The Gig Cartel - Artist profiles: The Nightingales

Birmingham's original punk group The Prefects 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 NY label Acute Records to all round glowing reviews - from Rolling Stone to webzines.

The Nightingales was formed by former members of The Prefects following that band's demise in 1979.

With an ever fluctuating line up, based around lyricist/singer Robert Lloyd, the Nightingales enjoyed cult status in the early '80's 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 1980's to look at the period rationally and other, infinitely better known, bands stand revealed as charlatans".

The group recorded a bunch of critically acclaimed singles (Almost always 'Single Of The Week' in the music press) and three albums, plus many radio sessions for their great supporter Peel - more than any other band bar The Fall. They also regularly toured the UK and Northern Europe, as headliners and supporting acts as diverse as Bo Diddley and Nico.

In the late Eighties 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.

After fucking about with various wastrels, precious sorts and mercenaries the group arrived at it's current line up, which features Lloyd, Apperley, Andreas Schmid (from Faust Studio) on bass, ex Violet Violet drummer Fliss Kitson and guitarist Matt Wood.

Since restarting the group have been more productive than ever - releasing five 7" vinyl singles, a 10" EP and three studio albums (Plus two live albums), touring England, mainland Europe and USA 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 Music and they have continued to receive regular rave reviews for their records and live shows.

The group's new album "No Love Lost" is released by Cooking Vinyl on 30 April 2012. Described by Mojo as "Brilliant. One of the fiercest and most exhilarating rock records in ages" the record was recorded in Germany in December 2011 and features guests Katherine Young on bassoon and Hans-Joachim Irmler from krautrock legends Faust on keyboards.

The Nightingales will be playing live shows Europe and USA over the coming year and will also release a new album in 2013.

Well, Nightingales crowd filled out and band were astonishing! Contender for gig of the year! - MOJO, UK

The Nightingales - they're back and they're marvellous - MARC RILEY/BBC 6 MUSIC, UK

Nightingales are unreal. The level of playing and songwriting after their post-punk hiatus is unparalled by any of their generational comeback cohorts - TERRE T/WFMU, USA

With The Fall getting Lifetime Achievement awards and Gang Of Four canonised it is long past time the wayward genius of Robert Lloyd and his cohorts was recognised - RECORD COLLECTOR, UK

Rock & Roll at its best - SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, GERMANY

Consistently excellent, the Nightingales are back, as ferociously sardonic as ever. Nice to see them still mad, still funny, still wrecking the furniture after all these years. - DUSTED, USA

Shows just how poor these skinny jeaned little shits currently doing the rounds really are. - TASTY, UK

Lloyd is the most underestimated songwriter of his generation - THE INDEPENDENT, UK

The Nightingales in Southend on Friday jetted in to my top ten gigs of all time - PHILL JUPITUS/BBC 6 MUSIC, UK

Forget all these NME Band of the Week types, who make out they don't care, they won't compromise, etc, whilst wearing the same indie uniform and churning out the same tired old riffs. They don't need your attention. The Nightingales do. Because rock 'n' roll rarely gets as uncompromising as this - PLASTELIN, SERBIA

The Nightingales revisited their past and offered up the future. Still stunningly relevant - LONDON EVENING STANDARD, UK

The Nightingales subjugate a rapt and breathless Spitz with a performance of sinewy magnificence - DAILY TELEGRAPH, UK

Tuesday night at the Cake Shop in NYC. One of the best shows I've seen in years. Jangly, angsty, angular, punk, post-punk, just rock and roll, whatever, they destroyed - DAN SELZER/ILXOR, US

The Nightingales have been responsible for some of the most genuinely innovative minority music of the past three decades. What's more with the release of Insult To Injury they have significantly raised their game. In fact, this is undoubtedly their finest moment - THE QUIETUS, UK

Boozy and deranged, Insult to Injury is how the new Franz record ought to sound - VICE, UK

This is a living, breathing beast of an album - ARTROCKER MAGAZINE, UK

This is their fiercest, most lacerating album yet, better by a good margin than the mid-1980s Pigs on Purpose...and that was excellent - BLURT, USA

Their freshest and most subtly intoxicating work to date - OBSERVER MUSIC MONTHLY, UK

They sound wired, edgy, boozy and as dangerous as ever, like a new band full of that energy that comes with those first moves and not a band who’ve been doing this since the start of punk. Robert Lloyd really shouldn’t be this good after all these years, should he? - THE ORGAN, UK

The new album from the 'Gales is their finest for 27 years. Start here and work backwards - SUNDAY TIMES, UK

Unlovable as ever. The Nightingales remain hard work for precious little gain - MOJO, UK