The Darling Buds are an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the

H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974), better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer. His best-known works include ''Love for Lydia'', '' The Darling Buds of May'', and '' My Uncle Silas''. Early life H.E. Bates was ...

novel '' The Darling Buds of May'' – a title taken in turn, from the third line of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Sonnet 18 "Sonnet 18" is one of the best-known of the 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. In the sonnet, the speaker asks whether he should compare the Fair Youth to a summer's day, but notes that he has qua ...

: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".

Career

Influenced by the catchy simple sound of the early Beatles as well as that of Blondie, the band created melodic, hook-driven, short-duration singles. They were considered part of the short lived "Blonde" movement (indie rock band fronted by blonde female singer with all other members being dark-haired males) along with the likes of

The Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording caree ...

and

Transvision Vamp Transvision Vamp were an English pop rock band. Formed in 1986 by Nick Christian Sayer and Wendy James, the band enjoyed chart success in the late 1980s, particularly in 1989. James, the lead singer and focal-point of the group, attracted medi ...

, but also referenced the

C86 ''C86'' is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine '' NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music g ...

scene of a few years earlier.Aston, Martin. '' Q'' September 2012. Where Are They Now? The Darling Buds, p. 33 The Darling Buds formed in

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

near Newport, South Wales, in 1986 by 19-year-old Andrea Lewis, billed simply as "Andrea". Rounding out the original line-up was guitarist Geraint Farr, billed as "Harley", and a bassist known simply as Simon. The drumming was originally performed by a drum machine. The group's debut single, "If I Said", was self-released in February 1987 and was well received. The group re-released the single on an established label, Native Records, receiving radio play on John Peel's

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show. The line-up was then re-organized, with Andrea and Harley being joined by new bassist Chris McDonagh and drummer Richard Gray (billed as "Bloss"). Signing with Sony in 1988, several singles preceded the band's critically acclaimed 1989 debut LP, '' Pop Said...''. The album, described as "relentlessly chirpy", ultimately reached the Top 30 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, and the band appeared on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

as well as the cover of '' Melody Maker'' twice (24 September 1988 and 18 February 1989). In 1990, drummer Bloss left the band and was replaced by Jimmy Hughes from

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

. Their second album, ''

Crawdaddy The Crawdaddy Club was a music venue in Richmond, Surrey, England, which opened in 1963. The Rolling Stones were its house band in its first year and were followed by The Yardbirds. Several other notable British blues and rhythm and blues acts a ...

'', was not as well received, even if, according to critic Doug Brod, it "reveal da more mature Buds, a group that has learned the value of a little variety." Pressing forward with their new style, the group followed with their third and final album in 1992, entitled ''

Erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...

'', a few weeks before Madonna's album of the same name. The album contained the US single, "Long Day in the Universe", which was featured on the soundtrack for the

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

film, '' So I Married an Axe Murderer''. Shortly after the album was completed, drummer Hughes left and was briefly replaced by Jon Lee (who drummed on two non-LP b-sides), then by drummer Dennis McCarthy. Around the same time, the group added second guitarist Matt Gray (ex-Soldier Dolls) to the line up. Although they toured the United States in support of the album for a year, the members of the Darling Buds grew increasingly frustrated by their lack of commercial success and disbanded. Speaking to the ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

'' in 2012, Lewis explained the reasons behind their decision: "Sony's London office wanted to pass the financial buck after we'd moved to LA and the bureaucracy meant we couldn't tour or record. We got stuck in limbo for ages and eventually called it a day."

Post break-up

Since disbanding, Andrea Lewis Jarvis (as she is now known) moved on to acting, touring with a Cardiff theatre company. She later moved into presenting, hosting ''The Slate'' for BBC Wales and, in 1998 and 1999, she co-hosted a Welsh Saturday morning radio show, ''The Weekenders'', with Gareth Jones. Andrea, alongside husband Jamie Jarvis, now runs her own theatre school called "CAST" (The Children's Academy of Stage Training), based in Cardiff, Caerleon and Monmouth. Chris McDonagh now works at Le Mons studio in Newport. Richard 'Bloss' Gray became an assistant manager in a hotel near Cardiff; as of 2012 he ran the Red Lion Inn in Cowbridge. Geraint 'Harley' Farr, Andrea Lewis' boyfriend during the band's early years, retrained as a dietician/nutritionist and moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. "I don't know why, but he's turned his back on that part of his life," commented Lewis on Farr's refusal to join her for a one-off reunion. In July 2010, the Darling Buds with only Andrea Lewis Jarvis from the original line-up, reformed for a one-off tribute concert in their native Newport in memory of John Sicolo, the owner of the music venue

TJ's TJ's was a music venue and nightclub located on Clarence Place in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales. It opened in 1985 and shortly became a live music venue. It was an integral part of the so-called toilet circuit and the Music of Newport, ...

who died earlier in the year. In October 2013 the band announced a further show, at the Borderline in London in April 2014, with Chris McDonagh and Matt Gray joining Lewis, to be proceeded by a warm up show at the Le Pub venue in Newport the day before. The band announced the London show would be the last, however, the significant interest in this show, led to the band agreeing to play the Indie Daze festival at the Kentish Town Forum in September 2014, and two headline shows at London's Lexington in April 2015. With the line-up officially expanded to a quintet of Andrea Lewis Jarvis (vocals), Chris McDonagh (bass), Matt Gray (guitar), Paul 'Chaz' Watkins (guitar, keyboards), and Erik Stams (drums), The Darling Buds released the ''Evergreen'' EP on Oddbox Records on 28 April 2017. It was their first new material in 25 years. Chris McDonagh decided to leave the band in the summer of 2018. Dave Corten replaced him on bass, and the group issued a digital-only single, "New Year", on 15 December 2018. The band have continued to play live around the country and are currently working toward recording new material.

Members

*Andrea Lewis Jarvis – vocals *Matt Gray – guitar (1992–1993, 2010, 2013–present) *Paul "Chaz" Watkins – guitar (1992–1993, 2010, 2013 to present) *Erik Stams – drums (2010 to present) *Dave Corten – bass guitar (2018–present) ;Former members: *Simon – bass guitar (1986) *Geraint "Harley" Farr – guitar (1986–1993) *Richard "Bloss" Gray – drums (1986–1990) *Jimmy Hughes – drums (1990–1993) * Jon Lee – drums (1992– two of the

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

on "Sure Thing"; later of the band Feeder) *Dennis McCarthy – drums (1993) *Chris McDonagh – bass guitar (1986–2018)

Discography

Albums

*'' Pop Said...'' (1989) No. 23 ( UK) eissued 2006 with extra tracks*''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992)

Compilations

*'' Shame on You (The Native Years)'' (1990)

Singles

Flexi Disc

*"Spin" (1987 – So Naive fanzine – shared release with Bubblegum Splash!)

References

External links

Biography from BBC Wales

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling Buds, The People from Caerleon Welsh alternative rock groups British indie pop groups British indie rock groups Musical groups from Newport, Wales