The Lilac Time

The Lilac Time is a British alternative folk-rock band that was originally formed in Herefordshire, England by Stephen Duffy, his brother Nick Duffy and their friend Michael Weston in 1986. The band's name was taken from a line in the Nick Drake song "River Man".

Since its formation, The Lilac Time has gone through various line-up changes, with the Duffy brothers as mainstays. The band's activity has intertwined with Stephen Duffy's solo and songwriting career.

History

The Duffy brothers and Michael Weston had recorded music that would become the band's self-titled debut, which was first released on Swordfish Records in 1987. Michael Giri and Fraser Kent joined when the band went on tour. The group signed to Fontana, which reissued the band's first album in remixed form in 1988. The group went on to release the albums Paradise Circus in 1989, and & Love For All in 1990, the latter of which was produced by Andy Partridge and John Leckie.

The Lilac Time was dropped by Fontana then briefly signed to Creation Records, where the band was subsequently managed by label head Alan McGee. The band's sole release on Creation was Astronauts, in 1990. The Duffy brothers' cousin, noted-session musician Cara Tivey, contributed organ and piano to the album.

The band later regrouped with Claire Worrall and Melvin Duffy (no relation to the brothers) and recorded Looking For A Day In The Night with producer Stephen Street for spinART Records in 1999. They then released Lilac 6 on Cooking Vinyl in 2001, followed by Keep Going, which was released in 2003 under the name "Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time" on Folk Modern.

Runout Groove, was released in 2007 on Bogus Frontage. The band played the 2007 Green Man Festival and the Queen Elizabeth Hall as a six-piece. The band's gig at the Green Man Festival serves as the backdrop to the film "Memory & Desire — 30 Years in the Wilderness With Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time." The documentary was filmed over six years by Douglas Arrowsmith, who included new and vintage Lilac footage. The film is accompanied by a Universal Records album of the same name, which compiles songs from Duffy's thirty years of music making. The Queen Elizabeth Hall concert is to be released as a live recording.

No Sad Songs was released on Tapete Records in April 2015.

The band is now based in Cornwall.

Discography

• No Sad Songs (2015 - Released on Tapete Records) - #19 OCC UK Indie Albums Breakers Chart
• Memory & Desire - 30 Years In The Wilderness (2009 - titled Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time)
• Runout Groove (2007 - titled Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time)
• & Love for All (2006) - UK Mercury Reissue with extra tracks & Radio Sessions
• Paradise Circus (2006) - UK Mercury Reissue with extra tracks & instrumentals
• The Lilac Time (2006) - UK Mercury Reissue of 1988 UK CD with extra tracks & Radio Sessions
• Astronauts + (2005) UK Edition of 1998 Japanese 19 track version
• Keep Going (2003 - titled "Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time")
• lilac6 (2001) - Japanese 2-CD set with 4 live tracks
• lilac6 (2001)
• Compendium - The Fontana Trinity (2001) - 2-CD set of songs from first three albums
• Paradise Circus (1999) - Japanese reissue of 1989 CD
• The Lilac Time (1999) - Japanese reissue of 1988 UK CD
• Looking for a Day in the Night (1999) - Japanese release with 1 extra track
• Looking for a Day in the Night (1999)
• Astronauts (1998) - Japanese release, with seven extra tracks
• Astronauts (1991) - German Creation release
• Astronauts (1991)
• & Love for All (1990) - Japanese release with obi strip
• & Love for All (1990) (also released in Germany and US)
• Paradise Circus (1989) (also released in Germany and US)
• The Lilac Time (1988 - Mercury Records US release with different track listing & extras)
• The Lilac Time (1988 - Fontana Records reissue)
• The Lilac Time (1987 - Swordfish Records limited release)

Compilation tracks, etc

• The Adventure Club Sessions (1992 US CD including two live Lilac Time tracks)
• I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991 tribute CD w/The Lilac Time's cover of "Bird on a Wire")
• Wish List (2002 MS Society CD including Lilac Time's "Suburban Symphony")
• One Day One Of These Fans Will Change Your Life (a 2006 Lilac Time tribute CD)
• Advertising Space (2005 Robbie Williams single including cover of the Lilac Time's "Family Coach")

Singles

References

External links

• Lilac Time Official Site
• Nick Duffy Official Site
• Comprehensive discography, gallery, publications, biography, chronology