Little is known for sure about the Nightshift, apart from the fact that they played a bluesy brand of rock music and they issued two singles, Corrine, Corrina b/w Lavender Tree and Stormy Monday Blues b/w That's My Story. According to British rock history scholar David Wells, the Nightshift started out with a lot of promise, including help from a charter member of the Rolling Stones, and with a future legend in their ranks -- but they blew it, apparently by being too dedicated to traditional blues ever to find a mass audience or hold on to what they had. They played around London, as did many serious blues bands, circa 1964-1965. They'd gotten together with help from pianist Ian Stewart, who'd arranged for the loan of some instruments initially, and at one point Jeff Beck, of future Yardbirds fame, was playing with them. Beck is rumored to have played on their single Stormy Monday Blues b/w That's My Story, the latter notable as the first song by composer Tim Rice ever to get recorded (on the Pye Records Piccadilly imprint -- his more recent exposure you can blame on Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John). Beck actually exited the group before that 1965 disc was recorded, his flashy style of playing grating against their purist approach to blues. It's easy to see who won the larger argument about approaches to the music -- the two suspect sides have been included in various anthologies devoted to Beck's pre-stardom session work, though by the time they appeared he was making a serious noise and name for himself with the Yardbirds. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi