Journalist and documentary maker Ken Sweeney writes about his acclaimed RTÉ Radio documentary on Glaswegian music legends The Blue Nile, soon to be broadcast on BBC Scotland. Listen to In Search Of The Blue Nile below:
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In 2014 I was brought over by Visit Scotland to Glasgow to attend the MTV Awards. But my real reason for my trip was to see the city captured by The Blue Nile in their songs, Tinseltown In the Rain and The Downtown Lights.
The Blue Nile split in 2004 after the release of their fourth album High - their highest chart placing at number 10 in the UK charts. In recent years, singer Paul Buchanan has released a solo album called Mid-Air to some acclaim, while keyboard player PJ Moore has continued to work on an electric oratorio on inventor James Clarke Maxwell.
Despite splitting up 12 years ago, The Blue Nile are a huge influence in 2016, with groups like The 1975 admitting they are "obsessed" with their records. When I told PJ Moore about this, he created a walking app bringing fans to locations where the band lived, wrote and recorded in Glasgow - he launched it for The Gathering, a meeting of Blue Nile fans from all over the world last September in Glasgow. These fans know each other through a Blue Nile Facebook group with over 2,000 members.
Peter Gabriel recommending my @RTERadio1 doc 'In Search Of The Blue Nile' @RTE_Culture #chuffed #overthemoon https://t.co/GJAG0RxScw
— Ken Sweeney (@KenSweeney) January 9, 2017
In Search of The Blue Nile is dedicated to uber Blue Nile fan George Byrne, the late music journalist who was a friend of the band.
In Search Of The Blue Nile airs on BBC Scotland on Easter Monday at 4pm
Photos: John G Moore
