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On this day, 29 September 1988, Welsh alternative rock band- The Darling Buds played Newport TJ’s.
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".
Signing with Sony in 1988, several singles preceded the band's 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).
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.
