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About Midnight & the Lemon Boys
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Marcus Myers • vocals, rhythm guitar
Chris Anderson • bass
Mrs Hoggins • drums
Nick Sayer • guitar
Marcus | Midnight & the Lemon Boys
Hi there, this is Marcus, the former lead singer of Midnight and the Lemon Boys and the Kemptown Rockers. I got told about this site by Bruce Maxwell-Smith, a still good friend of mine who used to be in another Brighton band This Colour.
I must say, my eyes got slightly misted up reading about all the different bands at that time, and remembering the faces and places. It all seems so long ago! I still have strong memories of drinking Snakebite in the back bar of the Windsor, buying `Specky Blues` five for a quid, and pogoing to just about anybody at the Vault, Alhambra, Art College Basement etc.
The Lemon Boys were formed in 78 by Nick Sayer (Sago) formerly of Fan Club with Oggs on drums, Chris Anderson on bass and me on vocals and rhythm guitar. We did seem to get a
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bit of a buzz going and did a fair amount of touring supporting U2, the Photos and the Lambrettas to name a few.
Unfortunately for us, we were never signed and so as far as I know, never actually commited anything to vinyl. However, our then manager Simon Watson (Watto) was known to be a bit of a hoarder and I`m pretty sure he has some kind of archive of photos, demos etc. If you`re out there mate, please get in touch!
Nick had a bad back injury in 1980, so for a year we carried on with the late Tony Maybury on guitar. I`ve only just found out about his death from this website. My memories of him are of a very sweet, quiet bloke who was very easy to be around, who always looked 'cool', played an equally cool Rickenbacker guitar, and always seemed to have loads of birds after him.
The band eventually ground to a halt early in 81. Oggs went off to be a full time drummer with the Test Tube Babies, and after a two year gap, Nick formed Transvision Vamp with Wendy James and made a few bob.
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I lost contact with Chris, so I`m not sure what he`s been up to. I moved to London and formed Brilliant With Youth, then another band called Hard Rain.
I then played in the Test Tubes for three years as Marcus Mystery before joining Then Jerico for a while. After a few failed projects, I eventually started to do a lot of session work, doing guitar and vocals for various people such as Alishas Attic and Belinda Carlisle.
A couple of years ago I moved to southern Spain with my wife. We now live in a small mountain pueblo but I`m still doing gigs in mad little places around Andalucia. If I do get my hands on any info or photos regarding the Lemon Boys or anybody else, I`ll try to forward them.
I hope this has not been too much of a waffle, and I`d just like to say hi to anyone who remembers me! Love Marcus xx
P.S. Am I right in thinking you were briefly in the Kemptown Rockers, Blotto? Or was I just pissed that afternoon!
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Midnight & the Lemon Boys scrapbook
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Midnight & the Lemon Boys by Simon Watson
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Midnight & the Lemon Boys
Jewel Shines Darkly
Kemp Town Rockers
Simon Watson | Midnight & the Lemon Boys | February 2009
Hope all is well with you, someone pointed me at your site again and bloody hell if you haven’t got the tape I recorded straight from the FOH desk of MLB live at the venue in Victoria (if I could be bothered to get in the attic and find my diary I’d be able to tell you the date) and boy doesn’t it take me back, I feel forty, err thirty, oh no maybe twenty-ish, no I think I was nineteen, again, bloody hell that was a long time ago.
Anyway the gig in question was booked for us by Ian Wilson from Wasted Talent Agency who later went on to manage The Alarm (boyo) and we were supporting Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoia, Tony Maybury was indeed on rhythm guitar because Nick Sayer was flat on his back with a slipped disk and couldn’t walk, Tony turned up pissed about five minutes before we were due on but played a blinder, Marcus pulled and Hoggs got so drunk (there’s a giant surprise) that he passed out in the corridor right in front of the Albertos dressing room and they couldn’t get in or out without stepping over him. Class.
Other things I know that might interest you:
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Hoggs now lives in Hastings and has a recycling business with Trapper (Test Tube Babies) which they run in between touring as backline techs, Hoggs does drums, Trap does bass and keyboards I think. Steve Botting (The Exclusives) lives in LA (as does his younger brother Mark who used to do the door for MLB at the Alhambra) and Steve is the President of EFM Freight, a music industry freight specialist, he is married to Debbie the drummer from the Bangles and they have two kids.
Mark is married to a lovely lady who coincidentally used to be my travel agent and is a TM, he’s done loads of stuff, No Doubt, Alanis Morrisette, etc and is currently on the road with Kevin Costner would you believe. Nick Sayer has allegedly moved back to Brighton but I haven’t seen him so can’t vouch for the fact. Wendy James is still living in NY last I heard.
Haven’t heard from Marcus in ages so I guess he’s still in Spain. Hah, also just read that fanzine interview, what a complete and utter wanker I was in those days, so no change there then. Funnily enough I was going to come to the Exclusives gig but I had to go away on business so I missed it, hey ho maybe they’ll do another one I’m sure Luke must need the cash. Hope all is well with you. Best Regards, Simon Watson
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CJ | Midnight & the Lemon Boys | November 2008
Howdy. Hopefully you will have received (via my friend Rob Emanuel) a live recording of the band made at the Venue in Victoria in 1980 or 81. The songs are more representative than the ones currently on your site (as I said before, I think those tracks are of The Kemp Town Rockers). Perhaps you could edit the recording and use some on our page. As a point of interest, Nick Sayer was out of action at the time and the late, great Tony Maybury did a sterling job as stand-in guitarist, though he did moan a bit when we made him wear lipstick and eyeliner! Still enjoying the website which remarkably goes on and on growing - jobs a good un. TTFN - CJ
Thanks to Robert Emanuel and Chris for sending in Jewels Shine Darkly - tracks loading below...
Read a 1980 interview with the band in Naked Eye fanzine (downloadable pdf)
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Midnight & the Lemon Boys by Blotto
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Here's a reply from Blotto:
Dave "Blotto" Williams | February 2008
Re: Marcus Myers’ closing note on his Kemptown Rockers (whenever it was posted. I don’t know because, I confess, I haven’t been keeping track of Punk Brighton very closely of late).
It’s not really true that I was ever a member of the band. Marcus, what your vague recollection stems from is the fact that, after being booted out of Nicky and the Dots in January 1979, I rehearsed once or twice with the embryonic Kemptown Rockers, down in the Vault where Sago and Ogs lived at the time, but I opted to join Peter and the Test Tube Babies instead.
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They were a bit more established, you know, and, vain as I was, I didn’t want to be out of the public eye for too long. I don’t remember whether I ever saw the Kemptown Rockers or Midnight and the Lemon Boys live – if I did, the loss of memory can probably be put down to excessive booze consumption. I was called Blotto after all – but I sometimes wondered whether I’d jumped the right way.
The Kemptown Rockers’ style left more room to move musically because the chord changes were less quick-fire, and, with my then nascent melodic tendencies as a bassist, that could have suited me better. But “Non, je ne regrette rien” – I think. (Pardon my pretentious French).
Dave "Blotto" Williams
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Thanks to Paul Williams for photos
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This site is dedicated to the memory of Rick Blair
The Punk History of Brighton © punkdaddy 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • All Rights Reserved
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