Dying for It, and the first and only full-length album, Dum-Dum, in 1989, the band split up. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was a big fan of the band, and covered three of their songs: "Molly's Lips", "Son of a Gun" and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam". He also named his daughter after McKee.
Following a post-Vaselines break, she began making music with Vaselines bass player James Seenan, writing material of a more-mellow flavour. These songs were released under the name Suckle, initially coming out on 4AD offshoot Detox Artefacts. This coincided with a John Peel session.
Against Nurture, the only Suckle long player, was released in 2000 on Chemikal Underground.
On 10 April 2006, McKee released her first solo album, Sunny Moon.
In the summer of 2006, Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly took to the stage together for the first time since 1990, to perform a set of The Vaselines songs, as part of a joint tour to promote their individual solo albums. This led to The Vaselines reforming (minus the old rhythm section) on 24 April 2008 for a charity show for the Malawi Orphan Support group at Glasgow's MONO venue.
Since 2008, The Vaselines have continued to perform around the world, with members of Belle & Sebastian supporting their live set. On 5 May 2009, Sub Pop released Enter the Vaselines. A deluxe-edition reissue of the 1992 Sub Pop release, it includes remastered versions of the band’s two EPs, album, as well as demos and live recordings from 1986 and 1988.