Having a word with Rob Lloyd, singer with perhaps the ultimate Birmingham cult band.
King Rocker came out a couple of years ago but you’d been back playing since 2004. Did many people think you only reformed because of the film?
“I wouldn’t have thought so. Only the people who’d never heard of the Nightingales at all, but they wouldn’t have known we’d broken up to start with.”
I keep coming across people who can be divided into two groups when it comes to the Nightingales – the ones who love them and those who’ve never heard them and then as soon as they hear something they love it.
“Well the second group then falls into the first category! Yeah, but this is good – the more people who like the Nightingales, the better.”
It’s a matter of record that you’ve been on the verge of commercial success youuself a few times only for circumstances to prevail. And again, the tour gets put back a few times, the film comes out and we’re in a pandemic. Do you ever think the fates have got it in for you?
“I’m not stupid enough nor important enough to think that the gods would conspire against against me. Sometimes, it seems like we’ve had more than our fair share of bad luck, but with pandemic it’s not exclusive to the Nightingales, and in any case we seem to be doing better than a lot of our bigger peers from the punk era.”
Do you get the ‘none of the original members’ jibe, which always strikes me as a bit elitist, about the current line-up?
“Well obviously, for a start, I’m an original member and it’s for years there’ve been people floating in and out. It’s not a nostalgia act, it’s a contemporary band. Ultimately I don’t care, but this is actually the longest-serving line-up and we’re still mates with most of the former members.”
You stormed Moseley Folk last year – excuse my ignorance but was that the biggest crowd you’ve played to in the city?
“In Birmingham, it probably was our biggest show. We’ve played to much larger crowds in other places though, like at Glastonbury. Moseley was funny because the fellow from The Wonder Stuff met me before he went and seemed to be a keen Nightingales fan, and mention several times on stage that I was in the audience!”
You’re playing the O2 Academy on this tour. Was it a conscious decision to be in a city centre, more accessible venue?
“No, because since the movie and the success of the last album, we’ve had a promotion company take us on board for the next tour, and that’s where they thought to put us.”
Would you consider yourselves to still be a Birmingham band?
“Jim, guitarist, is a bona fide Brummie, but we’ve kind of been based out of Wolverhampton for a long time now. But we were originally a Birmingham band, and it’s certainly not something we’re ashamed of!”
It’s ironic that the best time ever for the Birmingham music scene, certainly in terms of its variety, came when the city itself was so bad – there was the cliché about having to look like you just came straight from the office if you wanted to go into town at night. Yet apart from the obvious hit makers there was yourselves, the Au Pairs, Fashion. How did a place with so few opportunities become so productive?
“The first thing that comes to mind is what Black Sabbath and many others would have to say about that! Birmingham’s the second biggest city in the country . . . there’s a great amount of talent there.”
Not that much happened here for a long time after that. In fact, the city’s musical output was a bit embarrassing for years. We had cult heroes but nothing really successful. Was there a reason for that beyond the lack of venues and promoters?
“I don’t know about that. But with UB40, Dexy’s and Duran Duran, it’s an inaccurate picture to paint. There were massive successes – I loved Dexy’s and have a soft spot for UB40 because despite their very pop approach, they’d bring along their heroes to play and probably introduced many people to some of the original reggae greats.”
Do you still live in Birmingham?
“I live in Telford now, but Jim still lives in Birmingham and Fliss lives near the city too. Andi’s still in Germany.”
Do you take notice of the music scene here now? In particular are there any bands who you can see being influenced by yourselves?
“We’re on the road a lot and I’m probably not qualified to speak of any specific bands. Now and then, I’ll see some brilliant local act, and it’d be egotistical of me to think we were an influence, but maybe.”
And if you were starting out now what would you sound like and your influences be?
“If I was a young fellow, I wouldn’t have wasted time doing punk rock music. I’d have gone more quickly into more esoteric stuff like krautrock, etc, but I’d also I don’t know if I’d chose music as the means to express myself. I’m not cut out for the technology.”
The Nightingales play the 02 Academy, Birmingham, on Saturday 30th April. Tickets.