tara milton - a brief history
It was 1983 when Tara formed his first band 5.30 and by 1985 his band had released their first 12" vinyl record Catcher in the Rye. A few line up changes occured and by 1989 Tara upped sticks and went to live in London with fellow 5.30 guitarist Paul Bassett. Once in the big smoke they drafted in Phil Hopper on drums and the band had finally found their sound.
Debut single Abstain was released in July 1990 and scraped the charts at the time. Follow up single Air Conditioned Nightmare was not given the attention by the record compnay that it deserved despite being equally brilliant both musically and lyrically. Next single 13th Disciple perfectly showcased Tara's funky and dirty bass-lines. By August 1991 5.30 released their one and only album Bed. Bed was released to critical acclaim but unfortunately just did not sell despite the rave reviews. Melody Maker wrote "We are dealing with an obscene level of talent, an outrageous excess of potential energy", whilst VOX claimed "only the most hard-faced sceptic could fail to be seduced". Two more singles were released from Bed. Supernova, an infectious catchy slice of perfect pop was followed by the dark and mysterious You.
Sadly for 5.30 fans, the group disbanded towards the end of 1992. Having demoed their second album Another Fresh Corpse the band announced they were going their separate ways.
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By 1993 though, Tara met guitarist Chris Nettleton. They started writing songs together and The Nubiles were formed. Early 1995 saw the 7" release of the blistering Layabout single followed by Without Waking and Tatjana in the same year. In 1997 a further single I Wanna be your Kunta Kinte was put out- complete with classic Milton lyrics. The Nubiles sole album Mindblender finally appeared in the shops in February 1998. Mindblender is a beautifully eclectic album that led one reviewer to write "have you ever sat and wondered what a jukebox in a lunatic asylum might sound like?" However, as the year progressed there was a gradual dissolution of The Nubiles and Tara moved to Japan.
In 2007 the Nubiles reformed with a new three piece line-up to play the End of the Zodiac show in Oxford. The show went so well that the band planned to continue and record new material, but after another show, they decided to go back to a state of hiatus.
For more information about The Nubiles visit www.thenubiles.com
In 2013, Bed Expanded was released. The album, now 22 years old still sounded fresh and received critical acclaim...again.
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Since then, Tara has been working on his debut solo album Serpentine Waltz which is due for release March 2018. Thanks to the generosity of a load of old and new fans Tara received funding via the the Kickstarter campaign. The last few months have been very exciting indeed and the first reviews are very promising too.
One listener described Serpentine Waltz “Tara's voice and lyrics wrap you up in a velvety dreamscape, and each track delivers... It's a mighty grower and each time you listen, you discover a new part of the dream...”
Shindig magazine wrote “Far from a hastily knocked together record, Serpentine Waltz is a lavish and thoughtful production. Some of Milton’s previous problems are meditated upon through its cinematic sweep: dreams and nightmares, twists and turns, characters and scenes blink in and out of view like ghosts. It‘s a late-night journey to the dark end of the street, the other side of the tracks”.
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Serpentine Waltz promises to be an instant classic.