Patrick Campbell-Lyons (g, voc) from Ireland and Alex Spyropoulos (keyb, g, voc) from Greece formed the psychedelic pop band Nirvana in 1966 within London’s vibrant underground scene. The band’s line-up, centred around the two founders and including studio musicians at times, changed frequently over the following years. They quickly secured a record deal with the fledgling label Island Records and released several singles. In 1967, their debut album The Story of Simon Simopath was released – a science-fiction concept album and the first rock opera, even predating S.F. Sorrow by The Pretty Things and Tommy by The Who. For the recordings, the group expanded into a sextet with cellist Sylvia Schuster, horn player Michael Coe, Brian Henderson on bass and drummer David Preston, the producer was label boss Chris Blackwell.

They played carefully composed psychedelic pop songs with catchy melodies and opulent, partly orchestrated arrangements in the style of The Beatles. The story tells of Simon, who is bored with his computer work and longs to fly and find love. Although the duo enjoyed brief success with the album and were celebrated by critics, this did not translate into significant sales figures, and they never managed to establish the band successfully as a live act. Later in 1971, after two further unsuccessful albums, the pair split up and Patrick Campbell-Lyons went on to record the LP Local Anaesthetic on his own. The German promo edition on Fontana is an absolute rarity!