For years, Blue Nile were one of Scotland’s most loved bands. Today, a new audience can discover them thanks to Taylor Swift.
The American superstar referenced the 1980s Glasgow band on his new album The Tortured Poets Department.
The Blue Nile features in the opening lyrics of his track Guilty As Sin?
But who is the group and why did she abandon them?
What does Taylor Swift say about them?
The opening lyrics of Guilty as Sin? – the ninth song from the department of tortured poets – say:
Drowning in the Blue Nile. He sent me Downtown Lights. I hadn’t heard it in a while.
My boredom is deep. This cage used to be very good. Do I have the right to cry?
She ends by evoking the Blue Nile again, repeating this phrase.
The song Downtown Lights was released in 1989 and was Blue Nile’s only flirtation with American success, reaching No. 10 on Billboard’s American Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Who are the Blue Niles?
Blue Nile are considered by many music critics to be one of the greatest Scottish bands of all time.
Vocalist and guitarist Paul Buchanan, bassist Robert Bell and keyboardist Paul Joseph Moore played together in bands at Glasgow University in the late 1970s before forming the Blue Nile in 1981.
Even though Scottish music was thriving in the early 80s, the band were never pigeonholed into one scene.
Their debut album A Walk Across the Rooftops featured wistful, melancholy pop music fueled by synthesizers and poignant lyrics by Buchanan.
Released in 1984, the record featured a cover image of the band looking out at a building on the site of a church on Cathcart Road in the south of Glasgow.
Considered a shy and unpretentious group, the trio was reluctant to chase publicity and was slow in their work, to the point that it would take them several months to finally sign a recording contract.
The second album Hats was released in 1989 and is considered a classic, with a 2018 poll by The Herald newspaper ranking it as Scotland’s favorite album.
Two more albums followed, but no new music has been released since 2004’s High, although the group has not officially disbanded.
Buchanan has enjoyed a long solo career, including an appearance at this year’s Celtic Connections festival.
Why did Taylor Swift reference it?
Guilty as sin? appears to be a breakup song, based on her brief relationship in 2023 with 1975s singer Matty Healy.
Healy is known to be a big fan of Blue Nile.
In a 2016 interview with music site Vulture, he listed Hats as one of his favorite albums of the 1980s and added that they were “my favorite band of all time… Musically, they made me so inspired.”
He also told Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that the group’s song Love It If We Made It was directly inspired by The Downtown Lights, the song that Swift said made her cry.
How successful was the Blue Nile?
At first, the group was more popular with critics than the general public, with their debut album only reaching number 80 on the charts.
However, it was praised by the music press, with Melody Maker, NME and Sounds giving it rave reviews.
This also gained a big supporter in Peter Gabriel. In a 2019 interview with BBC Sounds, Buchanan recalled that the former Genesis singer – then a major solo star – would order boxes of the record to give to people he knew.
None of the group’s singles ever rose above No. 50 on the charts, a far cry from the massive sales generated by each Swift record.
However, their last three albums have all charted in the top 20 and the group’s reputation has continued to grow over the years.
Buchanan himself seemed touched by the impact his songs had on people.
Speaking to the BBC in 2019, he said: “If you’re involved in any way with a song that people like or love, then that’s a privilege.
“If people like the song, I’m just grateful.”
“24 hours of madness”
PJ Moore told BBC Scotland News he was in Los Angeles when he heard the news.
“It’s been a crazy 24 hours – the long drive here, then opening the phone to the TS case,” he said.
“We always wanted the music, lyrics and soundscape to speak to ordinary people and bring them a sense of shared humanity.
“I’m glad TS was affected as much as it was, but no more than when someone else figured it out. The Downtown Lights is no better or worse than it was when we made it in 1989.
“Maybe [it] proves that we managed to create something real enough to last #Clydebuilt,” he added.
Singer Paul Buchanan said: “I’m touched that the Downtown Lights are mentioned in Taylor Swift’s song.”
For years, Blue Nile were one of Scotland’s most loved bands. Today, a new audience can discover them thanks to Taylor Swift.
The American superstar referenced the 1980s Glasgow band on his new album The Tortured Poets Department.
The Blue Nile features in the opening lyrics of his track Guilty As Sin?
But who is the group and why did she abandon them?
What does Taylor Swift say about them?
The opening lyrics of Guilty as Sin? – the ninth song from the department of tortured poets – say:
Drowning in the Blue Nile. He sent me Downtown Lights. I hadn’t heard it in a while.
My boredom is deep. This cage used to be very good. Do I have the right to cry?
She ends by evoking the Blue Nile again, repeating this phrase.
The song Downtown Lights was released in 1989 and was Blue Nile’s only flirtation with American success, reaching No. 10 on Billboard’s American Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Who are the Blue Niles?
Blue Nile are considered by many music critics to be one of the greatest Scottish bands of all time.
Vocalist and guitarist Paul Buchanan, bassist Robert Bell and keyboardist Paul Joseph Moore played together in bands at Glasgow University in the late 1970s before forming the Blue Nile in 1981.
Even though Scottish music was thriving in the early 80s, the band were never pigeonholed into one scene.
Their debut album A Walk Across the Rooftops featured wistful, melancholy pop music fueled by synthesizers and poignant lyrics by Buchanan.
Released in 1984, the record featured a cover image of the band looking out at a building on the site of a church on Cathcart Road in the south of Glasgow.
Considered a shy and unpretentious group, the trio was reluctant to chase publicity and was slow in their work, to the point that it would take them several months to finally sign a recording contract.
The second album Hats was released in 1989 and is considered a classic, with a 2018 poll by The Herald newspaper ranking it as Scotland’s favorite album.
Two more albums followed, but no new music has been released since 2004’s High, although the group has not officially disbanded.
Buchanan has enjoyed a long solo career, including an appearance at this year’s Celtic Connections festival.
Why did Taylor Swift reference it?
Guilty as sin? appears to be a breakup song, based on her brief relationship in 2023 with 1975s singer Matty Healy.
Healy is known to be a big fan of Blue Nile.
In a 2016 interview with music site Vulture, he listed Hats as one of his favorite albums of the 1980s and added that they were “my favorite band of all time… Musically, they made me so inspired.”
He also told Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that the group’s song Love It If We Made It was directly inspired by The Downtown Lights, the song that Swift said made her cry.
How successful was the Blue Nile?
At first, the group was more popular with critics than the general public, with their debut album only reaching number 80 on the charts.
However, it was praised by the music press, with Melody Maker, NME and Sounds giving it rave reviews.
This also gained a big supporter in Peter Gabriel. In a 2019 interview with BBC Sounds, Buchanan recalled that the former Genesis singer – then a major solo star – would order boxes of the record to give to people he knew.
None of the group’s singles ever rose above No. 50 on the charts, a far cry from the massive sales generated by each Swift record.
However, their last three albums have all charted in the top 20 and the group’s reputation has continued to grow over the years.
Buchanan himself seemed touched by the impact his songs had on people.
Speaking to the BBC in 2019, he said: “If you’re involved in any way with a song that people like or love, then that’s a privilege.
“If people like the song, I’m just grateful.”
“24 hours of madness”
PJ Moore told BBC Scotland News he was in Los Angeles when he heard the news.
“It’s been a crazy 24 hours – the long drive here, then opening the phone to the TS case,” he said.
“We always wanted the music, lyrics and soundscape to speak to ordinary people and bring them a sense of shared humanity.
“I’m glad TS was affected as much as it was, but no more than when someone else figured it out. The Downtown Lights is no better or worse than it was when we made it in 1989.
“Maybe [it] proves that we managed to create something real enough to last #Clydebuilt,” he added.
Singer Paul Buchanan said: “I’m touched that the Downtown Lights are mentioned in Taylor Swift’s song.”