The Bluetones' classic track Slight Return almost didn't see the light of day as a single. Vocalist Mark Morriss and guitarist Adam Devlin recount the song's journey from a rudimentary demo to a chart-topping hit that still resonates with audiences today.
A Song Born from Simplicity
Mark Morriss recalls that the band, then a three-piece without a drummer, was heavily influenced by the West Coast sound of the mid-60s, particularly Crosby, Stills & Nash. Slight Return was the fourth or fifth song they wrote. Scott Morriss, Mark's brother, composed the chord progressions and structure but had no lyrics or melody. Using a cassette player, he recorded guitar parts and played them back to record himself playing along, creating a rudimentary four-track recording. "We liked it, but we weren't skipping around the room going: 'My God, we're going to be millionaires.' That came later," says Mark.
The song quickly became a crowd favorite at early shows. The band recorded a demo version and sold it on blue 7-inch vinyl at gigs. When they signed with A&M Records, the label pushed for it to be a single, but the band hesitated, fearing they would let down their small fanbase of about 200 people who had already purchased the demo. The label convinced them by saying, "We can hear it being played on the radio." However, they wanted to change the song's name because "Slight Return" does not appear in the lyrics. The title references the final line, "I'm coming home but just for a short while," and pays homage to Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return). Eventually, the band relented, and the single took off.
Chart Success and Surreal Moments
Mark remembers being at an airport for a press junket when their manager received a message on his pager to call the label. Slight Return had entered the midweek charts at No. 2. "I didn't believe it until we got to the hotel and got the confirmation that it was selling by the truckload," he says. Performing on Top of the Pops alongside Radiohead, who played Street Spirit (Fade Out), was inspiring. "Listening to Thom Yorke's voice was inspiring. I thought: 'We need to get to this level.'"
Adam Devlin, who lived with Mark and Scott in Hounslow, recalls the band's early days when they were mostly unemployed. The trio had previously played in different bands—Mark and Scott in the baggy Madchester outfit the Bottle Garden, and Adam in a scuzzier indie band called A Perfect Mess. When they formed the Bluetones, they shifted roles: Mark moved from guitarist to singer, and Adam from rhythm to lead guitar. Drummer Eds Chesters joined later, having previously played in the trip-hop band Soho, where he performed Hippychick on Top of the Pops but grew frustrated with drum machines and sequencers.
Creating the Song
Adam explains how the song came together: "I remember Scott bringing in a faster, simpler version of Slight Return. I fleshed out the guitar parts and put in a guitar solo. Mark worked out the vocal melodies, and we added a coda—the instrumental that fades out at the end, which originally had a sample from Tom Courtenay in Billy Liar, which was all very 60s." The band had different ideas from the label and thought Can't Be Trusted should have been the single. By then, Adam was living in a shared house in Wimbledon without a washing machine. "I was in the launderette when our manager phoned and said: 'You've gone in at No 2.' I don't think we were ready for it being so successful." He adds that his younger half-brothers and siblings, aged 13 and 15 at school, were asked by friends if he was really their brother.
Enduring Legacy
Despite the song's popularity, the band sometimes grew tired of playing it. Adam recalls a tour where they omitted it entirely, which was a mistake: "People thought we'd gone up our own arses. We learned our lesson: it's the song everyone wants to hear." Mark admits, "I love playing it but I'm bored of rehearsing it. If we do rehearse it, we'll play it at three times the speed or in a reggae or funk style. As soon as you play it live, the audience loves it. And if you're doing something the audience is digging, what more do you want?"
The Bluetones continue to tour throughout the year, and Slight Return remains a staple of their setlist, a testament to its enduring appeal.
