Biography
Glasgow native Eugene Kelly, born there in 1965, stood at the leading edge of Scotland’s indie pop surge alongside the Pastels, Teenage Fanclub, and BMX Bandits thanks to the cult appeal of his groups the Vaselines and Eugenius. In 1987 he launched the Edinburgh-based Vaselines with co-singer and guitarist Frances McKee; drummer Charles Kelly, his brother, and bassist James Seenan joined soon after. The band signed to the fledgling 53rd and 3rd imprint run by Pastels frontman Stephan Pastel, and their inaugural studio date produced the 1987 single “Son of a Gun.” Lewd yet naïve, abrasive yet tender, the quartet’s shambling primitivist clamor captured pop in its most uncalculated and euphoric form, drawing an ardent following that included Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who repeatedly named the Vaselines as an influence during subsequent press encounters. The label’s collapse spelled the end for the Vaselines, who disbanded the same week their only studio album, 1989’s Dum Dum, surfaced on Rough Trade; the original lineup nevertheless reconvened briefly the next year to support Nirvana in Edinburgh. Fresh attention prompted Sub Pop to issue The Way of the Vaselines in 1992, compiling all nineteen of the band’s officially released tracks. Kelly reappeared in 1990 fronting Captain America, which issued the EPs Wow! and Flame On before Marvel Comics’ legal threat forced the group to adopt the name Eugenius. Their 1992 debut Oomalama elevated Kelly’s standing as a master of concise pop songcraft by refining the Vaselines approach with fuller arrangements and clearer production. After Eugenius disbanded following the modest reception of its 1994 follow-up Mary Queen of Scots, Kelly kept a low profile for the rest of the decade, playing in the informal supergroup Astro Chimp with Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake and Gerard Love while also co-writing with the Lemonheads’ Evan Dando. He returned to recording in 2000 with a solo cover of Dennis Wilson’s “Lady” for the Beach Boys tribute Caroline Now! Three years later came his first proper solo EP, Older Faster. The album Man Alive reached Japan in 2004 and arrived in the United States several months afterward.
Albums
