A lady in the audience, the blue-haired one, she cries. Don’t know why. Probably due to gorgeous guitar soundscapes, beautiful noise, and she might be a true Slowdive fan, a super sensitive type (well, don’t we all have a blue-haired-girl inside?). I’d say the beautiful blue hair starry-eyed soul and this tune could in fact, be the cure for all the ugliness in this world right now.
I’ve seen Slowdive in concerts twice. The first one was in 2017 in Slovakia, Pohoda Festival, when I accompanied The Hydrant touring Central Europe. The second one was in 2018 in Singapore, Laneway Festival, when I chased the ravishing Aldous Harding.
Established in England in 1989, “Slowdive” name came from 1982’s single of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Formed by Neil Halstead (vocals, guitar, the primary songwriter) and Rachel Goswell (vocals and guitar). Halsted and Goswell had known each other since early childhood. They started getting attention after they signed to Alan Mc Gee’s Creation Records.
Their debut album, a self-titled EP, was released in November 1990 and received praise from music critics. NME wrote, “Slowdive have banished the barrier restricting creativity⦠When they really relax, Slowdive can make Cocteau Twins sound like Mudhoney.” While Melody Maker awarded the EP its Single of the Week award.
By mid-1991, Slowdive had been tagged a “shoegazing” band and part of The Scene That Celebrates Itself, the term coined by Melody Maker’s Steve Sutherland regarding the social and musical scene at the time within London and the Thames Valley area, how bands involved in the scene, rather than engaging in traditional rivalries, were often seen at each other’s gigs, sometimes playing in each other’s bands, and drinking together.
The music video, “Golden Hair”, via Huy Doan, from a concert somewhere in July 2014. “Golden Hair” is the band’s take on Syd Barrett’s adaptation of a James Joyce poem. It was first issued on Slowdive’s 1991 EP, Holding Our Breath. This “Golden Hair” here, it’s a reworked track. From originally only 4 minutes expanded to 9 minutes. The track has become a staple of their live shows, serving as the ideal closing number.
