In 1989, Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly, a Glaswegian couple known as The Vaselines, decided to break up. A short time later, they released their début album Dum Dum.
Questionable timing, yes, but little did they know that Dum Dum would kick-start a generation of lo-fi garage pop wannabes, triggered when Kurt Cobain christened them to be his favorite songwriters and covered three of their songs with his little band Nirvana.
After the breakup, McKee and Kelly remained active in the music scene, the former playing in Painkillers and Suckle, the latter in Captain America (later Eugenius) and as a solo artist. After nearly 20 years apart, they reunited in 2006.
The rest as they say, is history.
I caught up with Eugene Kelly by phone in Glasgow, Scotland, as he prepared for The Vaselines upcoming North American tour to promote 2014’s V for Vaselines – the band’s latest and most polished to date.
“When we started the band it purely for fun and we were surprised that Stephen Pastel [of the legendary 53rd and 3rd Records] wanted us to record for his record label,” says Kelly. “We thought that would be the end of it and we would play a few shows then finish college and university then enter the real world and have to grow up. We had no idea we’d still be playing 30 years later. We do sometimes look at each other on stage and say, ‘How did we get here?’”
The “here” he is referring to, is a nine-album career (including EPs) that has brought them to prestigious international music festivals, a new generation of fans and a spotlight on The Vaselines influential lineage. When I ask Kelly about this, he is characteristically humble.
“We don’t really hear it,” he says. “I think we’ve all just listened to the same records and have the same influences.”
If you have ever read an interview with The Vaselines before, you will have noticed the witty banter between McKee and Kelly, former lovers as well as bandmates. One can’t help but wonder what would have happened if they hadn’t broken up, and if the band had taken a more “careerist” approach to their music. After all, having Kurt Cobain canonize you is better press than any publicist could buy in the early ‘90s.
“I sometimes wish I personally was more driven and ambitious but I’m not and never will be,” says Kelly. “We never want it to feel like hard work even though sometimes on tour it can be exhausting. Being in a band should be fun and an escape from reality to a certain extent. We’re very lucky to be able to do what we do.”
This approachability is precisely why The Vaselines remain so beloved. They still make music like it’s the most exciting thing in the world, and as a result, keep their ever-growing fan base satisfied. Heck, their latest record was partly inspired by a Ramones cover band.
“I saw a Ramones tribute band and I wanted to listen to all their albums again,” Kelly says. “I loved their pop melodies, the speed of the songs and the brevity. Instant pop thrills. We tried to capture just a tiny bit of that but the Ramones are untouchable.”
Thrills, but chill. That’s The Vaselines for you. As frontwoman Frances McKee is a yoga teacher, and they are about to play the most yoga-friendly city in Canada, it’s only fitting that we conclude our interview with a little zen.
“I’ve tried yoga and like it. I need to try harder. I am quite zen actually,” says Kelly. “I never get excited about anything and am very good at sitting and doing nothing while breathing deeply. I’m a black belt in it.”
Namaste, Eugene.
• The Vaselines play Rickshaw Theatre on Jan. 23 with special guests Loch Lomond. Doors at 8, show at 9:30, Advance tickets $20 online or at Red Cat, Zulu and Highlife.
