Speed Niggs was a German indie rock band founded in
Detmold
Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...
in
Nordrhein-Westfalen
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...
in 1989.
History
Their first album ''Boston Beigel Yeah!'' was released shortly after their foundation. It was featured as the record of the month in the German music magazine
Spex. The music of this first album sounded rough, similar to
demotape, and could be compared to rock acts such as the
Jimi Hendrix Experience
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and songwriters such as
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
. At the end of 1989 the readers of Spex magazine elected the Speed Niggs as newcomer of the year.
One year later the second album ''Another Valley on the long Decline'' was released. In the tradition of the debut it started with the Neil Young Song
Mr. Soul
"Mr. Soul" is a song recorded by the Canadian-American rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1967. It was released June 15, 1967, as the B-side to their fourth single "Bluebird" and later included on the group's second album ''Buffalo Springfield Agai ...
and went on with a guest appearance of
Evan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Award ...
of the
Lemonheads as singer of ''Paint it sweet''. Their song ''Toys in the Deep Freeze'' was put on the sampler ''Geräusche für die 90er'' with other influential German bands.
Indigo-Website: Geräusche für die 90er
/ref> In those days the band played many concerts throughout Germany.
The third album ''667 – Right Between The Dicks'' was released in 1991 and had a very different sound. The old rough sound was replaced by conventional hard rock. After some recastings the band split up in 1992.
In 1995 two members of the Speed Niggs came back on stage as ''Sharon Stoned'' who were more or less a revival of the original band. In the same year the Speed Niggs' debut album ''Boston Beigel Yeah!'' was rereleased on CD. It contained extra tracks like AC/DC's ''She's got Balls'' and Neil Young's Lotta Love
"Lotta Love" is a song written and recorded by Neil Young and released on his 1978 '' Comes a Time'' album. "Lotta Love" was also covered by Nicolette Larson in 1978. Larson's version reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 8 ...
.
The Speed Niggs were the first German band with a sound similar to popular American guitar bands in those days, mainly bands from Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
such as The Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...
Discography
* 1989: Boston Beigel Yeah! (Beat all the Tambourines)
* 1990: Another Valley On The Long Decline (Historia)
* 1991: 667 - Right Between The Dicks (Beat Hotel)
* 1995: Boston Beigel Yeah! - CD-Rerelease ( Langstrumpf Records)
As ''Sharon Stoned'':
* 1995 License To Confuse (Snoop Records)
* 1996 Sample & Hold (Columbia)
External links
Indiepedia
MySpace-Page Speed Niggs
MySpace-Page Sharon Stoned
Speed Niggs Live-Video, 1990
References
German alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 1989
Detmold
{{Germany-band-stub