The Bluetones frontman Mark Morriss returns to The Wedgewood Rooms for his traditional solo Christmas show

After a bumpy 2018, 2019 has seen the Britpop survivor finally release his fourth solo album to much acclaim, and undertake a well-received tour with his old band where they played their third album Science & Nature in full.

‘It’s been a much better year for me,’ Mark tells The Guide. ‘Personally and professionally it’s been a very good year. I don’t think I’ve ever been so busy in my whole working life, “working life” in inverted commas, of course.

‘My memories of 2019 are of lots of wonderful occasions.’

One of those has been the full release of his solo album Look Up. Recorded in 2016 and released to his diehard fans through an online crowdfunding campaign, it got a physical and digital release to the wider public through Reckless Yes records this September.

‘At the end of last year I met with Reckless Yes and forged a plan for 2019, and it all seems to have slotted into place. In fact it’s done a lot better and gone a lot wider than we’d hoped.’For Mark the album represented unfinished business.

‘It’s one of those things, since I recorded it, I wasn’t really engaged with it, I wasn’t playing it for one reason or another, and it didn’t feel like it had been “birthed” properly.

‘And now it’s out in the world properly and you can stream it everywhere, people can come to my shows and not think: “Oh Christ, what’s this? Not another new one…”

‘It felt to me on a personal level like I was happy to share it, I was ready to share it, here it comes…!

‘I felt like I had an obligation to play it, finally.

‘With the sort of non-release of a pledge thing, the wider world hasn’t got a clue, now in 2019 there’s been videos made and it’s been played on the radio, it’s a real thing now.’And it got very well reviewed, which must be pleasing?

‘That took me by surprise – it’s always nice. I don’t usually read my reviews, but for this one I did, and I didn’t see any bad ones. No-one gave it a kicking!’

There’s also good news for The Bluetones’ fans. With the band having spent more time on the road this year, it’s had a bonus effect.

‘Because of the year we’ve had, we’ve been together a lot more, so we’ve been jamming and rehearsing more, and listening to each other’s musical noodlings.

‘I wouldn’t bet against there being new material in the near future. It's not to say we’ll do an album. I think it'd be a mistake for a number of reasons, for us, anyway, not for everybody.

‘It will be 10 years since the last Bluetones album next year, and the idea of just sticking another album on the end, doesn't sit well with us. It feels like it would be an addendum.

‘I’d rather do something that's more a reflection of who we are at this point in time. I think we're going to do a series of EPs – bite-sized chunks for the audience who perhaps don't have as much time as they used to.

‘It’s easier for us to focus ourselves in short bursts because we’re so far spread out around the world.’

Most far-flung Bluetone being bassist, and Mark’s brother, Scott, who now lives in Tokyo, Japan.

With it having been a while since he last recorded, Mark has also found himself with a stash of songs.

‘I have got material in the bank – which is rare in itself for me, and not for want of trying.

‘Some of that material is going to go to The Bluetones and some songs I'm going to keep for myself.

‘There will be songs forthcoming as it has been three years since my last finished piece, but I think the focus for the short term is going to be a Bluetones EP – a really good EP, not like one radio song and three fillers, it's going to be something we can explore across four or five songs.’

But before all that, there’s his 11th Christmas show here in the city (it was previously held at The Cellars in Eastney until its closure in 2015).

‘It wouldn’t be Christmas if I wasn't there. It’s tradition – I can say that now.

‘It will be the usual sort of thing – a mixture of my old songs with the band and my own stuff and probably a couple of Christmas-themed numbers too.

‘And as much Ferrero Rocher as you can shake a stick at.’

MARK MORRISS & FRIENDS

The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea

Monday, December 23

wedgewood-rooms.co.uk