Maxine Nightingale

Maxine Nightingale
Background information
Born	2 November 1952 (1952-11-02) (age 59)
Origin	Wembley, London, England
Genres	R&B, soul, disco
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1975–present
Labels	Pye Records, United Artists, Windsong Records
Website	Official Website

Maxine Nightingale (born 2 November 1952; Wembley, London)^[1] is a British R&B and soul music singer. She is best known for her hits in the 1970s, with the million seller "Right Back Where We Started From" (1975, U.K. & 1976, U.S.), "Love Hit Me" (1977), and "Lead Me On" (1979).

Career

The daughter of comedian Benny Nightingale, Maxine Nightingale began singing at age 16 with her school band, displaying sufficient vocal prowess to begin performing in London area venues with her brother Glen¹ on guitar. In 1969 — the year she turned 17 — Nightingale joined the cast of the West End production of Hair; the same year she made her first recordings, vocalizing on the Pye singles "Talk to Me" and "Don't Push Me Baby" which were released under the name Nighttime Flyer.^[2] "Don't Push Me Baby" was issued by Pye's Australian distributor Astor in Nightingale's own name; her first UK release as Maxine Nightingale was in 1971 with the Pye single "Love on Borrowed Time".^[3][4]

In the early 1970s Nightingale relocated to Germany, having become affianced to Minoru Terada Domberger, the Japanese-born director of the German production of Hair whom she'd met when he visited the London production. In Germany Nightingale continued her stage musical career in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. After dropping out of performing to marry her fiancé and give birth in 1973 to their daughter Langka Veva Domberger,^[5] Nightingale returned to London in the summer of 1975 to appear in the West End production of Savages; at this time she also provided background vocals on recording sessions including that for Al Matthews' "Fool".

Matthews' producer Pierre Tubbs was struck by Nightingale's voice and asked composer J. Vincent Edwards to write a song for her. Edwards, who had worked with Nightingale in the West End production of "Hair", convinced her to record this song: "Right Back Where We Started From" overcoming Nightingale's initial refusal occasioned by her disinterest in a second attempt at a recording career; however she recorded "Right Back Where We Started From" on the understanding it would be issued under a pseudonym. (Nightingale also had to be convinced to take a royalty rather than a onetime session fee.)

After being released on United Artists Records — in Nightingale's true name — "Right Back Where We Started From" reached #8 in the UK in the autumn of 1975, "Right Back Where We Started From" was released in the US early 1976 to enthusiastic reaction, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1976. Nightingale, who had returned to Germany, was motivated by her single's US success to complete a Right Back Where We Started From album in London and then proceed to the US, which has remained her home base ever since. However her only significant hit in the period following the success of "Right Back Where We Started From" was in the UK, where she reached #11 in 1977 with "Love Hit Me" the title cut from her second album (aka Night Life).

Nightingale's third album Love Lines was a 1978 release in the UK and Europe with UK single releases "Lead Me On" and "(Bringing Out) The Girl in Me" both overlooked despite Nightingale making her sole TOTP appearance 8 June 1978 to promote the latter. The US release of "Lead Me On" early in 1979 met with a favorable reception especially in the Easy listening market with the track reaching #1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart that July²; the track gradually accrued enough mainstream Pop support to reach #5 on the Hot 100 that September. As with "Right Back Where We Started From", Nightingale was unable to follow-up her US Top Ten success, the subsequent "(Bringing Out) The Girl in Me" marking Nightingale's final Hot 100 appearance with a #73 peak.

After reaching the Top 20 on Billboard's R&B chart for the first time in 1982 with "Turn to Me", a duet with Jimmy Ruffin, Nightingale dropped out of the Pop mainstream working for some 20 years as a more jazz-orientated live performer. She has reportedly recorded an album of her live performance at B.B. King's Club at Universal Studios Hollywood although it remains unreleased. Since 2000 Nightingale has become active on the retro music circuit, appearing in the 2004 PBS music special Superstars of Seventies Soul: Live. In February 2008 Nightingale undertook a club tour of Australia.

• ¹Glen (aka Glenn) Nightingale subsequently played guitar in Boy George's band; his session credits include guitar work on recordings by Des'ree, Terence Trent D'Arby, the Gap Band, Jamiroquai and Junior co-writing the last named's "Do You Really (Want My Love)".
• ²"Lead Me On" was #1 Easy Listening 7–21 July 1979; 4–8 August 1979; 1 September 1979

Discography

Albums

• Right Back Where We Started From (1976) (US:#65), (US R&B:#38)
• Love Hit Me aka Night Life (1977) (US:#65)
• Love Lines (UK) (1978) aka Lead Me On (US) (1979) (US:#45), (US R&B:#35)
• Bittersweet (1980)
• It's a Beautiful Thing (1982) (US:#176), (US R&B:#35)
• Cry for Love (1986)

Singles

1969:

• "Talk to Me"/ "Spinning Wheel" Pye 7N.17739 as Nighttime Flyer
• "Don't Push Me Baby"/ "Thru' Loving You" Pye 7N.17798 as Nighttime Flyer

1971:

• "Love on Borrowed Time"/"It's That Hurtin' Thing" Pye N.45046

1975:

• "Right Back Where We Started From"/ "Believe in What You Do" UP 36015

1976:

• "Right Back Where We Started From"/ "Believe in What You Do" UA-XW752-Y
• "Gotta Be the One"/ "Can't Get Enough" UP36086
• "Gotta Be the One"/ "One Last Ride" UA-XW820-Y
• "(I Think I Wanna) Possess You"/ "Life Has Just Begun" UP 36120 UA-XW865Y

1977:

• "Love Hit Me"/ "Life Has Just Begun" UP 36215
• "Love Hit Me"/ "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" UA 944
• "Will You Be My Lover"/ "How Much Love" UP 36283 UA 1015
• "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"/ "You Are Everything" UP 36320
• "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"/ "I Wonder Who's Waiting Up For You Tonight" UA 1086
• "Right Now"/? UA#?

1978:

• "Lead Me On/ "No One Like My Baby" UP 36447
• "(Bringin' Out) The Girl in Me"/ "You Are the Most Important Person in Your Life" UP 36395

1979:

• Lead Me On/ "Love Me Like You Mean It" ("Forest For the Trees" on early pressings) Windsong CB-11530
• "(Bringin' Out) The Girl in Me"/ "Hideaway" Windsong CB-11729

1980:

• "All Night With Me"/ "Work On It" UA_BP 375
• "All Night With Me"/ ? RCA#?
• "Take Your Heart"/ "Why Did You Turn Me On" Liberty BP384 RCA 12020

1982:

• "Turn to Me" (with Jimmy Ruffin)/ "Give a Little Love (to Me)" Highrise 2004
• "I Don't Miss You at All"/ ? Highrise #?

1986:

• "My Heart Knows"/ "Same Refrain" Mercury 884562

Charted singles

Year	Title	UK [6]	US: Billboard Hot 100 [7]	US: Billboard R&B [7]	US: Billboard A/C [7]	Various
1975	"Right Back Where We Started From"	1975 #8	#2	#46	#5	#4 #2 #5 #10 #38 #14 #6 #6 1979 #9
1976	"Gotta Be the One"	-	#53	-	-	#19
1977	"Love Hit Me"	#11	-	-	-	#22
1977	"Will You Be My Lover"	-	-	-	-	#44
1979	"Lead Me On"	-	#5	#37	#1	#2 #8
1979	"(Bringin' Out) The Girl in Me"	-	#73	-	-	-
1982	"Turn to Me" (with Jimmy Ruffin)	-	-	#19	-	-

See also

• List of disco artists
• List of black Britons
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart

References

1. ^ "Biography by Amy Hanson". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p19580. Retrieved 7 May 2010. 
2. ^ The name Nightime Flyer was later used for the release of a heavy metal 1979 UK single entitled "Out With a Vengeance" - Maxine Nightingale has no connection with this release.
3. ^ "Pye Records Discography". http://www.globaldogproductions.info/p/pye-uk-17000.html. Retrieved 22 March 2010. 
4. ^ "Astor Records Discography". http://www.globaldogproductions.info/a/astor-1000-series-oz.html. Retrieved 22 March 2010. 
5. ^ New York Times - Style 21 December 1997; "WEDDINGS; Mr. Treadwell, Ms. Domberger"
6. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 394. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Allmusic - Charts & Awards (singles)

External links

• Official site
• AOL Music site
• Booking info

Persondata
Name	Nightingale, Maxine
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 November 1952
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death