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Post by Lord Emsworth on Sept 15, 2020 11:48:34 GMT
The Prefects were Birmingham's first punk band. Founded by Robert Lloyd, with guitarist/drummer brothers Alan and Paul Apperley, the Prefects played their first gig on 12 March 1977 at a private party which ended in a police raid. At their first gig at a recognised venue later that month (Rebecca's in Birmingham) they were bottled off stage after premiering their new song, "Birmingham's a Shithole". They would go on to appear on four dates of the Clash's 'White Riot Tour'. The Prefects - Barbarellas... What's your verdict on The Prefects? Here's the complete session recorded by The Prefects on 11 August 1978 for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and broadcast on the 21st of that month. Tracklist: 1. Things In General (0:36) 2. Escort Girls (4:03) 3. The Bristol Road Leads To Dachau (6:42) 4. Agony Column (17:07) Robert Lloyd went to form the post-punk band The Nightingales. The Nightingales - Don't BlinkWhat's your verdict on The Nightingales?
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Post by personunknown on Sept 15, 2020 12:03:49 GMT
Apart from Things In General, can't say much about The Prefects. However, I've put the Nightingales on twice (thrice?) in Scarborough. The line up has been pretty stable as of late which is amazing because singer Robert Lloyd is a law unto himself, he downed half a bottle of White Horse whisky before one gig. Fliss Kitson on the drums also co vocals and that lifts them up from a second division Fall. Some great tunes like Dumb and Drummer but also some songs that are best left in Lloyds' head.
Stewart Lee has put together a documentary on the band, I think it was for release just before Covid struck.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Sept 15, 2020 12:16:48 GMT
Apart from Things In General, can't say much about The Prefects. However, I've put the Nightingales on twice (thrice?) in Scarborough. The line up has been pretty stable as of late which is amazing because singer Robert Lloyd is a law unto himself, he downed half a bottle of White Horse whisky before one gig. Fliss Kitson on the drums also co vocals and that lifts them up from a second division Fall. Some great tunes like Dumb and Drummer but also some songs that are best left in Lloyds' head. Stewart Lee has put together a documentary on the band, I think it was for release just before Covid struck. Yes indeed. I'm not a big 'Gales fan but have seen them a few times Chaotic sums them up - but worth it for that odd moment of transcendence The Stewart Lee film is called King Rocker and here's the enjoyable trailer...
Not quite sure when it will see the light of day, probably once the pandemic is under control. In the meantime here's some blurb...
How does a working class autodidact, with no visible means of support, maintain his role as the leader of a cult British underground band into its fifth decade? Comedian and writer Stewart Lee (Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle) , director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Toast of London) and James Nicholls (Fire Records, Fire Films) investigate the mysterious existence of Robert Lloyd (The Prefects, The Nightingales, Robert Lloyd and the New Four Seasons), Britain’s ultimate post-punk survivor.
Robert Lloyd’s Prefects played with The Clash on the White Riot tour in 1977, and their ongoing incarnation, as Birmingham’s Captain Beefheart suffused post-punk poets The Nightingales, recorded more John Peel sessions than any other band. Ever.
Buoyed by endless critical acclaim, but hampered by ongoing commercial indifference, Lloyd has nonetheless continued to tour and record, The Nightingales’ affairs managed by drummer Fliss Kitson, from a Wolverhampton shipping container, and Lloyd himself, from the isolated borderland mountain fastness of Wellington, Shropshire, surrounded by prehistoric remains and industrial archaeology.
Lloyd, a post-punk flaneur, sometime postman, and master snug room raconteur, appears to have maintained a lifestyle outside the system via a succession of hustles, often involving an encyclopaedic knowledge of horse racing and pre-punk musical weirdness.
But what were the social, cultural and economic circumstances that enabled and sustained such outsider artists in the punk and post-punk eras, and how has the world changed to the point where such figures are unlikely to flourish in the same way today? Lloyd’s own odyssey echoes how abstract notions of social mobility, of the value of culture and music, have changed in the last five decades.
In an odd coincidence, Lloyd’s current home, the Shropshire market town of Wellington, in the shadow of the Wrekin, is also where the comedian Stewart Lee was born, though he only spent nine days there before being dispatched to an orphanage, and has not been back since.
Further chance collisions abound. For a brief period the skyline of ‘70s concrete Birmingham was defined by Nicholas Monroe’s unloved, and soon sold off pop art sculpture, of the giant ape, King Kong. Missing and presumed lost for years, this icon of Birmingham was eventually discovered prostrate in a Lake District garden, before being critically rehabilitated in an exhibition of great British public sculpture at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds in 2017.
As a child, Stewart was fascinated by the sculpture, and in a strange piece of synchronicity Lloyd compared his onstage persona to Monroe’s Kong in a triumphant post-gig rant in King’s Cross this year. The parallels make the point of comparison too good to ignore. King Rocker will shadow Lloyd’s story with that of Birmingham’s forgotten, and rediscovered, giant art ape, King Kong.kingrockerfilm.com/
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Post by andyloneshark on Sept 15, 2020 17:48:03 GMT
I remember The Prefects being a Peelie favourite. They only released one single, and a Peel session was released long after their demise. I bought this compilation recently, that mops up the bands limited recordings.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Sept 15, 2020 17:54:16 GMT
I remember The Prefects being a Peelie favourite. They only released one single, and a Peel session was released long after their demise. I bought this compilation recently, that mops up the bands limited recordings. View AttachmentLovely cover Andy How do you feel about the contents?
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Post by andyloneshark on Sept 15, 2020 18:32:15 GMT
...as i don't have the single or the Peel sessions, for me it's well worth having. The two live tracks are not great recordings though.
like The Desperate Bicycles and the Swell Maps eclectic D.I.Y. Punk LOVE this...
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Post by personunknown on Dec 11, 2020 9:09:35 GMT
According to Stewart Lee, the Nightingales documentary is to be aired on Sky Arts sometime in February.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Dec 11, 2020 10:07:59 GMT
According to Stewart Lee, the Nightingales documentary is to be aired on Sky Arts sometime in February. Great news. I'll be scouring the schedules and will post if/when I spot anything
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Post by AndoII on Dec 12, 2020 1:38:21 GMT
...as i don't have the single or the Peel sessions, for me it's well worth having. The two live tracks are not great recordings though. like The Desperate Bicycles and the Swell Maps eclectic D.I.Y. Punk LOVE this... Thanks, Andy. Not heard that since John Peel used to play it on his show.
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Post by personunknown on Jan 12, 2021 16:30:13 GMT
Nightingales King Rocker doc, Sky Arts, Saturday 6th Feb. Actual airing time on the day still to be decided.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jan 12, 2021 17:42:03 GMT
Nightingales King Rocker doc, Sky Arts, Saturday 6th Feb. Actual airing time on the day still to be decided. Can't flipping wait - thanks PU
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jan 12, 2021 17:48:14 GMT
According to this trailer on YouTube it's on Feb 6th 2021 @ 9pm, Sky Arts...
King Rocker - Official Trailer [Feb 6th, 9pm, Sky Arts]
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Post by personunknown on Jan 12, 2021 17:52:00 GMT
Good spot. In the diary.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Feb 2, 2021 15:24:43 GMT
According to this trailer on YouTube it's on Feb 6th 2021 @ 9pm, Sky Arts... King Rocker - Official Trailer [Feb 6th, 9pm, Sky Arts]Just a reminder about what should be a really interesting film And, for the highly motivated, here's a Q&A with Robert Lloyd you can do online the following day via the Wolverhampton Literature Festival for £1 + booking fee (67 pence I believe).... wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/an-evening-in-with-robert-lloyd.htmlGet the round in and join Nightingales chief Robert Lloyd for an exclusive online interview as part of Wolverhampton Literature Festival. Robert will be sharing stories about all things Nightingales and chatting about the creation of the new Stewart Lee and Michael Cumming biopic film, King Rocker the night after its official premiere on Sky Arts. The interview will be followed by a live Q&A for a rare chance to ask Robert your burning questions. The event will be hosted by Dave Travis.
King Rocker screens @ 9pm on Sky Arts on Sat 6th Feb 2021.
The Nightingales latest album "Four Against Fate" is available now from uknightingales.bandcamp.com
Date: 7 February 2021
Time: 7pm
Venue: Online
Price: £1 (+ booking fee)
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Post by stu77 on Feb 3, 2021 19:50:15 GMT
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