The Nightingales

This article is about the British band. For other uses, see Nightingale (disambiguation).

The Nightingales
The Nightingales at Club W71, Weikersheim. 2016
The Nightingales at Club W71, Weikersheim. 2016
Background information
OriginBirmingham, England
GenresPost-punk, alternative rock
Years active1979–1986, 2004–present
Members
Past members
  • Paul Apperley
  • Eamonn Duffy
  • Andy Lloyd
  • Nick Beales
  • Steve Hawkins
  • John Nester
  • Peter Byrchmore
  • Howard Jenner
  • Maria Smith
  • Ron Collins
  • Robert "Fuzz" Townshend
  • Aaron Moore
  • Daren Garratt
  • Matt Wood
  • Stephen Lowe
  • Nick Blakey
  • John Roberts
  • Christy Edwards
  • Katherine Young
  • Emily Manzo
  • Alan Apperley

Nightingales (a.k.a. The Nightingales) are a British post-punk/alternative rock band, formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England, by four members of Birmingham's punk group The Prefects. They had been part of The Clash's 'White Riot Tour', recorded a couple of Peel Sessions, released a 45 on Rough Trade and, years after splitting up, had a retrospective CD released by US indie label Acute Records.

Described in John Robb's book on 'post punk' Death To Trad Rock as "The misfits' misfits" and comprising an ever-fluctuating line up, based around lyricist/singer Robert Lloyd, the Nightingales enjoyed cult status in the early 1980s as darlings of the credible music scene and were championed by John Peel, who said of them – "Their performances will serve to confirm their excellence when we are far enough distanced from the 1980s to look at the period rationally and other, infinitely better known, bands stand revealed as charlatans".[1]

The original members were Robert Lloyd on vocals, Eamonn Duffy on bass and Paul Apperley on drums, all formerly of The Prefects. The band, before splitting up, played more sessions on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show than any other band excluding The Fall and Half Man Half Biscuit.[2]

In the late 1980s, the Nightingales stopped working but, following the occasional gig between times, they re-grouped in 2004, with Lloyd being joined by original Prefects guitarist Alan Apperley. The current line up features Robert Lloyd, James Smith, Andreas Schmid on bass and ex-Violet Violet drummer Fliss Kitson.

Since restarting the group have been more productive than ever – releasing five 7" vinyl singles, a 10" EP and six studio albums (plus two live albums), touring England, mainland Europe and US numerous times, recording many radio sessions along the way. They have been invited to play various festivals in Europe and the States, including Glastonbury and SXSW. Their "Let's Think About Living" 45 was 'Single of the Week' on BBC 6 and they have continued to receive regular rave reviews for their records and live shows.

A feature-length documentary about the band - King Rocker - fronted by comedian and writer Stewart Lee and directed by Michael Cumming was to be released in 2020, but it eventually debuted on the UK Sky Arts channel on 6 February 2021.[3][4]

  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 903. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ "Keeping It Peel – The Nightingales". Keeping It Peel. BBC. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  3. ^ "King Rocker - Official Trailer [Feb 6th, 9pm, Sky Arts]". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Stewart Lee films post-punk documentary : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2019.