The Nightingales

The Nightingales

The Nightingales are a Birmingham post-punk and indie rock group formed in 1979 by former members of the city’s original punk band the Prefects. The group is built around singer and lyricist Robert Lloyd and has an ever-changing line-up. It is also known that the name refers to at least three different acts, including a Birmingham band, a soul group also called Ollie & The Nightingales, and a Finnish band, but the Birmingham group is the one identified here.

History

The band forms in November 1979 and records a series of singles, three albums and many radio sessions for John Peel before stopping work in 1987. After occasional reformations, Robert Lloyd restarts The Nightingales in 2004. Since then the group releases five 7-inch vinyl singles, three studio albums and two live albums, and tours the UK, mainland Europe and the USA several times. It also records numerous radio sessions in England and America.

Recordings and releases

In March 2008 the group records Insult To Injury with Jochen Irmler and Andreas Schmid at Faust Studio in Scheer, Germany. The album is released in February 2009 on Klangbad and is described as an important release in the band’s later period. A follow-up, The Lost Plot, is recorded with Irmler in August 2009, but no release plan is in place at that stage.

Line-up

The band’s later line-up includes Robert Lloyd, original Prefects guitarist Alan Apperley, ex-Pram drummer Daren Garratt, Andreas Schmid on bass, and Matt Wood on guitar. At times it also includes Christine Edwards, Katherine Young, Fliss Kitson, Emily Manzo, Sanne Richter and Kate Louise Armitage. Other members associated with the group include Paul Apperley, Nick Beales, Peter Byrchmore, Eamonn Duffy, Steve Hawkins, Andy Lloyd, Ste Lowe and Joe Motivator.