My Bloody Valentine (often abbreviated as MBV) is an Irish rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1983. Founded by singer and guitarist Kevin Shields and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig, the band underwent multiple lineup changes before recruiting bassist Debbie Googe in 1985 and singer and guitarist Bilinda Butcher in 1987. Regarded as pioneers of shoegaze, their work is characterised by distorted guitar textures, subdued androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques.
Following several unsuccessful early releases and membership changes, My Bloody Valentine signed to Creation Records in 1988. The band released several successful extended plays (EPs) on the label, and the albums Isn't Anything (1988) and Loveless (1991). The latter is often regarded as the band's magnum opus and a landmark album in shoegaze, though the band were dropped by Creation after its release due to the album's extensive production costs.
In 1992, My Bloody Valentine signed to Island Records and recorded several albums' worth of unreleased material, remaining largely inactive. Googe and Ó Cíosóig left the band in 1995, and were followed by Butcher and Shields in 1997. They reunited in 2007 for a world tour and released a compilation album in 2012. Their third album, (2013), received critical acclaim and was supported by further touring.
History
Formation and early releases In 1978, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig were introduced to each other at a karate tournament in South Dublin. The duo became friends in what has been described as "an almost overnight friendship" and later formed the Complex, a punk rock band, with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Ó Cíosóig's friend from Coláiste Eoin. The band, who performed "a handful of gigs" consisting of Sex Pistols and Ramones songs, disbanded when Ó Maonlaí left to form Hothouse Flowers. Shields and Ó Cíosóig later formed A Life in the Day, a post-punk trio, but failed to secure performances with more than a hundred people present.
Following A Life in the Day's dissolution, Shields and Ó Cíosóig formed My Bloody Valentine in early 1983 with bass player Mark Loughlin (now performing as the Engineer) and lead vocalist David Conway. Conway, who performed under the pseudonym Dave Stelfox, suggested a number of potential band names, including the Burning Peacocks, and performed a single gig under that name before the quartet changed the name to My Bloody Valentine. At the time, the band saw the trailer for My Bloody Valentine on a rented VHS movie during downtime of a rehearsal at the home of Shields's parents. Subsequently, Shields has claimed he was unaware that My Bloody Valentine was the title of a 1981 Canadian slasher film when the name was suggested. Second guitarist Stephen Ivers also joined the band at this time.
My Bloody Valentine experienced a number of lineup changes during their initial months. Lead guitarist Stephen Ivers and bassist Loughlin were recruited in April 1983, and the band would often rehearse near Smithfield and Temple Bar in rehearsal spaces owned by Alan Furlong. Walsh, who booked some of the band's early performances, said the rehearsals were "too noisy" and "crazy" that "next door were giving out hell". Loughlin left the band in December 1983 and was replaced by Paul Murtagh, who left the band in early 1984.
In March 1984, Shields, Ivers and Conway recorded the band's first demo on a four-track recorder in Shields's parents' home in Killiney. Shields and Ó Cíosóig overdubbed bass and drum tracks at Litton Lane Studios, and the tape was later used to secure a contract with Tycoon Records. Soon after recording the demo, Ivers left My Bloody Valentine, and Conway's girlfriend, Tina Durkin, joined as a keyboard player. Around this time, Conway, on the suggestion of Shields, contacted Gavin Friday, the lead vocalist of the post-punk band Virgin Prunes. According to Shields, Conway approached Friday in Finglas, asked him for advice, and was told to "get out of Dublin." Shields agreed with the advice, commenting in January 1991 that "there was no room for us" in Ireland; Ó Cíosóig explained that the Irish music scene was not receptive to their style. Friday provided the band with contacts that secured them a show in Tilburg, Netherlands. The band relocated to the Netherlands after the show and lived there for a further nine months, opening for R.E.M. on one occasion on 8 April 1984. Due to a lack of opportunities and a lack of correct documentation, the band relocated to West Berlin, Germany in late 1984 and recorded their debut mini album, This Is Your Bloody Valentine, released in 1985. The album failed to receive much attention, and the band returned temporarily to the Netherlands before settling in London that same year.
Recruitment of Googe and Butcher Following their relocation to London in 1985, members of My Bloody Valentine lost contact with each other while looking for accommodation, and Tina Durkin, doubting her abilities as a keyboard player, left the band. When the remaining three members regained contact with one another, the band decided to audition bassists, as they lacked a regular bassist since their formation. Shields acquired Debbie Googe's telephone number from a contact in London, invited her to audition, and subsequently recruited her as a bassist. Googe managed to attend rehearsals, which were centered around her day job. Rehearsal sessions were regularly held at Salem Studios, which was connected to the independent record label Fever Records. The label's management was impressed with the band and agreed to release an extended play, provided the band would finance the recording sessions themselves. Released in December 1985, Geek! failed to reach the band's expectations; however, soon after its release, My Bloody Valentine were performing on the London gig circuit, alongside bands such as Eight Living Legs, Kill Ugly Pop and the Sting-rays.
Due to the band's slow progress, Shields contemplated relocating to New York City, where members of his family were living at the time. However, Creation Records co-founder Joe Foster had decided to establish his own record label, Kaleidoscope Sound, and persuaded My Bloody Valentine to record and release an EP. The New Record by My Bloody Valentine, produced by Foster, was released in October 1986 and was a minor success, peaking at number 22 on the UK Indie Chart upon its release. On the strength of the release, the band began performing more frequent shows, later developing a small following and travelling outside London for live performances, supporting and opening for bands such as the Membranes.In early 1987, My Bloody Valentine signed to Lazy Records, another independent record label, which was founded by the indie pop band the Primitives and their manager, Wayne Morris. My Bloody Valentine's first release on the label was the single "Sunny Sundae Smile", released in February 1987. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Indie Singles Chart and the band toured following its release. After a number of performances throughout the U.K., the band managed to secure a support slot with the Soup Dragons, but on that tour in March 1987, David Conway announced his decision to leave the band, citing a gastric illness, disillusionment with music, and ambitions to become a writer.
Conway's departure left the band without a lead vocalist, and Shields, Ó Cíosóig and Googe advertised in the local music press for a new singer. The audition process, which Shields described as "disastrous and excruciating," was unsuccessful because he had mentioned the Smiths in the advertisements "because [he] liked their melodies," attracting a number of vocalists whom he called "fruitballs." Although considering forming another group, the band experimented with vocalists Bilinda Butcher and Joe Byfield, both of whom had been recommended to the band by other musicians. Butcher, whose musical experience consisted of playing classical guitar as a child and singing and playing tambourine "with some girlfriends for fun," had learned that My Bloody Valentine needed a backing vocalist from her partner, who had met Ó Cíosóig on a ferry from the Netherlands. At her audition, she sang Dolly Parton's 1975 song "The Bargain Store". She was invited to join the group, with Byfield deemed unsuitable as a lead vocalist.
Following Butcher's recruitment, Shields shared lead vocals with her. Commenting on the transition, Shields noted that Butcher "sounded all right and she could sing one of our songs, we just had to show her how to play guitar." Shields was initially reluctant to take on a vocal role within the band, but said that he had "always sung in the rehearsal room [...] and made up the melodies." With the new lineup in place, the band intended to drop the My Bloody Valentine moniker, but according to Ó Cíosóig and Shields, the band was unable to decide on a name and kept the moniker "for better or for worse."
Breakthrough with Isn't Anything and Loveless
Under pressure from Lazy Records to release a full-length album, the band compromised and agreed to release a single and subsequent mini-album, citing the need for time to stabilize their new lineup. "Strawberry Wine", a three-track single, was released in November 1987, and Ecstasy was released a month later. Both received moderate critical acclaim and peaked at number 13 and 12 on the independent singles and albums chart, respectively. However, "Strawberry Wine" was described as "certainly the better of the two releases", as Ecstasy was plagued by production difficulties, including errors in the mastering process. Ecstasy was criticised as the product of "a group who appeared to have run out of money halfway through recording," which was later confirmed, as the band were funding the studio sessions themselves. My Bloody Valentine's contract with Lazy stated that the label would handle promotion of releases, whereas the band would finance the recording sessions. Following their departure from Lazy, which later rereleased "Strawberry Wine" and Ecstasy on the compilation album Ecstasy and Wine (1989) without the band's consent, Rough Trade Records offered a deal to finance the recording and release of a full-length album, but the band turned it down. In January 1988, My Bloody Valentine performed in Canterbury, opening for Biff Bang Pow!, a band that featured Creation Records founder Alan McGee. After "blowing [Biff Bang Pow!] off the stage," My Bloody Valentine were described as "the Irish equivalent to Hüsker Dü" by McGee, who approached the band after the show and invited them to record and release a single on Creation. The band recorded five songs at a studio in Walthamstow, East London in less than a week. In August 1988, they released the You Made Me Realise EP, which was received well by the independent music press and, according to AllMusic's Nitsuh Abebe, "made critics stand up and take notice of the brilliant things My Bloody Valentine were up to ... it developed some of the stunning guitar sounds that would become the band's trademark." It debuted at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart.
Following the success of You Made Me Realise, the band released their debut full-length studio album, Isn't Anything, in November 1988. Recorded in rural Wales, the album was a major success, receiving widespread critical acclaim, peaking at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart and influencing a number of "shoegaze" bands, who according to AllMusic, "worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with [the album]."