The Waltones

The Waltones

The Waltones are a guitar pop group from Manchester, England, active from 1984 to 1990. They are part of the Manchester scene centred on The Boardwalk club and Dave Haslam’s Temperance nights at The Hacienda.

Recordings and releases

The band releases four singles on the Medium Cool label: Downhill, She Looks Right Through Me, Spell It Out and The Deepest. They also release an album called The Deepest on the same label. Medium Cool is also home to The Raw Herbs, The Siddeleys and Rain.

In addition to their own releases, they contribute two tracks, The British Disease and Bold, to the label sampler Edge of the Road. They also appear on the Sarah Champion-compiled cassette release Manchester: North of England, alongside James, The Milltown Brothers, The Man From Delmonte, The Railway Children, Inspiral Carpets and Dub Sex. A compilation of most of their recordings is released on Cherry Red Records in 2007.

Style and context

The Waltones work within the guitar pop tradition and are associated with jangle pop, indie pop, pop and twee. Their influences include Orange Juice and The Beatles. Frequent use of harmonica gives their music a country rock feel, and they are championed by fanzines and followers of the pre-baggy Manchester scene. The band does not take in the hip-hop and house influences heard around them in the wider scene.

Members and legacy

Mark Collins is a member of the group and later goes on to success with The Charlatans. The Waltones are often described as one of Manchester’s overlooked pop groups, and they stand out in their scene for a lighter, more good-humoured approach.