| The Darling Buds | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Newport, South Wales, UK |
| Genres | Punk, indie, twee pop |
| Years active | 1986–1993 |
| Labels | Native Records Epic Records |
| Past members | |
| Andrea Lewis Harley Farr Chris McDonogh Bloss (1986-1990) Jimmy Hughes (1990-1993) Jon Lee |
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The Darling Buds were an indie band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".
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Influenced by the catchy simple sound of the early Beatles, 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 and Transvision Vamp, but also referenced the C86 scene of a few years earlier.
The Darling Buds formed in Caerleon near Newport, South Wales, in 1986, by the then 19-year-old Andrea Lewis. Their debut single, "If I Said", was released on 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 show. Signing with Sony in 1988, several singles preceded their critically acclaimed 1989 debut LP, Pop Said.... The album ultimately reached the Top 30 in the UK Albums Chart,[1] and the band appeared on the cover of Melody Maker twice (24 September 1988 and 18 February 1989). In 1990, the original drummer, Bloss, left the band and was replaced by Jimmy Hughes from Black. Their second album, Crawdaddy, was not as well received. Pressing forward with their new style, the group followed with their third and final album in 1992, entitled Erotica, 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 film, So I Married an Axe Murderer. 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.
Since disbanding Andrea Lewis 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 now runs her own theatre school called "CAST"(The Children's Academy of Stage Training)alongside husband Jamie Jarvis, based in Cardiff, Swansea and Caerlaeon. Chris McDonogh now works at Le Mons studio in Newport.
In July 2010, the Darling Buds with only Lewis 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, who died earlier in the year.