24
Jan

Another trove of jangle! Another treasure found.

9 years ago the obscure English indiepop band Lobster Squad added a bunch of their recordings to Soundcloud. Included are studio recordings, rehearsals and live sounds.

The first song I found is called “Drowning in the Milk of Human Kindness”. The second is called “Couldn’t You Hear Me Falling”. And then there’s more. “Pimlico” and “Summer Will Soon Be Fading”. These tracks are actually rehearsals in Westbourne and date from 1994.

In 1993 the band recorded more songs. This time in a Croydon studio. The songs for this demo tape were “Drowning in the Milk of Human Kindness”, “Out of Your Life”, “Seaside Girl” and “Tinderbox”.

Then there are more songs. I see two names tagged for them, Nigel Packer and Neil Packer. Were they band members? “Out of Your Life”, “One Day I Will”, “Drowning in the Milk of Human Kindness” and “Seaside Girl”.  These date from 1992 and they were probably recorded in Camden.

In 1991 the band went to Wesbtourne Rehearsal Studios to record another demo. 4 songs were recorded. “Summer Will Soon Be Fading”, “Seaside Girl”, “Pimlico” and “The Jazz Song”.

1989. The 1989 demo recorded at Kilburn Airwave. 5 songs this time, “Lobster Theme”, “Up to You”, “One Day I Will”, “Simple” and “What’s Your Name?”.

We keep going backwards. Now 1988. Canvey Island. Probably that’s where the recording studio was. The songs from this time period are “Out of My Life” and “Pimlico”.

On the photos usually appear two guys. Probably Neil and Nigel. But there’s also another photo of the band playing at the Powerhaus. There we see a girl vocalist. So definitely there were some changes in the band. Would be good to find out. Some songs are sung by a female vocalist, others by a male vocalist.

Based in London. I am sure of that now.

I find a bio for Nigel Packer. He is actually an author! He is a writer and journalist and has worked for BBC News Online. He loves archaeology and has been in digs in Syria and Britain. Wow. He published a book titled ‘The Restoration of Otto Laird’ in 2014.

And that’s that. Got to find some interesting bits about them. Why didn’t they release any records? Did they play many gigs? Maybe had supported some cool bands? Would be nice to know the story behind the Lobster Squad!

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Listen
Lobster Squad – Up to You

2 Responses to “:: Lobster Squad”

Hi Neil Packer here late of Lobster Squad. Very happy to discover that we are not totally forgotten and that it wasn’t all just a dream.

If you are interested and would like a more comprehensive account of the Lobsters’ history then please do not hesitate to contact me via email or find me on instagram at arvokimchi.

all the best.

Neil Packer
August 18th, 2023

Hi Neil Packer here late of Lobster Squad. Very happy to discover that we are not totally forgotten and that it wasn’t all just a dream.

If you are interested and would like a more comprehensive account of the Lobsters’ history then please do not hesitate to contact me via email or find me on instagram at arvokimchi.

all the best.

Neil Packer
August 18th, 2023