Adam Devlin

Adam Devlin
Devlin in 2011
Devlin in 2011
Background information
Born
Adam Tadek Gorecki

(1969-09-17) 17 September 1969 (age 57)
Lambeth, London, England
OriginHounslow, London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • guitarist
  • songwriter
InstrumentElectric guitar
Years active1993–present
Member ofThe Bluetones
Formerly of
  • A Perfect Mess
  • Thee Cee Cees
Websitex.com/ad_I_am

Adam Patrick Devlin (born 17 September 1969) is an English musician and songwriter. He is the guitarist of the indie rock band the Bluetones, and has been described as one of the most skilled guitarists from the Britpop era.

Early life

Devlin was born in Lambeth, South London, and was raised in a household passionate for football. His family supported Chelsea and he experimented with various different teams to support but decided to stay with Brentford. The Bluetones' biggest hit, "Slight Return", depicts a bombus lucorum bee on its single cover as a nod to Brentford's logo.

Growing up, Devlin showed a large interest in music. He mostly listened to bands such as the Smiths, Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Felt, the Alarm and Big Country. Between the ages of 16 to 19, he went to two gigs every week.

Devlin attended Gunnersbury School for Boys and left with 10 O-levels and 1 A-level in art. He dropped out of college to become a graphic designer.

Career

The Bluetones frontman, Mark Morriss, met Devlin while moving into a shared house while in another local Hounslow rivalry Madchester-inspired baggy group called A Perfect Mess. Since Morriss and his brother Scott were in a group together where its founding members were leaving, called the Bottlegarden, they shared their frustration with Devlin and said it would work out for them if he could join their group which he agreed to. After their drummer left, the three continued to write music together and ended up disbanding and reforming as the Bluetones. As they started to achieve record success, Devlin was living in another shared house in Wimbledon.

In 1999, the band initially recruited Orange Juice lead singer Edwyn Collins to produce their third studio album, Science & Nature (2000). After a "plain awful" recording session of three songs, they realised they had chosen the wrong producer and that it was a difficult time for Collins in his personal life. Devlin described this as a "massive shame" for him as he was a big fan of Orange Juice.

Following the Bluetones' split in 2011, Devlin formed Thee Cee Cees with singer-songwriter Chris T-T. The band released their debut album Solution Songs in 2015. He also played guitar on Morriss' solo EP, The Fi-Lo Beddow EP, in February 2006.

On 17 January 2013, alongside Morriss and the Bluetones drummer Eds Chesters, Devlin played a one-off gig at the Queen of Hoxton in London as part of Morriss' Pledge campaign to help fund money for the production of his second solo album, A Flash of Darkness.

In 2015, the Bluetones reformed for a tour of the UK, which coincided with the forthcoming twentieth anniversary of their 1996 debut album, Expecting to Fly.

Since 2023, Devlin and Morriss started performing acoustic shows around the UK outside of band tours.

Guitars

As a late teenager, Devlin gained an interest in Rickenbacker guitars because of guitarists who used them, such as Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Paul Weller of the Jam, and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. This was also because when he gained an interest in playing the guitar, he kept seeing them and liked the way they looked visually. He played both the Rickenbacker 360 and the Rickenbacker 360/12 on Expecting to Fly (1996).

For their second album, Return to the Last Chance Saloon (1998), Devlin switched to the Gretsch Duo Jet and the 1996 Fender Telecaster for a more "robust" approach in an attempt to create a different sounding record. Some of the other guitars he played later in his career were the Epiphone Casino and the Gibson ES-335.

Personal life

On 29 March 2016, Devlin's brother Simon Gorecki was murdered along with his partner Natasha Sadler-Ellis at their home in Canterbury by her ex-boyfriend. Following their deaths, they appeared in the second series of Channel 5's A Killer Makes a Call. Devlin told KentOnline "I'm of course curious to see the documentary and I'll absolutely watch it as it will be hard not to."

References

  1. ↑ Daly, Andrew (31 October 2022). "15 Britpop guitar heroes who shook up the UK in the '90s". Guitar World. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "ADAM DEVLIN - THE BLUETONES - WE DON'T NEED TO GO HOPING FOR A MIRACLE - Britpop, Bands & Brentford". YouTube. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "Four Shades of Blue". Vox. September 1995. p. 22. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 "The Bluetones in Their Own Words!". Melody Maker. 23 September 1995. p. 32. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 "'People get confused, think it's called Where Did You Go?' How the Bluetones made Slight Return". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Mark Morriss Interview". YouTube. James Hargreaves Guitar. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  7. ↑ Burrows, Marc (19 October 2015). "Album by Album with The Bluetones". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Bluetones to split up after September UK tour – ticket details". NME. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Thee Concerned Citizens (Thee Cee Cees): Solution Songs – album review". Louder Than War. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  10. ↑ The Fi-Lo Beddow EP (Media notes). Townsend. 27 February 2006.
  11. ↑ Brown, David (25 January 2013). "One Off Bluetones Reunion Gig". Louder Than War. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Pledgers Only Concert - THIS THURSDAY!!". pledgemusic.com. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "The Bluetones announce 20th anniversary reunion tour". NME. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Notes About Sound Podcast - Episode 6 - Expecting To Fly with Adam Devlin". Mixcloud. 12 February 1996. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Expecting to Fly (booklet). The Bluetones. Superior Quality Recordings. 1996. BLUECD 004/540 475-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. 1 2 "20 Britpop guitar gods". MusicRadar. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  17. ↑ "Bluetones: Adam Devlin". rickresource.com. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Burrows, Marc (19 October 2015). "Album by Album with The Bluetones". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Adam Devlin, The Bluetones Guitarist Gear". Equipboard. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Gayle, Damien (30 March 2016). "Murder inquiry opened after two found dead at house in Canterbury | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  21. ↑ "Family of Simon Gorecki 'devastated' by loss of warm and loving man'". Canterbury Times. Retrieved 7 August 2016.[permanent dead link]
  22. ↑ "Foster Christian appears at Maidstone Court charged with murdering Natasha Ellis and Simon Gorecki". kentonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  23. ↑ "Murder of Margate mum Natasha Sadler-Ellis and friend Simon Gorecki examined on Channel 5 series 'A Killer Makes A Call'". The Isle of Thanet News. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  24. ↑ "The murders of Natasha Sadler-Ellis and Simon Gorecki committed by Foster Christian feature in Channel 5 series, A Killer Makes a Call". KentOnline. Retrieved 13 April 2026.