“The worst band in the world” made their debut in Aberdeen almost 30 years ago – but they’re still scaring up packed-out audiences in the Granite City.
And this Saturday July 15 The Blood Marys will Return To Summer Camp at the Lemon Tree to delight fans with their tongue-in-cheek, high-energy gig that sees them belting out classic covers in their own fabulous camp style.
“People are coming along knowing what they want and what they are expecting… and they hold our feet to the fire to ensure we do that,” said Steve Morrison, who plays keyboards alongside Ian Gray on vocals and guitarist Barry Dodds.
“They expect it to be totally eclectic as it always is. We have our mash-ups going from Toni Basil into the Kaiser Chiefs into Will Smith via Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince era – it’s that level of stupidity they’ve come to expect.
The Bloody Marys thrown together at Halloween almost 30 years ago
“And they don’t want it too polished – if we fall flat on our face that adds to the humour of it. It’s totally inappropriate songs sung by totally the wrong people, but it’s done very well.”
Not being polished, mixed with humour and camp hijinks has been the band’s calling card since their first gig back in 1994 when the Bloody Marys were hurriedly thrown together to fill in a Halloween slot at The Howff on Union Street.
“Barry and I worked in Bruce Miller’s at the time and Ian worked in Signature next door in menswear, but we had a five-piece band, wrote our own songs, played the Lemon Tree and Drummonds,” said Steve.
“One day in The Howff, which was owned by Bruce Miller, the manager said to us: ‘We’re struggling, we’ve got a Halloween night coming up, can you throw something together, but there’s only room for a couple of you’.
“They had a drinks promotion on for Bloody Marys so we said we’d call ourselves that.”
Barry and Steve raided their girlfriends’ wardrobes for their outrageous costumes while Ian wore a suit and they threw together a last-minute set with backing tracks to complement their instruments.
Aberdeen Howff gig was under-rehearsed and ‘just carnage’
“The singer didn’t know the words, we were under-rehearsed, and it was just carnage,” said Steve.
“But we played to its strengths. We had this catchphrase and at the end of the night we said: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we are The Bloody Marys and we are…’ and the whole pub shouted back: ‘The worst band in the world!’
“From there you can do no wrong and we put that in the poster for the next night – ‘the worst band in the world’.”
It was clearly a winning formula because they were invited back to play several more gigs – “more absolute carnage” – before being banned from the venue.
“The second half would get out of hand. Bruce Miller’s sacked us from The Howff at Christmas because one of the directors came in to find Barry, mid-guitar solo, thrusting his crotch into someone’s face. He said: ‘That’s not Bruce Miller’s’.”
The Bloody Marys hit the road instead, playing gigs in Spain – “we were on the same bill as Sticky Vicky, which was the high point of our career” – before returning to Aberdeen.
Bloody Mary’s played sold-out gigs at Aberdeen’s iconic Capitol
“That year we played the Capitol, because a couple of local DJs reckoned we could sell tickets. We didn’t believe them, but we sold out the Capitol and the following year we sold out the Capitol over two nights. We out-sold Boyzone that year because we did two nights at the Capitol and they only did one.”
For all their success, the band decided to call it a day in 1999. As Steve put it, the realities of raising families and concentrating on “real jobs” became more pressing than camping it up on stage.
But they went out in a blaze of glory, easily selling out the Music Hall as fans flocked to the farewell gig and to be part of the legendary party night the Bloody Marys were famed for.
However, there was life left yet for the Bloody Marys when in 2011 they got the band back together – and it was all down to the fans.
“That was thanks to Facebook. A picture was posted of us playing Soda Fountain and suddenly everyone was saying: ‘Oh, remember The Bloody Marys’. We thought it was an ideal opportunity to get back together because everyone else was doing it… Take That was doing it, so why not us?
Take That high kicks no more for Aberdeen’s Bloody Marys
Since then, the trio have been happily gigging and entertaining, although Steve admits they are a bit of a different beast these days than when they first started.
“Well, the Take That high kicks are gone but we have replaced it with much more musicality. And we do have new songs, we have thrown in some Billie Eilish, but it’s nonsense because it’s sung by our guitar player who shouldn’t be getting away with it.”
None of which will put fans off when they head for The Lemon Tree this Saturday – and the other gigs the Bloody Marys have lined up over the coming months.
Steve said: “Don’t expect anything too polished but we’re going to knock it out of the park and have fun… leave your sensible hat at the door.”
The Bloody Marys Return To Summer Camp is at the Lemon Tree on Saturday July 15. For tickets and information go to aberdeenperformingarts.com or call the Box Office on 01224 641122.