The Blue Aeroplanes
| The Blue Aeroplanes | |
|---|---|
The Blue Aeroplanes performing live, April 2006
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Bristol, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, post-punk, art rock |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | theblueaeroplanes |
| Members |
Gerard Langley John Langley Wojtek Dmochowski Gerard Starkie Chris Sharp Bec Jevons Mike Youe |
| Past members |
Rita Lynch Angelo Bruschini Rodney Allen Max Noble |
The Blue Aeroplanes are an English rock band from Bristol, the mainstays of which have been Gerard Langley, brother John Langley, and dancer Wojtek Dmochowski. All three had previously been members of the new wave "art band" Art Objects from 1978 to 1981.
The Blue Aeroplanes first performed under that name at the King Street Art Gallery in Bristol in 1981. They consisted mainly of former members of the Art Objects, with the addition of Nick Jacobs, former guitarist and vocalist of Southampton band The Exploding Seagulls. The same line-up played three or four concerts over the next couple of years, either at the gallery or for benefits, including a Karl Marx centenary performance at the Victoria Rooms, with the addition of trumpet and didgeridoo. The Blue Aeroplanes' first album Bop Art was released on their own Party Records in 1984, and was rapidly picked up by the Abstract (US) and Fire (UK) labels. It contained material that had been considered as a follow-up to Art Objects' only album, Bagpipe Music. Gerard Langley's largely spoken poetic lyrics were combined with a heavily guitar-centric band that went on to release Tolerance (1986) and Spitting Out Miracles (1987) and several singles and EPs whose B-sides were brought together in the compilation FriendLoverPlane (1988), all on the Fire label.
On 24 February 1990, the band released their most critically acclaimed album, Swagger, this time on a major label Chrysalis/Ensign. This was followed by Beatsongs which was recorded in the United States and released in 1991. This second album on the major label was their highest charting, reaching no. 33 in the UK album charts. A second compilation of rare B-sides and out-takes, FriendLoverPlane2 (Up in a Down World), was released in 1992.
The follow-up to Beatsongs was delayed until 1994 when the album, Life Model was released on the Beggars Banquet label, followed by Rough Music in 1995. "Broken & Mended" from Life Model was the band's last single to chart and is a favourite at gigs. A long break and another label change to ArtStar preceded the release of Cavaliers in 2000. Following negotiations with EMI who now owned the rights to Swagger and Beatsongs, The Blue Aeroplanes made a surprise return to this major label. EMI re-released Swagger Deluxe as a 2-CD version in January 2006. This was followed by an album of new material called Altitude later that year, released on EMI's Harvest imprint. The group then recorded an album of cover versions of classic tracks that were originally recorded by artists signed to the Harvest label. The album, called Harvester, was released by EMI/Harvest in 2007.
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