ARTICLE. IMITATING ANGELS --- A TRIBUTE TO INGER LORRE

Inger Lorre was lead singer of an alt-rock band The Nymphs, who were contemporaries of Jane's Addiction and Hole in early 90s Los Angeles.  (It's Inger who appears on Sassy on Hole's Pretty on the Inside --- she and Courtney had a long-standing feud).  They split up after one album and the infamous pissing on the desk incident.  Inger had a brief stint with Motel Shootout and worked with the late Jeff Buckley.  She released a solo album, Transcendental Medication in 1999.

Inger is one of my heroines and inspirations.  I first discovered Inger when I read about The Nymphs in the British music press around 1991.  I was so intrigued by this woman who looked so cool in her photos, beautiful and glamorous without ever being clichéd or bland.  And I was inspired by the intelligence and integrity she displayed in her interviews and her incredible honesty that helped me feel less ashamed about certain aspects of my own life.  I loved her music --- she is one of my favourite artists.  Funnily enough, I was a fan of hers before I ever got into Jane's Addiction or Hole (2 bands she has been compared to and knew).

Her music is so darkly beautiful, with a strength to its vulnerability.  I could compare her to The Stooges, Patti Smith or Siouxsie and the Banshees but of course, Inger is her own marvellous creation.  I love the way she took the clichés of rock and reworked them from a female perspective.  That Rimbaud quote on her album really sums up her work.
(When the endless servitude of woman will be overthrown, when she will live for herself by herself, man, hitherto adominable having given her her release, she will be a poet, she also!  Women will discover some of the unknown!   Will her worlds differ from ours?  She will discover strange, unfathomable, repellent, delicious things, we shall taken them, we shall comprehend them.)

I never got to see The Nymphs play live.  About a week before I left London for good they were playing The Marquee and I was simply too fucked up to attend.  Ah, there will be other opportunities I thought but there never were.   I was heartbroken.   Over the years I kept the faith, so to speak, writing about Inger in my fanzines and telling anyone who would listen about this unsung genius of rock.  I was delighted when she released Transcendental Medication and I hope her musical career is along and fruitful one.  She seems to be such an amazing woman and if nothing else, I want to thank her for inspiring me in my own life and work and for the gift of her amazing music.

To all our fans, follow your dreams and let them make you, your own reality --- The Nymphs.

Originally published in December 2004.

NYMPHS EP COVER BY DEREK RIDGERS.
PHOTO OF INGER LORRE FROM KERRANG 369 PHOTO SUPPLEMENT (UNCREDITED).