paranoid android Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 On 26/09/2017 at 18:57, Highland Capital said: Just out of interest, what does Paul Buchanan do now? Does he just live off the royalties? Probably - I often wonder about these things. I'm sure Buchanan did some work as a studio sound engineer in the USA between albums - I don't imagine he does that sort of thing these days. Not sure how they did in terms of records sales, and they must have owed their record company a lot of money for fronting the recording costs in the lead up to Hats. They're not a band that tend to get a lot of air-play on radio either. I mind them saying that they knew folk who didn't believe they were a reasonably successful band because they'd never seen them on Top of the Pops. I can't ever imagine any of them doing anything that isn't utterly distinguished. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Capital Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I mind them saying that they knew folk who didn't believe they were a reasonably successful band because they'd never seen them on Top of the Pops. I might have gotten this story slightly wrong but after Hats came out, a university friend of Paul Buchanan asked him if he'd heard of this band he was a fan of called The Blue Nile unaware that his university friend was actually in it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Wee Villa Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Travel Forum for this pish. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoid android Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 14 hours ago, Highland Capital said: I might have gotten this story slightly wrong but after Hats came out, a university friend of Paul Buchanan asked him if he'd heard of this band he was a fan of called The Blue Nile unaware that his university friend was actually in it! Wouldn't be surprised if that was true - I hope it is, actually. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernJambo Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I've only hear walk across the rooftops (thanks to my step father). Thought it was pretty decent. Other albums better? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Just out of interest, what does Paul Buchanan do now? Does he just live off the royalties? I’ve got one of his solo albums. It’s great. I was under the impression it sold fairly well - I heard it first on a jukebox in a San Francisco bar. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Capital Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 1 hour ago, NorthernJambo said: I've only hear walk across the rooftops (thanks to my step father). Thought it was pretty decent. Other albums better? Hats is better in my opinion. 53 minutes ago, Savage Henry said: I’ve got one of his solo albums. It’s great. I was under the impression it sold fairly well - I heard it first on a jukebox in a San Francisco bar. I too thought Mid Air was a superb record - it's like Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska from a parallel universe. I think it's his only solo album though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorge Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 There were whispers of a second PB solo record in the works, but if you know about affairs relating to anything-TBN related you know to take it with a pinch of salt. Will never tire of Hats, I don't think. The other three albums all have flaws (especially PAL) but that one is 100% on the money and stirs me every time, 15 years after first hearing it. Would have mixed emotions about a fifth, but can't see it ever happening. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddfg Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Saturday Night and Family Life are probably my two favourite Blue Nile songs, "just separate chairs in separate rooms" could sum up significant parts of my adult life in six words. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rankine Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Peter Gabriel was/is a huge fan of The Blue Nile. Apparently, he used to order copies of A Walk Across the Rooftops in bulk and give them away to his contacts in the music industry. He was determined they should reach a wider audience and tried to gain them more commercial success. Paul Buchanan sang vocals on Downside Up, one of Gabriel's better songs from his Millenium Project.Easter Parade, Regret and Family Life are incredible songs which always bring me to tears. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Always thought A Walk Across the Rooftops was slightly more accessible than Hats. It's the one I've played the most over the years, certainly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Rubble Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 On 28/09/2017 at 00:20, paranoid android said: They're not a band that tend to get a lot of air-play on radio either. And just as you say that, Tinseltown in the Rain was played on the Bryan Burnett show last night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRS Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 (edited) On 29/09/2017 at 00:42, Highland Capital said: Hats is better in my opinion. +1 for "Hats"; stunningly magnificent album combining Buchanans heart wrenching compositions and vocals with some incredible soundscapes from PJ. I remember sitting at the riverside in Brooklyn late evening, looking at over to lower Manhattan (and the Twin Towers) listening to "Downtown Lights" on my first visit to NYC in 1999. If ever a piece of music matched the visuals, this was it. Edited October 3, 2017 by PRS spelling 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weewilliewinky Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 used tae be a pub called blue nile in glesga i got drunk there wan nite then climbed up the drainpipe and walked across the rooftops. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenconner Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 4 minutes ago, weewilliewinky said: used tae be a pub called blue nile in glesga i got drunk there wan nite then climbed up the drainpipe and walked across the rooftops. ^^^^^^^ Spiderman? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weewilliewinky Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 naw...ciderman 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 And just as you say that, Tinseltown in the Rain was played on the Bryan Burnett show last night. When I used to work backshift I would always try and get a Blue Nile song fitted in to whatever the topic was for each night's Get It On. Saw them at the GRCH in (I think) 2008, and the sound quality was the best I've ever heard at a gig. Played everything you would expect to hear but the finale was a stunning version of Strangers in the Night. Like others, a huge fan of Hats, it would be right up there in any list of my top albums. My own order would be Hats>Rooftops>Peace>High. Bizarrely, High was the album which got highest in the UK charts. There's only a few memorable songs on it for me, but this was my favourite. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Capital Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 I was listening to parts of Peace At Last again the other week and was thinking the record would be far higher regarded if it was an EP rather than a whole album. Imagine if it was just Happiness, Tomorrow Morning, Body and Soul and Family Life and that was it. As an album it has good tracks but quite a few very forgettable ones too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoid android Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 (edited) Have to say I'm surprised at the lack of love for Peace at Last. 'Holy Love' was always the big bone of contention for me, with the drum machine, synth choir patch, and synth bassline all seeming a wee bit clumsy and leaden, but Buchanan makes it interesting with his vocal and chicken grease guitar - it's almost as if he's channelling Prince. I could pretty much say the same for 'Soon', apart from the Prince comment. Peace at Last is certainly flawed, but since when did that matter? I say they pull it off in ways that only The Blue Nile can. The low point on A Walk Across the Rooftops for me is 'Rags to Riches', but, to it's credit, I don't think anyone had ever heard anything like that before. I would even have minor quibbles about Hats, but they're not worth bothering about. Paul Buchanan's guitar and Robert Bell's basslines don't always get much attention, but they are sublime touches that add so much. There's naeb'dy like them. Edited October 12, 2017 by paranoid android 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoid android Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 'Hats' is 30 years old: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0009b82 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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