"Lady Nina" is a song by the British

neo-prog Neo-progressive rock (commonly abbreviated neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock that developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the ge ...

band

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

. First released in 1985 on the B-side to the #2 UK hit single " Kayleigh", it was the only single from the EP '' Brief Encounter'' released in the United States by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in April 1986. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was also shot to promote it. While the EP climbed to #67 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts, "Lady Nina" did not make the Billboard Hot 100, but did reach #30 on the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

charts. The song is about a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. "Lady Nina" is the only Marillion song to use a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

throughout. The cover was designed by regular Marillion collaborator Mark Wilkinson. The third European single from the '' Misplaced Childhood'' album, " Heart of Lothian", featured as the B-side. The regular 7" single featured an edited version of the title track with a playing time of 03:39; this version was identical to the one found on the b-side of the "Kayleigh" 7" single. No other versions were officially released. However, a 12" promo was sent out to radio stations which featured the extended version (5:45) (originally released on the 12" version of "Kayleigh") on side A and the edited version on side B. The extended version was also the one included on ''Brief Encounter''.
Being a U.S.-only single, "Lady Nina" was not part of the collectors box-set released in July 2000 and was re-issued as a 3-CD set in 2009 (see '' The Singles '82–88'''); however, both tracks of this single are included as they featured on the singles " Kayleigh" and " Heart of Lothian".

Track list

Side A

# "Lady Nina" 03:39 (Dick/Rothery/Kelly/Trewavas/Mosley)

Side B

# "Heart of Lothian" 03:47 (Dick/Rothery/Kelly/Trewavas/Mosley)

Personnel

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

– vocals *

Steve Rothery Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician who is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the progressive rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo The Wis ...

– guitars *

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired astronaut, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he ha ...

– keyboards *

Pete Trewavas Peter Trewavas (born 15 January 1959) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the progressive rock band Marillion. He joined in 1982, replacing Diz Minnitt, while acting as a backing vocalist and occasional guitarist. Biography ...

– bass *

Ian Mosley Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-prog band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 1984. He had previously been an in-demand ses ...

– drum machine programming

References

{{authority control 1986 singles 1985 songs Capitol Records singles Marillion songs Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey Songs about prostitutes Songs written by Fish (singer) Songs written by Mark Kelly (keyboardist) Songs written by Ian Mosley Songs written by Pete Trewavas Songs written by Steve Rothery