Nightnurse

Last updated

Nightnurse
Origin London, England
Years active1996–2000
Labels Better Records
Past members

Nightnurse was an English indie rock band from London, England, who had some success in the late 1990s. They released three singles, [1] with their second "Skirt" reaching no.11 in the UK Independent Singles Chart in February 1998. They were the first band to ever release an MP3 single 'IDF/Big Sleep' and were recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for doing so. [2] Their debut album was recorded at Blackwing studios, but never released as the label Better Records folded in 2000.

Contents

History

Formed in 1996 by lead singer and previous Pollyanna Frank and Sister George front-woman Ellyott Dragon (born: Sharon Ben-Ezzer), Nightnurse's original line up consisted of Ellyott on guitar and vocals, Charlotte Hatherley on guitar, Ben Drakeford on bass guitar and Alex Lutes on drums. After playing only 6 gigs together the band were signed to ex Creation Records boss Tim Abbott's Better Records label. In 1997 the band's profile was raised considerably after winning the NME 'Best New Band' award having been together for a just few months. They achieved some success with their debut single "Golem" [3] which received a small amount of radio play on BBC Radio 1 and video play on MTV Europe but did not chart. Shortly after the release of this single Charlotte Hatherley left the band to join fellow indie rockers Ash. [4]

The band worked with a number of guitarists as replacement, including Debbie Smith (Curve, Echobelly) and Charley Stone (Gay Dad), who recorded a second single with the band called "Skirt", which charted at No.11 in the UK Independent Singles Chart in 1998. The single was XFM's 'Single of the Week'. The band subsequently toured on the success of the single, this time with new guitarist Matt Platts, supporting other 1990s UK indie bands including Rachel Stamp, Jolt, Snow Patrol, The Monsoon Bassoon, Cay and Seafood.

A follow-up single was double A-side 'IDF/Big Sleep' released on a white label limited edition 7" vinyl through S16 Records. This pressing was deleted on the day of release and the band made history by self-releasing the UK's first ever official MP3 format single, receiving 30,000 downloads from their website in a week. [2]

In late 1997, Nightnurse recorded their debut album at the Blackwing Studios in London. However, after severe financial difficulties, the band's label Better Records fell into liquidation and so the album was never released. A message posted on the band's official Myspace page in 2006 stated that the album was to be re-mastered and released at some time in the future. A date has yet to be announced.

After the release of their third single Nightnurse were signed by Sanctuary Management, and were joined by drummer Dicki Fliszar, who replaced Alex Lutes. They went on to record 4 new demo tracks at Trident studios in South London. They toured extensively, but finally parted ways in 2000.

Members

1996
1997
later

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ash (band)</span> Northern Irish rock band

Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album Trailer in 1994 and full-length album 1977 in 1996. This 1996 release was named by NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. After the success of their full debut the band recruited Charlotte Hatherley as a guitarist and vocalist, releasing their second record Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998. After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, the band released Free All Angels in 2001 and a string of successful singles.

<i>Meltdown</i> (Ash album) 2004 studio album by Ash

Meltdown is the fourth studio album to be recorded by the Northern Irish rock band Ash. The album was released on 17 May 2004 through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Following the success of their third studio album Free All Angels (2001), Ash debuted several new songs while touring throughout 2003. By October that year, they had travelled to Los Angeles, California, to record a follow-up album, which was co-produced by Nick Raskulinecz and the band. Recording sessions were held at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys and at Chalice Studios, Hollywood. Meltdown, which is described as a hard rock album, drew comparisons to the work of The Smashing Pumpkins and critics said the guitar work resembles that of Black Sabbath and Metallica.

Sister George were an English band from London, recognised as being significant in the 1990s queercore scene, who formed in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swirlies</span> Musical artist

Swirlies is an American indie rock band formed in Boston in 1990. Since their first records in the early 1990s, the band has released studio and home recordings that blend shoegaze and twee pop with electronica and lo-fi music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skin (British band)</span> British hard rock band

Skin were a British hard rock band active during the 1990s who reformed in 2009, only to disband again in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thirteen:13</span>

Thirteen:13 were a British alternative rock band formed in 1999 by members of Catch.

<i>Grey Will Fade</i> 2004 studio album by Charlotte Hatherley

Grey Will Fade is the debut studio album by English musician Charlotte Hatherley, the guitarist for Ash, released by Double Dragon Music on 16 August 2004. Spurred on by the positive response to "Grey Will Fade", which appeared as a B-side to Ash's single "There's a Star" (2001), Hatherley set about recording her solo album. Enlisting the help of Eric Drew Feldman, the sessions for the album were happening concurrently in Los Angeles, California, at Wild Hamster, while Ash was recording their album Meltdown (2004). Described as a pop punk and power pop record, Hatherley's vocals on Grey Will Fade earned her comparisons to Björk, Tanya Donelly, and PJ Harvey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluebottle Kiss</span> Australian indie rock band

Bluebottle Kiss, sometimes known as BBK, are an Australian indie rock band formed in Sydney in 1993 by mainstay member Jamie Hutchings on guitar and vocals. The band issued six albums, Higher Up the Firetrails (1995), Fear of Girls (1996), Patient (1999), Revenge Is Slow (2002), Come Across (2003) and Doubt Seeds (2006) before their split in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Shot the Moon</span>

We Shot the Moon, formerly known as The Honor Roll, is a band from San Diego, California featuring Jonathan Jones the singer of Waking Ashland, and originally, Dan Koch, and Joe Greenetz both from the band Sherwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prayer for Cleansing</span> American metalcore band

Prayer for Cleansing was an American metalcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band is noted for their extreme metal influence that was a little more prominent in their music than other metalcore bands at the time. They are also notable for being an early musical starting point for three members of Between the Buried and Me who played in the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breathless (band)</span>

Breathless are an English dream pop band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton, Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums). Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released eight studio albums, one compilation album and 14 singles and EPs, all on their own label, Tenor Vossa Records.

Morly Grey is an American psychedelic rock band that formed in the late 1960s.

Siddhartha is an American band formed in 2003, led by singer-songwriter Marlon Hauser continued the tradition of Detroit garage icons such as the MC5, The Stooges, and The Gories. The group recorded a full-length album with Jim Diamond which was never officially released, however in 2006 some of those recordings surfaced as a bootleg EP titled War Is Tragic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Hatherley</span> Musical artist

Charlotte Franklin Hatherley is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and soundtrack composer. She initially came to prominence as guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Ash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pains of Being Pure at Heart</span> American indie pop band

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were an American indie pop band from New York City, formed in 2007. The band centered around founding member and principal songwriter Kip Berman. In the band's final iteration, Berman was joined in concert by Christoph Hochheim (guitar), Jen Goma, Jacob Sloan (bass), and Anton Hochheim (drums). Former members and contributors include Peggy Wang, Connor Hanwick, Kurt Feldman and Alex Naidus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dive! Dive! Dive!</span> 1990 hard rock single by Bruce Dickinson

"Dive! Dive! Dive!" is the third single from Bruce Dickinson's debut solo album, Tattooed Millionaire. It was released in August 1990. The lyrical theme is a thinly veiled double entendre connecting submarines and the sexual act of cunnilingus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crying Lightning</span> 2009 single by Arctic Monkeys

"Crying Lightning" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released as the first single from their third album Humbug. It was first played on Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 on 6 July 2009 and was then made available on iTunes to download the same day. Physical copies of the single were made available on 17 August, one week before the release of the album. The vinyl was made available in Oxfam shops and sold with a download code for fans to get a free MP3 version of the song.

Blood Feathers are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were formed in 2005 by Ben Dickey and Drew Mills. The current band consists of Dickey and Mills, Clay Simmons, Patrick Marsceill (drums), Sam Murphy (guitar), and Tracy Stanton.

<i>New Worlds</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Charlotte Hatherley

New Worlds is the third studio album by British musician Charlotte Hatherley, released on 16 October 2009 through her own label Little Sister Records. Following the release of her second studio album The Deep Blue in early 2007, Hatherley had started writing material for its follow-up in August of that year. Enlisting the help of producers Luke Smith and Adem, Hatherley recorded the album in one week at The Pool in London. Described as an indie rock, new wave, and pop release, New Worlds took inspiration from painters, and a book by Alex Ross.

Charley Stone is an English multi-instrumentalist musician based in London, UK. She has been a notable part of the London indie music scene since the early 1990s.

References

  1. "Nightnurse". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 Bychawski, Adam (9 September 1998). "Modern Medicine for the Single Blues". New Musical Express.
  3. "Nightnurse - Golem / Wet Blanket - Better - UK - BET013". 45cat.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. "Q&A: Charlotte Hatherley". Completemusicupdate.com. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2020.