Biography
Guitarist and vocalist Digney Fignus, together with the band that bears his name, reached the leading edge of the Boston/Cambridge rock circuit through songs built around memorable hooks and rhythms that invited dancing. The ensemble began in punk and new wave yet gradually matured into one of the area’s strongest country acts. As a founding member of the Spikes, Fignus played a central role in launching Boston’s art-rock movement during the closing years of the 1970s. He stepped away from the stage for an extended period to assist his girlfriend, Maryanne Carmel, in operating the city’s well-known nightclub Streets, only to re-enter the music world with renewed force.
When he assembled his own ensemble in 1983, immediate success followed. The debut single, “The Girl with the Curious Hand,” appeared on the independent Starstruck label in a pressing limited to five hundred thousand copies; the accompanying video nevertheless won first place in MTV’s Basement Tapes contest in October 1983, turning the track into a regional hit. Along with five thousand dollars in audio gear, the victory drew the interest of Columbia Records, which offered the group a contract and issued their self-titled debut album in 1985.
As Fignus steered his sound more decisively toward country, he stayed among New England’s most reliable live attractions. His album Boston Town earned a nomination for “CD of the year” from the Massachusetts Country Music Awards Association. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and raised in nearby Lexington, Fignus is the son of a bus driver who also repaired televisions part-time. Captivated by the Beatles, he learned bass on his own and started a band with classmates in junior high. After one year at Lowell Tech he withdrew and moved to southern California, where he continued refining his musicianship. Upon returning to Boston he joined a local group, yet soon departed once more, this time heading to New York in pursuit of wider recognition. Busking on a Broadway corner for spare change brought only disappointment, so he came back to Boston, where his first tangible breakthrough arrived as a member of the Spikes.
When he assembled his own ensemble in 1983, immediate success followed. The debut single, “The Girl with the Curious Hand,” appeared on the independent Starstruck label in a pressing limited to five hundred thousand copies; the accompanying video nevertheless won first place in MTV’s Basement Tapes contest in October 1983, turning the track into a regional hit. Along with five thousand dollars in audio gear, the victory drew the interest of Columbia Records, which offered the group a contract and issued their self-titled debut album in 1985.
As Fignus steered his sound more decisively toward country, he stayed among New England’s most reliable live attractions. His album Boston Town earned a nomination for “CD of the year” from the Massachusetts Country Music Awards Association. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and raised in nearby Lexington, Fignus is the son of a bus driver who also repaired televisions part-time. Captivated by the Beatles, he learned bass on his own and started a band with classmates in junior high. After one year at Lowell Tech he withdrew and moved to southern California, where he continued refining his musicianship. Upon returning to Boston he joined a local group, yet soon departed once more, this time heading to New York in pursuit of wider recognition. Busking on a Broadway corner for spare change brought only disappointment, so he came back to Boston, where his first tangible breakthrough arrived as a member of the Spikes.
Albums
Black And Blue - The Brick Hill Sessions
2025
Anthology - Songs in the Key of Blond
2022
Last Planet on the Left
2011
Talk of the Town
2008
Trouble on the Levee
2006
Singles
