Long Gone

It is now nearly three weeks since the break up of Sheffield indie band The Long Blondes after their guitarist suffered a stroke in the summer. It was sad news at the time and their absence on the modern music scene will continue to leave a gap in the market.

They were always a slightly off-kilter band, full of seemingly different personalities. To watch them live was a strange experience as the charismatic singer Kate Jackson captured the attention of the audience, whilst the rest of the band - in particular Emma and Reenie - looked deeply uncomfortable.

What I loved about the band was the way their lyrics was full of pop-culture references, drenched in glamorous asides from years gone by. They name-checked, amongst others, Edie Sedgwick, Scott Walker, Billy Wilder films and Erin O'Connor whilst at the same time reflecting the difficulties of youth. They were exciting and, perhaps most importantly - and this is often overlooked or scoffed at in modern music - a lot of fun.

Their first album was critically well received on the most part but didn't sell particularly brilliantly. Someone To Drive You Home was full of well-paced, youthful sounding indie pop songs: it smashed you over the head before putting its arms round you and inviting you to the local disco.

Their second album Couples was a different affair, almost a specific attempt to sound grown-up in response to their earlier releases. It fused lyrics of mid-20s displacement with a more openly pop sound that made use of electronica as well as their normal guitar sound. There was a critical backlash as well as a confused reaction from fans expecting the second installment of Someone To Drive You Home and it reached only number 48 in the album charts.

It may not have sold many CDs but there was undoubtedly a massive record company push behind them; faith they never repaid in monetary terms. They had an unbelievable opportunity but somehow the mainstream couldn't seem to take to them, no matter how much hype surrounded them.

Because of this, it was perhaps an inevitable split - even if Dorian Cox's stroke was a quite shocking final chapter of the story. It is a sad reflection of the UK music industry that if you don't shift units, you will probably end up losing your record deal and it is unlikely that the band would have been given the opportunity to release another record.

Part of me is sad that the Long Blondes are no more. In time, I can't help but feel that their second album - for all the bad words said about it - will stand up as a much greater work than their first. Whether the band will end up as a cult forgotten act like many that have gone before is debatable, that they'll always be hovering around my CD player is not.