Idol talk from The Vaselines

In most lines of work, quitting your job isn’t the most savvy career move.

But in the world of pop music, going out with a bang is positively encouraged. The Vaselines, founded in Glasgow more than three decades ago, split in 1989.

The story might have ended there, only weeks after the release of their first album, Dum-Dum, but for the intervention of Kurt Cobain, lead singer with Nirvana – who became the biggest band in the world in the early 1990s.

Cobain loved The Vaselines so much he covered three of their songs, most notably Jesus Don’t Want Me For A Sunbeam, which became famous as the stand-out track on Nirvana’s legendary acoustic album MTV Unplugged.

And now The Vaselines are back. They have a new album, Sex With An X, out in a fortnight and are heading off on tour. Eugene Kelly, lead singer, said: “Musically we haven’t matured much. We’re not top of the tree when it comes to musical talent. We just write the songs we can and keep it simple.

“We didn’t want to do a record that veered drastically into some other kind of genre. It was easy to slip back into being The Vaselines.” When Eugene and bandmate Frances McKee signed to 53rd and 3rd Records in 1987, the pair were also a couple off stage.

After the release of their album was delayed, their relationship ended and so did The Vaselines. Both went on to perform in other bands, with Eugene making solo performances across the world.

Frances is now married and a mum, while Eugene remains single, a travelling troubadour playing his songs wherever he can get a gig.

So how did Frances’ husband react to the rather suggestive tone of the new album title? “He liked the name,” Eugene insists. “It just sounded apt, like a Vaselines title. Even though Frances is married with children and I’m single, we have still been friends, it’s not as if we haven’t seen each other for 20 years. We have always been in touch.”

You can’t talk about The Vaselines without Nirvana cropping up. Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994, loved their music so much it has been suggested that his daughter Frances was named in tribute to the Scots duo. Eugene says: “It was weird. The band had ended but somehow the name spread out across the world. People still want to know about what happened there and why and what Kurt thought of us.

“It’s part of our story – the fact we were nobodies and Kurt and the band started covering our songs.

“That put our music out into the world is we are here today because Nirvana became a massive band and took our music out there with them. We can’t ever get tired of talking about Kurt because we accept that’s part of the deal.”

The question devoted Nirvana fans always want to ask of anyone who knew their hero is what was Kurt like. Sadly, it’s a question few people are able to answer.

“I toured with him in Britain for two weeks just when they were breaking through, playing Top of The Pops and being covered in the music press every day,” Eugene says. “They were hard to get close to, so we never truly bonded in any way with them.”

Back to the present day and The Vaselines want to shore up their place at the centre of Glasgow’s pop scene. The city, with its jangle-pop tradition dating back to the early 1980s, remains an inspiration.

“This is where I’ve always lived,” Eugene says. “The good thing about being a musician is that you get to travel the world. But you always want to come back to one place, and I think Glasgow is a great place to be as a musician.

“I’m 45, so I don’t think I will end up moving anywhere else, this is where I live and this is where I get inspiration from. I couldn’t leave the home of jangly pop behind.”