From the same new Scottish pop scene that begat Aztec Camera came The Bluebells – a bookish-looking quintet of Merseybeat revisionists.
Their self-titled debut mini-album (1983) was full of crisp, effervescent guitars and glistening harmonies, proving that The Bluebells had a charming way with 1960s pop lingo.
Against the odds, the group also turned Brendan Behan’s Irish lament, Patriots Game, into Rubber Soul with a social conscience, softening the song’s sorrowful waltz rhythm with a light acoustic guitar backdrop and subtle pings of piano.
The single Young At Heart (1984) was written by Bobby Bluebell and Siobhan Fahey (of Bananarama and Shakespears Sister fame). The song returned to the charts in 1993 after it was used in a TV commercial advertising cars.
Bobby Bluebell (Robert Hodgens)
Guitar David McCluskey
Drums Ken McCluskey
Vocals, harmonica Lawrence Donegan
Bass Craig Gannon
Guitar Neil Baldwin
Bass Russell Irvine
Guitar Gary Crowley
Guitar
Video
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