By Ted Ballsin
‘We hate it when our friends become successful’, sang Morrisey. But we also hate it when our bands become successful. Is there anything more annoying than for a band or singer you love, to go onto achieve worldwide success and everyone to know about them. We prefer to keep them close to us, a secret love, because too much exposure can spoil the magic. Luckily (but perhaps only for us not them), The Blue Aeroplanes remain one of the best kept secrets in English music. It is a truth universally acknowledged that The Velvet Underground, while releasing albums, and playing live, were hardly known outside fashionable New York circles. Their famous album with the banana on the cover, ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico’, only sold 58,000 copies, yet the urban myth goes that everyone who bought a copy, formed a band. So many parallels can be drawn between them and The Blue Aeroplanes, both in musical and lyrical style, but also in the huge influence they both have had.
It is accepted that The Blue Aeroplanes are one of the most influential bands to have existed in the past forty years, in this country. Everyone from R.E.M to Radiohead have cited them as having changed their sound. In fact, Michael Stipe gives credit to touring with the band giving him the confidence to approach a more spoken word sound on songs such as ‘Belong’ on ‘Out of Time.’
Stipe went onto sing on Blue Aeroplane’s tracks ‘Anti-Pretty’ and ‘What It Is’; and became such a fan of the band, that he would drag famous friends such as Morrissey to see them play. Of the song ‘What It Is’ Stipe said ‘It has what I consider to be one of their greatest lyrics, and certainly for me, is emboldening. I had always wanted to do a Dylanesque, or Lou Reed type vocal on the song ‘It’s the End of the World As We Know It’ but I never felt that I could pull it off in an R.E.M song; Having toured with Blue Aeroplanes, on our Green tour, I think it gave me the unconscious courage to go for it, in what has become one of my favouriteR.E.M songs of all time, ‘E-Bow the Letter’. Gerard Langley’s incanting over stunning guitars, layered like John Cale and Brian Ferry, with heavy dollops of Neil Young; makes it a great record.’
The band’s sound is dominated by poet/vocalist Gerard Langley whose spoken word style is probably unparcelled by any frontman still performing today, in its combination of vivid imagery, but also ability to conjure evocative beauty, to blend with the band’s rush of guitars. In fact, probably no current rock-band is better suited to playing a literary festival. From their transformation from embryonic early band Art Objects (check out their track ‘Showing off to Impress the Girls’) into the line-up of today, Langley has frequently directly referencedauthors, or in some cases simply put their words to music. He gives Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘The Applicant’ a life-affirming invincibility, on album ‘Swagger’, and if he presented his lyrics in book form, they would probably win every poetry prize going.
Founding guitarist Angelo Bruschini would go onto tour and play on Massive Attack records, and the Aeroplane’s guitar style can be distinctly heard on a track like ‘Angel’. Other band members have left to join the likes of Placebo, Primal Scream, Goldfrapp, and even Busted. They deliver a highly diverse mixture of musical styles, using everything from feedback to 60’s style jangly guitars. However, they are also distinctive for dancer Wojtek Dmochowski. ‘He’s a friend of mine, who just used to go to clubs and dance a lot’, say’s Langley ‘He’d be monopolising the dancefloor, so it seemed quite logical to have him in the band, and when people ask me, I just say ‘Why? Because he’s a good dancer!’ Dmochowski’s energy is fuelled by the joy in the songs. You can expect an energetic live show, but also a rare one. The band hardly ever play live now, except for a regular sold-out Christmas gig at Bristol’s Fleece, which they also own. However, they have recorded a new album, due out this summer, and therefore, this a real opportunity to witness musical history and say you were there. The Blue Aeroplanes can be your secret too.
Tickets for ‘The Last Word’ End of festival party can be bought for £29.00 at arenatorquay.com Featuring: The Blue Aeroplanes, Mike Pickering, Mr B – The Gentleman Rhymer, 3 Days of Wonder and Vanity Proj3ct. 6:30-01:15 Saturday 15th August 2026.
Torbay Festival’s Favourite Blue Aeroplane Songs
Jacket Hangs
Veils of Colour
Daughter Movie
Your Ages
Weightless
…And Stones
Growing Up, Growing Down
My Hurricane
Mercury (Hold/Protect/Love)
Dead Tree! Dead Tree!
Our recommended beach listening; The album ‘Beatsongs’.
