My Bloody Valentine: Evolution of a Shoegaze Pioneer

Many bands sound nothing like their more well-known selves when they first start out, and tracing that transformation can be fascinating. The Goo Goo Dolls began as a scrappy punk outfit, Ministry’s debut album was pure early-'80s New Romantic-style synth-pop, and Ronnie James Dio sang doo-wop in the ’50s before fronting a ’60s pop-rock group called the Prophets.

Another band that started out very differently was none other than shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine.

Now, you probably think you know MBV, right? Of course you do! They're the band that basically invented an entire musical genre. They're the band which created an entirely new sound, consisting of lush, distorted soundscapes with towering waves of guitar noise that seem to blur into infinity -- a sound that not only defined shoegaze but left a lasting imprint on alternative music at large and has inspired countless bands in the decades since.

Well, you might not know them as well as you think. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that they started out as a gothic post-punk band, or that there was also one point where they were playing fairly conventional indie pop for the time. It shouldn't come as a surprise that MBV did not start out from day one as one of the most unique, innovative and original music artists of the last few decades, but took a little while to get there.

In the Beginning: The Gothic Era, 1983-85

My Bloody Valentine was first formed in 1983 by longtime friends Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, who had been friends since their teens and already had been in a couple of punk and post-punk bands. They got bassist Mark Loughlin and vocalist David Conway to round out the lineup. It was David who came up with the band name, supposedly after watching a VHS tape of a 1981 Canadian slasher flick of the same name. At this stage, MBV was a gothic post-punk band, with David Conway as its defining presence.

Over the following months, the lineup shifted repeatedly, at one point including Conway's girlfriend Tina Durkin on keys. Finding the Irish music scene unreceptive, they decided to relocate to continental Europe. After a brief stay in the Netherlands, they moved on to Berlin, whose thriving post-punk underground proved a far better fit for MBV’s gothic sensibilities at the time.

This Is Your Bloody Valentine (Tycoon Records, 1985)

It was in Berlin that MBV recorded their first mini-album, This Is Your Bloody Valentine, which was released on a small label called Tycoon Records in January 1985.

If you're only familiar with MBV's shoegaze sound, then hearing their very first album might come as a shock. This Is Your Bloody Valentine is very typical of the gothic and post-punk movements of the time, with obvious influences by Bauhaus, the Birthday Party and the Cramps. Far removed from the gauzy, androgynous vocals that would later define the band, Conway delivers a deep, resonant croon that is closer to Jim Morrison or Nick Cave than anything associated with MBV’s subsequent sound.

Lineup: David Conway (vocals), Kevin Shields (guitar, bass), Tina Durkin (keyboards), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

Man You Love To Hate -- Live (Schuldige Scheitel Productions, 1985)

MBV's next record was a cassette-only live album called Man You Love to Hate, and it was recorded live via soundboard in Sputnik, Berlin, at the Assasin / Schuldige-Scheitel festival "Die Kwahl" on March 9, 1985. Only four of the eight songs on this album were from This Is Your Bloody Valentine, while the other four songs -- "Scavengers", "The Devil Made Me Do It", "The Man You Love to Hate", and "A Town Called Bastard" -- are not known to have ever been recorded in the studio.

Lineup: David Conway (vocals), Kevin Shields (guitar, bass), Tina Durkin (keyboards), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

The First Transition: 1985-87

MBV wouldn't stay in Berlin long, though. Their stint in mainland Europe hadn't resulted in the breakthrough that they'd hoped for, so in 1985 they decided to move to London, where they figured it would be make or break for them. Once there, Tina Durkin would bow out, the band would finally have a permanent bassist named Debbie Googe, and they would sign to a new label called Fever Records.

This move would prove to be pivotal. It was in London that their fortunes would slowly turn around and they would begin evolving into the My Bloody Valentine that most of us know and love.

Geek! (Fever Records, 1985)

Their first record in London was the 4-song EP Geek!. Released in December 1985, most of it is not an obvious departure from This Is Your Bloody Valentine, as you can still hear the same goth, post-punk and psychobilly influences. However, the second track "Moonlight" hints at the first traces of MBV's next phase, in which melodies and jangly guitars were starting to dominate over their brooding gothic sound.

Lineup: David Conway (vocals), Kevin Shields (guitar), Debbie Googe (bass), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (Kaleidoscope Sound, 1986)

This is where My Bloody Valentine made a decisive break from their old vampire-goth/post-punk sound and moved into noise-pop territory, influenced by both the Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy and the nascent C86 indie pop movement. Upon its release in September 1986, it also became the band's first record to see any kind of success, as it reached No. 22 on the UK Independent Albums Chart upon its release.

While David Conway was still nominally the band’s frontman, The New Record is where Kevin Shields effectively took over as the creative center of the band, with brighter guitar textures and melodic structures largely replacing the brooding atmosphere of the Berlin-era releases.

Lineup: David Conway (vocals), Kevin Shields (guitar), Debbie Googe (bass), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

Sunny Sundae Smile (Lazy Records, 1987)

Released as both a two-song 7" and a four-song 12" in February 1987, this was the final release to feature David Conway. It reached No. 6 on the UK Independent Singles Chart and secured the band an opening spot for the Soup Dragons on their tour, but only a month later Conway would leave the band. That was the end for him not only with MBV but with music in general, as he would transition to becoming a writer and has since carved out a notable career in his own right.

Lineup: David Conway (vocals), Kevin Shields (guitar), Debbie Googe (bass), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

The Shields/Butcher Era Begins: 1987

When David Conway left MBV, the remaining members found themselves without a frontman and placed an ad seeking a new singer. They mentioned that they liked The Smiths, a move that they would regret as it resulted in a painful audition process that brought every Morrissey wanna-be out of the woodwork. Kevin Shields would later say about that experience, "You should've seen some of the fruitballs we got!"

The particular individual that the band would settle on was Bilinda Butcher, who had learned about the band after her partner met Ó Cíosóig on a ferry from the Netherlands. On paper, she was hardly an obvious choice to replace David Conway -- she had relatively little prior musical experience, her dreamy breathy vocals were nothing like Conway's gothic croon, and her audition consisted of her singing Dolly Parton's "The Bargain Store." Nevertheless, something about her clicked with the band.

However, Butcher did not become a direct one-to-one replacement for Conway. Instead, she and Shields would share both singing and guitar duties. This was the start of My Bloody Valentine's classic lineup, and it marked a decisive break from the band’s earlier identity and accelerated the shift toward a new sound and internal dynamic.

"Strawberry Wine" (12" single, Lazy Records, 1987)

Bilinda Butcher made her recording debut on this non-album single, which came out in November 1987. Building on the stylistic foundation laid by The New Record and Sunny Sundae Smile, it continues to explore melodic textures, jangly guitars, and the dual-vocal approach that would define the band’s later sound.

Lineup: Kevin Shields / Bilinda Butcher (guitar, vocals), Debbie Googe (bass), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

Ecstasy (Lazy Records, 1987)

Dropping just weeks after "Strawberry Wine," Ecstasy would be MBV's last release before signing to Creation Records. It develops the noise-pop and melodic direction MBV had begun exploring with Shields and Butcher, consolidating the dual-vocal dynamic and setting the stage for the band’s first canonical releases.

Lineup: Kevin Shields / Bilinda Butcher (guitar, vocals), Debbie Googe (bass), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums).

Strawberry Wine and Ecstasy would later be compiled into a single album called Ecstasy and Wine, released on Lazy Records in February 1989.

Following these releases, Creation Records founder Alan McGee invited My Bloody Valentine to sign with his label, and this is where MBV's story moves into familiar territory that has already been explored by far more qualified people than myself. The purpose of this article is to focus on the early transitional years before their signature shoegaze sound crystallized.

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