THE BLUEBELLS were formed by songwriter / guitarist Robert Hodgens aka Bobby Bluebell in 1980. When deciding to form a group to start performing his songs, Hodgens remembered two punk musicians from Bothwell (brothers Ken and David McCluskey) he had interviewed for his fanzine, 10 Commandments. David (drums / backing vocals) and Ken (vocals / harmonica) joined Robert and The Bluebells started performing live in and around Glasgow.
The Bluebells were soon involved in the burgeoning scene coalescing around Postcard Records in Glasgow (Orange Juice, Josef K, Go Betweens, Aztec Camera, Jazzateers), and it wasn’t long before The Bluebells were sharing stages throughout the UK with some of the Postcard groups. A single (Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool) was scheduled for release on Postcard, however after appearing on the front page on Melody Maker and in NME / Sounds etc, major record companies started making serious offers to sign the group. The Bluebells appeared on BBC music program the Old Grey Whistle Test, the first unsigned group to do so, and it wasn’t long after this television appearence that the group signed a major record contract with London Records.
The Bluebells were soon in the studio working on songs for their debut album, with Elvis Costello producing. They were invited to open on UK tours for Haircut 100 and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, and started releasing singles to critical acclaim (Forevermore, Cath, Sugar Bridge). However it was their fourth single I’m Falling (co-written by Robert and Ken) that finally resulted in commercial success, chart success, and appearences on Top of the Pops.
The Bluebells released their debut album, Sisters, in 1984 to further commercial chart success, which was continued when their next single, Young At Heart, gave the group their second big hit single. However, when Young At Heart was reissued in 1993, it reached number 1 in the chart for a month, making The Bluebells regular fixtures on Top of the Pops.
FRETS is delighted that Ken, David, and Bobby will be appearing at FRETS, The Bluebells will be performing acoustically in concert at the Strathaven Hotel on Friday 20th March.
Tickets for The Bluebells’ acoustic concert at FRETS on Friday 20th March in the Strathaven Hotel, will only be available from the Eventbrite link below. The link will go live at 7pm on Saturday 8th Feb, from which time onwards tickets can be purchased.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-bluebells-acoustic-tickets-92493351103
FRETS CREATIVE 