The bluebells
The Bluebells were a British indie rock band from the 1980s.
history
The band was founded by Robert Hodgens. His stage name Bobby Bluebell gave the group its name and he was also responsible for their songs. Several singles finished in the UK Top 40 . The most successful was the title Young at Heart . This is a cover version of the Bananarama title of the same name . These were written by the members of the girl group and Robert Hodgens, Siobhan Fahey's friend at the time . Due to a legal dispute, the violinist Bobby Valentino, who can be heard in the cover version with a violin solo , is now listed as the author. The group split up in the mid-1980s, until then they released the mini-album The Bluebells and the album Sisters , followed by the album Second in 1992 .
Only years after the separation did the group have their first number one hit : Young at Heart was number 1 in the British singles charts in April 1993. The background was the use of the song in a commercial for the Volkswagen company , while the single was re-released. Also in Ireland the title was a number one. This resulted in a brief reunion of the group on the BBC television program Top of the Pops . In the years that followed, the members met again for a short time.
Members
- Bobby Bluebell (real name: Robert Hodgens, born June 6, 1959) - guitar
- David McCluskey (born January 13, 1964) - drums
- Ken McCluskey (real name: Kenneth McCluskey, born February 8, 1962) - vocals, harmonica
- Lawrence Donegan (born July 13, 1961 in Stirling ) - bass
- Craig Gannon (born July 30, 1966 in Manchester ) - guitar
- Neil Baldwin - bass
- Russell Irvine - guitar
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
|||
| 1984 | Sisters | - |
UK22 (10 weeks) UK |
|
| 1983 | The Singles Collection | - |
UK27 (5 weeks) UK |
compilation
|
More albums
- 1983: The Bluebells
- 1992: Second
- 1993: Young at Heart
- 2014: Exile on Twee Street (Songs from Glasgow 1980-1982) (compilation)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
UK
|
|||
| 1983 | Cath / Will She Always Be Waiting The Bluebells EP |
- |
UK62 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| Sugar Bridge (It Will Stand) The Bluebells EP |
- |
UK72 (1 week) UK |
||
| 1984 | I'm falling sisters |
- |
UK11 (12 weeks) UK |
|
| Young at Heart Sisters |
- |
UK8 (12 weeks) UK |
||
| Cath Sisters |
- |
UK38 (7 weeks) UK |
||
| 1985 | All I Am (Is Loving You) |
- |
UK58 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1993 | Young at Heart (Reissue) The Singles Collection |
DE55 (9 weeks) DE |
UK1  (12 weeks)UK |
|
More singles
- 1982: Forevermore
- 1982: Everybody's Somebody's Fool ( Flexidisc )
swell
Web links
- The Bluebells on Allmusic (English)
- The Bluebells at Discogs (English)
- Biography at Taurus Press