To celebrate the release of their new LP, The Awful Truth on Fire Records, Outsideleft is holding a massive Nightingales Week. Something new each day, beginning with our Sunday Interview with band leader, Robert Lloyd.
OUTSIDELEFT: The powerless are the problem… I don’t necessarily think of you as a constantly diatribical band, and that there are the Nightingales now, is the most massively important message of all for me. An entity.
ROBERT LLOYD: It's neither big nor clever but I do quite like made up words or adaptations being used to get something across. For example in the song 'Joyce' from our new album I was pleased with "A mute mother who had bulrushed her baby", but anyway it transpires that 'diatribical' may be uncommon but is an actual word, so there's a lesson.
OL: But when you write, and you employ humour or satire, let’s say… Well, I have met the people who more than anything whose reading of American Psycho suggests no more than Bateman has a really beautiful apartment, and a design for life, or Margaret Atwood’s Gilead is an American ideal to strive towards, or say Rapeman as a band name for Steve Albini became a burden because it didn’t only hit in the way all of these artists intended… People can miss the message even when you paint it in 1m high letters beneath the underpass…
RL: In my opinion some people get over concerned about the weight a horse has to carry in a race. They think of pounds as lengths and so forth. But they might be right. When I read that book and coughed myself a chuckle at page 63 it did not mean that your stony faced reading was below par.
OL: I think I read somewhere that philosophically, Same Old Riff, is informed and visually represented in the video, by the original French thinkers from the late 60s Situationist era, Guy Debord and pals. And of course Jamie Reid drew on elements of that too for the iconoclastic punk iconography…
RL: Some pop singers are self absorbed, others just seem to enjoy showing off in music promos, I'm neither one nor the other. I feel strongly about some elements of my trade but I do choose to work with other people. Director Rob Curry (Fifth Column Films) is a decent chap who was working on a tight budget, the Situationist vibe was his doing.
OL: And so we draw a line back to the punk rock era. Can I ask, maybe not physically, but in other ways, how have you moved on from those days and what have you carried with you?
RL: Many moons have manoeuvred, plenty of sweets sucked but truth be told I enjoyed many styles of music even in the olden days. Aside from a brief fling with Johnny Rotten, as documented in the Nightingales movie 'King Rocker' I was swift to disembark HMS Punk though I don't care if someone else thinks otherwise & I guess that was kind of the point? I have learned to trust my own instincts & physically I have kept a short haircut.
OL: Do you ever feel just sick and tired of it? It’s not that a lot doesn’t get better. But couldn’t we do so much better than that…
RL: But of course.
OL: It’s not that a lot doesn’t get better. But couldn’t we do so much better than that…
RL: You would have thought that during his twenty five years plus at United Ryan Giggs would have practised playing with his right foot but the obvious path is not necessarily the one chosen. However, I make you right & would imagine improvement is very much a possibility albeit seemingly unlikely.
OL: Alright that’s enough of that maybe. The Nightingales have a reputation for amazing live shows. So let’s talk about fabrics and other things… We’re talking about fibre, practicality and durability. Are you handy with an iron? A steam press. Starch? What works well on tour for you?
RL: At home I have a washing machine & on the road spare time is short so my laundrette days are largely behind me. Thankfully my wife is a dab hand at folding shirts & I am quite nifty at ironing them beforehand. It's not exactly a job I enjoy but neither is it a major chore & I can fill a suitcase with enough shirts for around twenty days of gigging in an hour or two. My day shirts generally have to be worn twice but stage shirts tend to get used for one night only & so it all adds up.
OL: And have you picked up touring tips from other musicians and if so what and where?
RL: To be honest I do not talk to other musicians but, as a reasonably intelligent bloke but a bit of a betting man, over time I have come to learn that tips are best ignored. Like being at home I reckon sleep & water should not be underestimated on the road. & obviously if you are travelling North be sure to stock up on samosas.
OL: Where’s your favourite place to play a show?
RL: A few years ago the Nightingales opened up for The Damned in Wolverhampton & Captain Sensible was impressed & complimentary which led to us being offered the support slot on one of their UK tours. One of the shows was at Birmingham Town Hall where as a kid I'd seen Faust, Roxy Music, Captain Beefheart, Thin Lizzy & others & I would have daydreamed that one day, blah blah.
OL : What was the last thing you heard on your radio that made you feel flummoxed, sad or confused…
RL: I have Radio 4 on most of the time, most of the days & very rarely listen to any of the music stations. Suffice to say, hearing of the horrible antics & the vile views of some of the World's men can be truly depressing. But I do learn quite a bit &, for example, Radio 4 recently reran an old series of Alexis Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar which I enjoyed very much. 
OL: There’s a track on the Awful Truth, Morning After Mouth… I sometimes like to ask people what was the last thing they spat out?
RL: I'm quite an old man now so thankfully I have more or less learned what I like to put in my gob & obviously I avoid lychees & sour milk, etc, but I'm pretty strict as regards brushing my teeth a couple of times each day. I do not sing when I am off duty &, if the group has been inactive for a while, when we kick off again, well, I'll spare you the details.
OL: I’m also interested in the last time you felt frightened?
RL: I do get nervous but I don't scare very easily.
OL: I have some very great neighbours, what is Robert Lloyd like as a neighbour?
RL: About a month ago Sylvester & Marianne moved out of the house next door & when I went round to wish them well Marianne gave me a big hug. Apparently she had previously also told my wife that they were sorry to be moving away from us & were worried that their new neighbours might be unfriendly &/or racist.
OL: I mean, do you bake when people move in nearby? Do you save your parking space with wheelie bins when you’re leaving? On the good neighbor scale, how do you rate? This speaks to the character of a man.
RL: I am a half decent cook, especially as nowadays I'm pretty much a one armed bloke. a bit like David Kelly as Albert Riddle in Robin's Nest. But I do not bake.
OL: I once picked up my friend the writer and musician Kirk Lake on the parade in Leamington Spa, decades ago, and he got in the car and said “I didn’t think you were the kind of person who would be able to drive.” When was the last time you made a genuinely surprising and unexpected discovery about someone you know that made you feel better, not worse about the world? Even for a moment?
RL: It is now the middle of May & I have had only two visitors all year - ace photographer Ming de Nasty & comedian Stewart Lee. Ming has done wonders with her polytunnel, you should see the size of her fennel. She is terrific & in truth it came as no surprise that she could grow such fine veg & unfortunately all of the unexpected news I have received about other people I know have been bleak. Illness, deaths, etc.
OL: The West Midlands was car country for the longest time, can you drive? And if so, do you?
RL: I have never driven, I knew as a youngster that I was going to be a drinker.
OL: I had a bit of a Bob Dylan afternoon, that trio of lauded mid 60s LPs and at the same time. In the 60s Dylan couldn’t roll back the clock another 60 years and get the wax cylinder record player out, it didn’t exist. Am a bit bemused by this. For a moment. I guess what I am asking is, there’s nothing quite like the NIghtingales, 40 yrs in showbiz is a blink of the eye watering long time. If there was anything like your band starting now, would they be going 40 years and why would they?
RL: To be honest I do not follow the music scene but... there was a group a few years back that I liked & they seemed to disappear pretty quickly. Perhaps it's only the old fogey's that dunno when to pack it in? Any road up, I would imagine the Nightingales are a relatively unusual in the longevity stakes because they have had little fame & even less money, which are two hearty catalysts to keep going.
OL: Maybe there is no 40 years from now?
RL: I wouldn't bet either way.
OL: I’ve been doing this outsideleft thing for 20 years. Why? I don’t know.
RL: Really?
OL: I am not sure how to stop. What about you, at some point do you think you might consider a different form of self-expression. Not that you should or anything, just wondering…
RL: Truth be told I do get down in the dumps & other times I most certainly think about expressing myself outside the constraints of a band, or even away from music. However, I'm fearful of being a shit novelist, stand up or whatever & I suppose that means I must think I'm alright as a lyricist. & on a good day I am happy with my work & I really do like the Nightingales as a live unit.
OL: Is there a weight, maybe a weight of expectation, to being Robert Lloyd (the Nightingale)?
RL: I don't really think many people give a toss about Robert Lloyd the Nightingale. I do have my own expectations of course but I reckon it'd sound a bit pretentious for me to explain myself on these matters. Plus it's all kinda personal & maybe it's a light weight anyway?
Essential Information
The Nightingales Week in Outsideleft
An Introduction to the Nightingales Week →
Robert Lloyd: The Sunday Interview →
The Awful Truth: The 2025 Fire Records’ LP reviewed by David O’Byrne →
The Happy Shopper: Andreas →
Guitar Talk with Jim →
The Happy Shopper: Fliss →
King Rocker - review by Martin Devenney →
The Happy Shopper: Jim →
Three Big Bass Questions for Andreas →
The Happy Shopper: Robert →
Teethgraters: The records The Nightingales would go to the ends of the earth to never hear again →
