The only good thing about vinyl records now costing such exorbitant prices is that it’s driven me to buying more second-hand LPs. My ‘70s collection is truly burgeoning!
The more affordable prices (between £4 and £12, generally speaking, at Missing Records in Glasgow) means I can now get hold of albums that were way too expensive for a lad whose spending power was restricted to paper-round money back in the ‘70s.
Fifty-plus-years old LPs that were perhaps second or third choice on my ‘want’ list from back in the day are now stacked next to purchases made for £2.50 in 1973. (When you think about it, with the cumulative inflation rate over the period running at about £1350%, waiting half a century to buy an album makes complete financial sense! 😉)
Anyway, one LP I was particularly glad to get my hands on, was the 1973 debut, eponymous offering from the band, Blue. The Glasgow band, Blue. Not the boyband of the early 2000s who adopted the same name.
(The original Blue did raise a court action over the use of the name, but fearing the decision may not go their way, leaving them with costs in excess of £100k, they settled out of court.)
In 1973, I was still heavily into Sweet. Uriah Heep and Stray were my early dip into Rock and I’d not long discovered Rory Gallagher and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
Another favourite of that time was the band Glencoe. Their sound was different to those mentioned above; a bit more mellow, though still rock infused. So, I guess it wasn’t too surprising that I took to Blue on first hearing.
The fact they came from Glasgow added to their allure.
Blue were originally formed as a trio. Timmy Donald (drums) was formerly with celebrated Glasgow band White Trash while Ian MacMillan (Bass / vocals) and Hughie Nicholson (guitar / vocals) were both ex-members of The Poets. Hughie later spent a couple of years with Marmalade. Indeed, it was he who wrote their hits, ‘Cousin Norman’ and ‘Radancer’ amongst others.
Blue’s first single ‘Little Jody’ failed to chart, despite it also featuring Jimmy McCulloch, another Glasgow lad, better known I’d say for his time with Stone the Crows and then Wings. His involvement with the band was only fleeting, however.
Prior to the release of their second album, ‘Life In The Navy,’ another guitarist, Robert ‘Smiggy’ Smith was added. It was from this album their next single was released – ‘Lonesome.’ This too failed to dent the charts.
Sadly then, following a dispute with their record company, RSO, the band broke up. The good news, though, was that Hughie and Ian reformed Blue a while later, with the addition of Hughie’s brother Dave, and Charlie Smith taking on the role of drummer.
They then signed to Elton John’s Rocket label, and this time, they gained the commercial success they deserved, with the single, ‘Capture Your Heart,’ breaking into both the UK and USA charts. However, it was to be their only 7” hit.
One more album was to follow, in 1979, ‘Fool’s Party,’ following which the band moved to California for a few years.
Long since returned to the UK, I believe the band are still together and playing.
It’s evident, I think, from the following video (my favourite track of the band) as to why Blue are sometimes compared to Badfinger. I still find it strange they did not receive the recognition they merited. Certainly, the music landscape was changing in the mid-Seventies, yet they did still feature a good few times in the Jackie magazine as well as the likes of Sounds and NME, indicating a widespread appeal.
Such is the fickleness of the music industry.
(Post by Colin ‘Jackie’ Jackson from Glasgow – March 2026.)
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Not ringing any bells for me but they sounded great on those clips! Fickle business indeed.
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Cheers Randy. Yeah, as evidenced by their chart success (or lack of ) and struggles to get a bi-time deal in California, they definitely slipped through the net, sadly. 🙂
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Time to give those a listen… I haven’t heard of them and also had no idea the boy band ‘Blue’ was real not just a gag in ‘Love Actually’!
Do you find most of the usedLPs there to be in good shape?
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I’ve lost count of the number of LPs I’ve bought from MISSING RECORDS, Dave. Without exception, they all play without skipping. A couple have an audible hiss or slight ‘click’ but they are the ones I paid only £4 for, so can’t complain.
The sleeves are perhaps, in some cases, not in te best condition, but I’m not buying for any re-sale value – just the music and to bolster my collection, so I’m well happy with what I can pick up.
(My wife uses that shop like a creche – she’ll drop me off in there while she goes away and does her clothes shopping or whatever, then comes to collect me. She knows I’ll be supervised and looked after while she’s gone!” 😀 )
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My boss at Cuthbertson’s Music shop Freddie Mail had a brief (uncredited) spell as Blue’s guitarist. He told a tale of their meeting with Robert Stigwood when the four band members were summoned to his mansion in London to set up a deal to sign for RSO. Stigwood’s assistant ushered them in to this vast living room with deep pile carpet, sat them on plush chairs and gave each of them a large full crystal brandy glass the size of a football. After what seemed like ages two glass doors dramatically parted to reveal Stigwood resplendent in fur coat holding four afghan hounds on leashes. He then dropped the leads and each dog made it’s way to greet the four stunned Glasgow band members. Freddie, being a level headed bloke didn’t give up his day job ! Hughie was a regular in the shop and a pretty decent guy I seem to remember.
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HA hA! Cool rock ‘n’ roll story! You must have met a good few ‘stars’ while working in Cuthbertsons? There was really only Biggars as a possible alternative for thos of musical talent?
Yeah – on the few times I’d have seen Hughie on TV / heard on radio, he always came across as a regular bloke. 🙂
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“We had our fair share of stars and celebrities. Billy Connolly signed many a cheque for me. Midge Ure was a regular. Turned up with the rest of Slik one day in baseball strips straight from a photo shoot.
Frank Ifield wandered in when the shop was near deserted and all the staff quietly hummed or whistled “I Remember You”.
Q. Did Devo purchase a Firebird copy guitar and proceed to saw bits off it ?
A. Yes. I got the saw from the workshop for them.
Charlie Burchill from Simple Minds, Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy, Quo’s Alan Lancaster – lovely fellows all. No egos, no divas – except….
There was a certain Scottish entertainer – let’s just call her Lena Martell – who would come in silk scarf around her head and sunglasses askew and stop at the top of the stairs, hands out stretched, as if waiting for her “da daah” moment. Leaning heavily on the banister she would descend. Obviously she had been at the cooking sherry all morning. One step at a time sweet Lena. She would stride purposely to the cassette department. Looking for an Askit no doubt.”
Excerpt from https://onceuponatimeinthe70s.com/2021/03/02/are-you-being-served-part-2/
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I don’t remember the band as such but I definitely remember “I’m Gonna Capture Your Heart” and “Little Jody” sounds like 70s Marmalade.
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I think the Marmalade sound comes through on a few of their tracks. Only natural I guess.
They didn’t get too much radio airplay, other than ‘Capture Your Heart’ if I recall correctly. Probably not ‘poppy’ enough for daytime Radio 1, and yet not ‘heavy’ or ‘prog’ enough for night-time. 🙂
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