Tim Wainwright sent in this photo of Nigel Basham with school friends at at Westcliff High School for Boys, circa 1958. Not bad quality from a worn 3″ x 2″ print. Tim wrote the caption above and adds, “the pic is a group from the school having a smoke by the bike sheds, totally against school rules.”
Nigel Basham was part of the Monotones, covered extensively on this site in a main post and a second focused on photos of their early days. In the Monotones, Nigel took the professional name of Mark Loyd, sometimes spelled Mark Lloyd.
As Mark Loyd, he released three singles on Parlophone, timeless British soul music that is highly valued now. Mark Loyd passed away on April 4, 2012 in Sydney, Australia, where he ran a successful event and performance management company called Popset.
i had the pleasure of knowing Mark. and also his beautiful wife Debbie. Mark was the nicest and most decent man i have ever met in my life. i am still good mates with Deb his wife and try to do my best to be there for her. she misses him terribly. if i could be the man Mark was, i would be better than any leader the world has seen. he was unique and i say proudly, my friend
Hi John, I have just stumbled upon your tribute to Nigel Basham (Mark Lloyd) dated February 24 2017. I knew him in the very early sixties when he was in the Monotones in Southend, Essex. I was one of the early groupies and after going to their dances became the bass player Peter Stanley’s girlfriend so knew all the band and their girls really well. I also knew his parents and used to visit with his girlfriend Sandra and best friend Pam (Jim Eaton ‘s (rhythm and singer) girlfriend. If you want more info about those days get in touch
He was amazing .