The Darling Buds

The Darling Buds
Origin	Newport, South Wales, UK
Genres	Alternative rock, indie pop
Years active	1986–1993, 2010, 2013–present
Labels	Native Records Epic Records
Members	Andrea Lewis Chris McDonagh Matt Gray Paul "Chaz" Watkins Erik Stams
Past members	Geraint Farr Richard Gray Jimmy Hughes Jon Lee Dennis McCarthy

The Darling Buds are an alternative rock band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".

Influenced by the catchy simple sound of the early Beatles as well as that of Blondie, the band created melodic, hook-driven, short-duration singles. They were considered part of the short lived "Blonde" movement (indie rock band fronted by blonde female singer with all other members being dark-haired males) along with the likes of The Primitives and Transvision Vamp, but also referenced the C86 scene of a few years earlier.

The Darling Buds formed in Caerleon near Newport, South Wales, in 1986 by 19-year-old Andrea Lewis. Their debut single, "If I Said", was released on February 1987 and was well received. The group re-released the single on an established label, Native Records, receiving radio play on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. Signing with Sony in 1988, several singles preceded their critically acclaimed 1989 debut LP, Pop Said.... The album, described as "relentlessly chirpy", ultimately reached the Top 30 in the UK Albums Chart, and the band appeared on Top of the Pops as well as the cover of Melody Maker twice (24 September 1988 and 18 February 1989). In 1990, the original drummer, Bloss, left the band and was replaced by Jimmy Hughes from Black. Their second album, Crawdaddy, was not as well received, even if, according to critic Doug Brod, it "reveal[ed] a more mature Buds, a group that has learned the value of a little variety."

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