Nirvana (British band)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nirvana
General information
Genre (s) Psychedelic rock
founding 1967

Nirvana is a British psychedelic pop band from the 1960s.

Band history

The group was founded by bassist and singer Patrick Campbell-Lyons, who has played in various rhythm and blues bands since the early 1960s . In 1966 Campbell-Lyons began working with songwriter and pianist Alex Spyropoulos and guitarist Ray Singer. Together with bassist Brian Henderson and cellist Sylvia Schuster, the trio formed the original line-up of Nirvana.

After the musicians were initially under contract for the small label Kassner Music, they switched to Island Records in 1967 . At the same time Michael Cole joined the band on flugelhorn and violin. The sound of the group is solid and then contemporary pop with string arrangements and occasional psychedelic effects. On stage, the group dressed in silk caftans and played concerts with other Icelandic contract artists such as B. Traffic or Spooky Tooth .

The first two singles Tiny Goddess and Pentecost Hotel (both from 1967) had no commercial success, but were able to reap positive criticism and give the group a certain reputation , as did the debut album Story of Simon Simopath, which was released in the same year . The third single Rainbow Chaser (1968) became a top 40 hit. The success may also be due to a spectacular television appearance in France, during which the group (with the directive to "look as psychedelic as possible") performed three songs and was doused with paint by Salvador Dalí .

Due to the symphonic elements of the Nirvana songs, the band's repertoire could no longer be adequately performed live, so that in future there was as little as possible to do without appearances. However, there was no longer any need for a permanent cast, so that the group was reduced to Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos with changing studio musicians. In this way, the next two singles Girl in the park and All of us (1968) were created. All of us was to become better known as the theme song for The Touchables . In the same year the sixth single Wings of Love and the album All of us followed , followed by the single Oh! What a performance . Although the group was halfway successful and the third album To Markos 3 was already produced, the contract with Island Records was canceled in 1969. Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos, however, managed to have the album distributed by Metromedia (in the USA) and by Pye (in England).

Patrick Campbell-Lyons worked as a producer for the Vertigo Records label from 1970 and recorded two albums during this time, which were also released under the name Nirvana: Local Anesthetic (1971) and Songs of Love and Praise (1972). Alex Spyropoulos devoted himself to various other projects before the duo spent four years composing the Nirvana musical Blood , from which the song Two of a kind was released as a single in England and France in 1986. In 1988 there were two more singles with new compositions: Black and White and The Picture of Dorian Gray .

The two founders have been working sporadically on joint projects since 2006.

At least in the beginning, Muff Winwood, the bassist for the Spencer Davis Group , co-produced the group. Jimmy Miller , who also produced The Rolling Stones , also helped with some of the titles .

Discography

Singles

  • Tiny Goddess (1967)
  • Pentecost Hotel (1967)
  • Rainbow Chaser (1968)
  • Girl in the Park (1968)
  • All of us (1968)
  • Wings of Love (1968)
  • Oh! What a performance (1969)
  • Two of a Kind (1986)
  • Black and White (1988)
  • The picture of Dorian Gray (1988)

Albums

  • The Story of Simon Simopath (1967)
  • All of us (1968) ( re-released 2003)
  • The Touchables (Soundtrack) Theme only (1968)
  • To Markos 3 (1970) (re-released 2004)
  • Local Anesthetic (1971) (republished in 2002)
  • Songs of Love and Praise (1972)
  • Me And My Friend (1973) (re-released 2001)
  • Traveling On A Cloud (1992) (Compilation)
  • Black Flower (1993) (Compilation)
  • Secret Theater (1994) (Rarities and Outtakes)
  • Orange And Blue (1996)
  • Chemistry (1997) (3-CD Retrospective)
  • Forever Changing (2003) (Compilation)

Web links