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Den: That's a good name for a band...
Bad News by Bad News © 2004 Parlophone Records Ltd.
Naked But For Glasses By Andrew Burns Origin: I am a wearer of spectacles and there is no denying that occasionally on getting undressed my glasses have been the last item of attire left. Not to put too fine a point on it (or scare anyone away) this has been commented on, and such comment, to my ear, resulted in a good name for a band. Chris Appleton in the mid to late 80’s had been the creative force behind psychedelic dance act Nipple Tickle. As the 80’s turned to the 90’s he was looking to add more of a pop sensibility to his post- Acid House electronica. Appleton found this sensibility in songwriter Luke Maguire. Maguire’s 60’s inspired, metropolitan infused brand of pop hooks laid over Appleton’s club friendly dance beats were infectious and had the crossover appeal Appleton had been searching for. When they added Maguire’s then girlfriend, the impossibly beautiful Freja Pedersen to the collective, the Danish singer’s breathy, lightly accented vocals completed the picture. Their first single as Naked But For Glasses was “Induced Sun” in 1991 and was picked up eagerly by club DJs across the UK, leading to it reaching No. 38 on the UK pop chart. They returned 6 months later with “Goodbye Privacy”, the first single from their self-titled first album. This absurdly infectious track was their real breakthrough, just missing out on the UK Top Ten as well as being a hit across Europe. The album was top 3 in the UK and really cemented their position in that first vanguard of what we would later call Britpop. While the rest of their Britpop contemporaries eschewed the Acid House dance aesthetic in favour of a rockier outlook, Naked But For Glasses ploughed their own furrow. They returned in 1994 with their second album “Cloud Cover”. Cloud Cover had been recorded during the breakdown of Pedersen and Maguire’s relationship and while this made promoting the album quite tense (colossal understatement!) it was a massive hit across Asia and Europe and even made some impact in the US. When Pedersen left it looked like time had been called on Naked But For Glasses, but Appleton and Maguire returned with a third album, 1997’s “Flatpack Love” that featured a series of guest female vocalists, most notably perhaps Fiona McPherson of Glaswegian all-girl punk band 9th Earl of Scandal. Her track, “Crazy Confectious” was the most successful release from the album, though, although it still stands up as a good listen even today, Flatpack Love is by some distance Naked But For Glasses’ weakest selling album. Nearly 5 years passed before they came back again in 2002 with the album “Bubble Wrap”. On vocal duties, this time for the whole album, was Donna Burton of Kiwi girl group Might as Maze.This decision lent a much more cohesive feel to this album. The lead single from Bubble Wrap, the achingly sad “Bound By Pain” is their biggest hit to date (though say that quietly in the presence of Freja Pedersen). With Pedersen persuaded back into the studio for the fifth album, “Waterloo Sunscreen” was a triumphant return for the original lineup and garnered two of their biggest hits (after Bound By Pain- sorry Freja!) in “Framed Summer” and “Mug Of Love”. Naked But For Glasses are rumoured to be back in the studio now working on their 6th album.
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AuthorAndrew Burns really should know better and has so many more important things to be doing than writing this drivel. Please offer him no encouragement either via social media or through the contact page Archives
September 2017
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