Biography
Although the Nerves might have reached contender status with greater longevity, their brief run nevertheless placed them among power pop’s most thrilling ensembles. Jack Lee, Peter Case, and Paul Collins formed the band in 1975, yet the project concluded by 1978. In that interval they released an outstanding EP containing the power pop classic “Hanging on the Telephone,” a song Blondie would later deliver in a brilliant rendition. The concentration of three gifted songwriters within one group accelerated the Nerves’ breakup, after which each principal discovered greater fulfillment and achievement in fresh projects. Jack Lee, arguably the most talented songwriter of the three, sustained the shortest solo career and eventually disappeared from view following his fine 1981 album Jack Lee’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. Case assembled the Plimsouls, who produced two good records and the transcendent pop song “A Million Miles Away.” Following the Plimsouls’ 1984 dissolution, Case continued recording as a roots rock solo artist through the remainder of the decade and into the ’90s. Collins later founded the Beat, also known as Paul Collins’ Beat.
Albums
