King Rocker

This is, ostensibly, a documentary about a musician i'd never heard of. But i was captivated throughout. I'm a big fan of Lee, and his warmth and love for Lloyd and his music carries this. To him The Nightingales are a band worth celebrating unashamedly, rather than treating as a curio.

You never know where it's going, and strangely there's not a lot of music. And i liked how Frank Skinner, John Taylor, Nigel Slater and Robin Askwith pop up throughout to entertain.

One quibble was the appalling Sky presentation. In the second half adverts every five mins proved disruptive. The is an enjoyable documentary celebrating the outsiders, the also-rans and the nearly-weres; and the enduring appeal of cult bands and scenes that exist away from the scenes of mainstream success

King rocker is the realest documentary of the past few years. Genuinely funny and doesn't take itself too seriously, yet also manages to feel warm & human in ways few other productions have been able to match.

Like others have said, real, honest, fun. Brought back some great memories. In the early 80's we could travel around Brum & the whole of the WMPTE (West-Mids) bus network for 2p a journey, so going up town was cheap as chips. Tickets for gigs were £3-ish, so again, even a broke 14 year old could see some crackers. Pretty sure I saw Fuzzbox at The Odean, but like many, memories are a bit ropey. King Kong was iconic by the flyover. Best watched recorded so you can FF the ads. For an immersive experience, fill an ashtray with old Embassy or JPS dog-ends, open & spill a couple of cans of Holstein Pils, leave for a couple of days & then watch in a dark room. 👍

An investigation into the mysterious existence and five decades-long career of The Nightingales' lead Robert Lloyd, Britain's ultimate post-punk survivor.

Stewart Lee is obviously enamoured with Robert Lloyd and his legacy, which makes the documentary self-indulgent (nothing new for Lee) but also infectiously fascinating. They just play a great double act, Lloyd insisting that everything just happens and that's how it's gone, and Lee constantly overthinking and finding profounc significance in banal historical moments.

It's fun, fascinating, well-assembled and the music is great. Loved it.

8.5/10.

This documentary was bloody wonderful. We were aware of The Nightingales but discovering the story of such a fantastic human staying true to his art made us talk about how we judge success in our own lives. If you do what you want to do, you are successful, and to navigate this world and still be a funny, creative and a warm human you have succeeded. The thread running through of the journey of the giant King Kong sculpture from Bull Ring to car lot to Art Gallery was perfect, Robert Lloyd is a real artist in a world of surface tripe. My youth, going to gigs and working in record shops, spent in part, in the midlands, was brought back to life through their journey and I feel pretty privileged to have lived through that time. Thanks for making a real treasure of a film and for reframing that period & Robert with the love and reverence it deserves.