Blind Mr. Jones

Presumably named after the opening pair of tracks on Talking Heads' Naked and wryly dubbed the Jethro Tull of shoegaze because of their recurring flute lines, Blind Mr. Jones coalesced in Marlow, England, during the first years of the 1990s and were swiftly hailed as a promising young act. The lineup—guitarist James Franklin, guitarist/vocalist Richard Moore, flautist Jon Tegner, bassist/vocalist Will Teversham, and drummer Jon White—began by quietly emulating groups such as the Wedding Present while still in their teens. Their style later shifted toward the shoegaze template established by Ride and Slowdive, and a demo attracted Cherry Red Records, which offered the band a contract.

Stereo Musicale appeared in 1992 after the singles Eyes Wide and Crazy Jazz; the first contained guitar parts contributed by Slowdive’s Neil Halstead, while the second included harmonica from Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood. Two years afterward came the full-length Tatooine, an album that moved away from some of the group’s earlier shoegaze hallmarks. The band is said to have broken up not long after that release.