They consisted mainly of former members of Art Objects, with the addition of Nick Jacobs, former guitarist and vocalist of Southampton band the Exploding Seagulls.
[2] The same line-up played three or four concerts over the next couple of years, either at the gallery or for benefits, including a Karl Marx centenary performance at the Victoria Rooms, with the addition of trumpet and didgeridoo.
[3] The Blue Aeroplanes' first album Bop Art was released on their own Party Records in 1984, and was rapidly picked up by the Abstract (US) and Fire (UK) labels.
Gerard Langley's largely spoken poetic lyrics were combined with a heavily guitar-centric band that went on to release Tolerance (1985) and Spitting Out Miracles (1987) and several singles and EPs whose B-sides were brought together in the compilation FriendLoverPlane (1988), all on the Fire label.
Following negotiations with EMI who now owned the rights to Swagger and Beatsongs, The Blue Aeroplanes made a surprise return to this major label.
Then in 2001, ArtStar released Weird Sh*t which featured both rare tracks and alternative versions of some of the band's best-known songs from Swagger through to Cavaliers.
Written, and in part recorded, over three years the much delayed - mainly due to vocalist Gerard Langley being hospitalized with cancer - album was released on the 28 April 2023, by Last Night From Glasgow [10] They have played headlining gigs in small indie venues as well as supporting big acts such as R.E.M.
[11] and Siouxsie and the Banshees on major international tours, frontman Gerard Langley always wearing his trademark shades even at night in dark venues.