Biography
During the middle years of the 2000s the Long Blondes secured a distinctive position within Britain’s musical landscape. Their tracks delivered punchy, rebellious bursts that mixed brash attitude with bright tunefulness, while their image supplied generous doses of second-hand elegance. Fronted by Kate Jackson’s amplified singing and shaped by Dorian Cox’s skill at crafting lasting melodies, the group’s opening releases and first full-length effort, Someone to Drive You Home from 2006, stand as prime artifacts of a unit operating at peak capacity. Their follow-up, Couples issued in 2008, shifted toward a colder synth-driven aesthetic modeled on disco-era Blondie rather than the band’s earlier incarnation, after which activity ceased because of health complications. Although the ensemble’s run proved brief, its impression remained strong, and listeners seeking an accurate snapshot of the era’s strongest guitar-based offerings could profitably explore the Long Blondes’ catalog.
The musicians came together in Sheffield, England, in 2003 after deciding to learn instruments and form a group. Kate Jackson and Reenie Hollis, already housemates, purchased a guitar and a bass respectively; elsewhere in the city Dorian Cox took up guitar and recruited his acquaintance Emma Chaplin on the same instrument. Cox contacted Jackson about assembling a band, the four pooled their efforts, and drummer Screech Louder joined shortly afterward. They immediately began composing material at an intense pace, fusing punk drive with the nostalgic sheen of acts such as Roxy Music and the more recent Pulp, then applying a contemporary filter that favored exuberance over technical polish. Avid collectors of older popular culture, they scattered their lyrics with allusions to classic literature and cinema.
The Long Blondes’ first performances proved sufficiently striking that, after just three outings, record companies expressed interest in issuing their songs. A split single with the Boyfriends appeared on Filthy Little Angels, followed later in 2004 by a 7-inch on Sheffield Phonographic Corporation containing “New Idols” and “Long Blonde.” The group expanded its live circuit across Britain and Europe while continuing to generate fresh material at a rapid rate. Signing with Angular Records, they issued a succession of singles—“Giddy Stratospheres” in 2004, “Appropriation (By Any Other Name)” and “Separated by Motorways” the next year—that reflected increasing songwriting and instrumental assurance and built a loyal audience. In addition to the memorable hooks, the band’s visual presentation proved compelling; Jackson’s hand-painted artwork on the sleeves struck an effective balance between retro reference and playful excess.
Unsurprisingly, major labels began courting the Long Blondes, who ultimately chose Rough Trade and entered the studio with Pulp’s Steve Mackey as producer. Selecting the strongest songs accumulated over several years, they released a spirited, deliberately rough-edged debut album in 2006. Someone to Drive You Home contained reworked versions of “Giddy Stratospheres” and “Separated by Motorways” plus the standout mid-decade guitar-pop single “Once and Never Again.”
Extensive touring followed the album’s appearance, taking the musicians through Europe and the United States; they also put out the non-album single “Five Ways to End It” / “Fulwood Babylon” in 2007. While traveling they composed whenever possible and later convened with producer Erol Alkan to record a second album. Adopting a revised approach, the band reduced guitar emphasis, increased keyboard textures, and pursued a chillier, new-wave-oriented direction. Rough Trade released Couples in 2008, after which the musicians resumed live work. Their progress ended abruptly in 2009 when Dorian Cox experienced a severe stroke. Although he recovered, the injury prevented him from resuming guitar duties, leading the group to disband rather than seek a replacement. On the day they announced the split they also issued a compilation of early recordings titled Singles.
All members pursued further musical projects, Cox included once rehabilitation proved effective. Jackson’s most visible subsequent work was the 2016 album British Road Movies, recorded with Bernard Butler. In 2021 the band marked the fifteenth anniversary of Someone to Drive You Home with a reissue that added every B-side from their singles as bonus material.
The musicians came together in Sheffield, England, in 2003 after deciding to learn instruments and form a group. Kate Jackson and Reenie Hollis, already housemates, purchased a guitar and a bass respectively; elsewhere in the city Dorian Cox took up guitar and recruited his acquaintance Emma Chaplin on the same instrument. Cox contacted Jackson about assembling a band, the four pooled their efforts, and drummer Screech Louder joined shortly afterward. They immediately began composing material at an intense pace, fusing punk drive with the nostalgic sheen of acts such as Roxy Music and the more recent Pulp, then applying a contemporary filter that favored exuberance over technical polish. Avid collectors of older popular culture, they scattered their lyrics with allusions to classic literature and cinema.
The Long Blondes’ first performances proved sufficiently striking that, after just three outings, record companies expressed interest in issuing their songs. A split single with the Boyfriends appeared on Filthy Little Angels, followed later in 2004 by a 7-inch on Sheffield Phonographic Corporation containing “New Idols” and “Long Blonde.” The group expanded its live circuit across Britain and Europe while continuing to generate fresh material at a rapid rate. Signing with Angular Records, they issued a succession of singles—“Giddy Stratospheres” in 2004, “Appropriation (By Any Other Name)” and “Separated by Motorways” the next year—that reflected increasing songwriting and instrumental assurance and built a loyal audience. In addition to the memorable hooks, the band’s visual presentation proved compelling; Jackson’s hand-painted artwork on the sleeves struck an effective balance between retro reference and playful excess.
Unsurprisingly, major labels began courting the Long Blondes, who ultimately chose Rough Trade and entered the studio with Pulp’s Steve Mackey as producer. Selecting the strongest songs accumulated over several years, they released a spirited, deliberately rough-edged debut album in 2006. Someone to Drive You Home contained reworked versions of “Giddy Stratospheres” and “Separated by Motorways” plus the standout mid-decade guitar-pop single “Once and Never Again.”
Extensive touring followed the album’s appearance, taking the musicians through Europe and the United States; they also put out the non-album single “Five Ways to End It” / “Fulwood Babylon” in 2007. While traveling they composed whenever possible and later convened with producer Erol Alkan to record a second album. Adopting a revised approach, the band reduced guitar emphasis, increased keyboard textures, and pursued a chillier, new-wave-oriented direction. Rough Trade released Couples in 2008, after which the musicians resumed live work. Their progress ended abruptly in 2009 when Dorian Cox experienced a severe stroke. Although he recovered, the injury prevented him from resuming guitar duties, leading the group to disband rather than seek a replacement. On the day they announced the split they also issued a compilation of early recordings titled Singles.
All members pursued further musical projects, Cox included once rehabilitation proved effective. Jackson’s most visible subsequent work was the 2016 album British Road Movies, recorded with Bernard Butler. In 2021 the band marked the fifteenth anniversary of Someone to Drive You Home with a reissue that added every B-side from their singles as bonus material.
Albums
Singles
