Biography
The unexpected legal challenge over their band name reached Kurt Cobain's group only after worldwide fame arrived, yet the matter concluded on reasonably friendly terms when the earlier Nirvana reunited briefly to cut a rendition of his "Lithium" for a 1996 anthology of archival recordings.
Formed in 1967 as a six-piece outfit, the group was initially fronted by Irish-born Patrick Campbell-Lyons alongside Greek-born Alex Spyropoulos. Chris Blackwell, recognizing an opening in the burgeoning psychedelic sound, placed them on his fledgling Island imprint, which had grown from his earlier street-level R&B and rocksteady activities. Their debut album, the science-fiction concept piece The Story of Simon Simopath, introduced the second single "Pentecost Hotel," while the first and third singles later surfaced on the follow-up All of Us.
Early live shows built a modest following that failed to produce major commercial breakthroughs in either Britain or the United States, although the band found noticeable traction across parts of Europe. Reduced to the core duo of Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos, Nirvana issued further singles from All of Us; the title track was chosen as the theme for The Touchables, and "Rainbow Chaser" earned lasting recognition as a quintessential psychedelic recording.
Relations with Island soured when Blackwell declined to issue the third album Black Flower, prompting the pair to depart for Pye Records, the longtime home of the Kinks. They reacquired Black Flower, reworked its contents, and released the results as Dedicated to Markos III. Sales proved dismal; Pye managed only a few hundred copies, and the American licensee folded after distributing little more than a handful of promotional pressings. The album resurfaced in 1987 under its original title Black Flower, and the 1993 Edsel compact-disc edition added a newly recorded "Pentecost Hotel" along with the previously unheard "Shine."
Following Dedicated to Markos III, Spyropoulos stepped away to explore independent projects, leaving Nirvana largely as Campbell-Lyons' outlet. He next aligned with Philips' emerging progressive subsidiary Vertigo for Local Anaesthetic, a jazz-leaning effort limited to two extended pieces: "Modus Operandi" and the comparatively compact "Home." That album quickly vanished, as did the subsequent Songs of Love and Praise, which revisited several earlier numbers including "Rainbow Chaser" and "Pentecost Hotel."
Campbell-Lyons briefly stepped outside the Nirvana moniker for the 1973 solo release Me & My Friend. In 1980 he and Spyropoulos collaborated on the still-unstaged musical Blood. Occasional joint performances and recordings under the Nirvana name spurred Bam Caruso's 1987 reissue of Black Flower and broader rediscovery of the catalog. Most original albums later appeared through Edsel or Repertoire (with Songs of Love and Praise the lone exception), the demo-and-outtake collection Secret Theatre emerged, and 1996 brought the new studio set Orange and Blue containing previously unrecorded material.
Signs suggest the reactivated lineup intends to remain active for the foreseeable future.
Formed in 1967 as a six-piece outfit, the group was initially fronted by Irish-born Patrick Campbell-Lyons alongside Greek-born Alex Spyropoulos. Chris Blackwell, recognizing an opening in the burgeoning psychedelic sound, placed them on his fledgling Island imprint, which had grown from his earlier street-level R&B and rocksteady activities. Their debut album, the science-fiction concept piece The Story of Simon Simopath, introduced the second single "Pentecost Hotel," while the first and third singles later surfaced on the follow-up All of Us.
Early live shows built a modest following that failed to produce major commercial breakthroughs in either Britain or the United States, although the band found noticeable traction across parts of Europe. Reduced to the core duo of Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos, Nirvana issued further singles from All of Us; the title track was chosen as the theme for The Touchables, and "Rainbow Chaser" earned lasting recognition as a quintessential psychedelic recording.
Relations with Island soured when Blackwell declined to issue the third album Black Flower, prompting the pair to depart for Pye Records, the longtime home of the Kinks. They reacquired Black Flower, reworked its contents, and released the results as Dedicated to Markos III. Sales proved dismal; Pye managed only a few hundred copies, and the American licensee folded after distributing little more than a handful of promotional pressings. The album resurfaced in 1987 under its original title Black Flower, and the 1993 Edsel compact-disc edition added a newly recorded "Pentecost Hotel" along with the previously unheard "Shine."
Following Dedicated to Markos III, Spyropoulos stepped away to explore independent projects, leaving Nirvana largely as Campbell-Lyons' outlet. He next aligned with Philips' emerging progressive subsidiary Vertigo for Local Anaesthetic, a jazz-leaning effort limited to two extended pieces: "Modus Operandi" and the comparatively compact "Home." That album quickly vanished, as did the subsequent Songs of Love and Praise, which revisited several earlier numbers including "Rainbow Chaser" and "Pentecost Hotel."
Campbell-Lyons briefly stepped outside the Nirvana moniker for the 1973 solo release Me & My Friend. In 1980 he and Spyropoulos collaborated on the still-unstaged musical Blood. Occasional joint performances and recordings under the Nirvana name spurred Bam Caruso's 1987 reissue of Black Flower and broader rediscovery of the catalog. Most original albums later appeared through Edsel or Repertoire (with Songs of Love and Praise the lone exception), the demo-and-outtake collection Secret Theatre emerged, and 1996 brought the new studio set Orange and Blue containing previously unrecorded material.
Signs suggest the reactivated lineup intends to remain active for the foreseeable future.
Albums
