The Nerves released one four-song EP on November 10th, 1976. They mounted a single tour, then went their separate ways. They could’ve been contenders had they stayed together long enough, but the Nerves, despite their brief existence, were one of the most exciting bands in power pop. Formed by Jack Lee, Peter Case, and Paul Collins in 1975, But their career was over by 1978, but they produced a great EP that featured the power pop classic “Hanging on the Telephone,” which was later recorded (and brilliantly so) by Blondie.
Ultimately, having three talented songwriters in one band hurried the demise of the Nerves, and all three principals found greater happiness and success with their new bands; although Jack Lee (arguably the most talented songwriter of the three) had the shortest career and eventually dropped out of sight after a fine solo record (Jack Lee’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1) in 1981. Case went on to form the Plimsouls, who recorded two good records and a transcendent pop song, “A Million Miles Away.” After breaking up in 1984, Case recorded as a roots rock solo act for the rest of the decade and into the ’90s. Collins would later go on to form the Beat (also known as Paul Collins’ Beat).
So why are we still thinking about them nearly half a century later? Because of the remarkable economy and durability of their music: taut pop songs with punk energy—nervy, if you will—’60s melodic instincts, ringing guitars, and scarcely a note out of place.
Guitarist Jack Lee, bassist Peter Case, and drummer Paul Collins—all three sang—each brought a distinctive songwriting voice, and the band’s influence far exceeded its brief existence, most visibly when Blondie transformed Lee’s “Hangin’ on the Telephone” into a hit. The Nerves seized that fleeting moment when power pop, punk and new wave converged and made it sound timeless.
On October 23rd, Third Man Records will release The Best Collection, a 29-song set that brings the Nerves’ largely unheard history into the light.
“It was a very simple form of rock ’n roll,” remembers Case, who later formed the power pop the Plimsouls and then became a solo singer-songwriter with Americana leanings. “I guess people latched onto it because it was youthful, stripped-down and straight-ahead, simple songs in a way that nobody else was doing at that point—or really at any point, because it was so simple.
“Jack pushed us to strip everything down,” he continues. “That was what he really brought; his style, in which you could still have a lot of emotion and atmosphere in a song but keep it really stripped-down. Jack had the most songs and was very prolific during that period. He was very inspiring.”
