Nick Nicely

Interview with Nick Nicely on Spleen Radio Show, VPRO radio (Netherlands) around 1983

Reproduced with kind permission from Minimal Wave, http://www.minimal-wave.org/site/modules.php?name=topMusic&op=bio&idartist=213

By Richard Zeilstra (Radionome Compilation and Radio show, and Genetic Factor), and commentary by Ignit Van Kasteren (Van Kaye & Ignit, Ding Dong Discs label, Spleen Radio Show)

Extra special thanks to Jeroen Smeets for the translation, and transcription assistance.

Webmaster note: this is a more or less literary transcription of what was said.

R: So, why do you use another name?

N: Why do I use another name? Well firstly I got into using other names dodging people I owe money to, like… electricity people (R laughs) and gas people and all the other people.

R: How do you live? You live in London...

N: Yeah, yeah, I live like a pig.

R: (laughs) on your own?

N: Uhuh… I live in a hovel.

R: In a what?

N: a little... it’s an English expression for a "disgusting"….. slum. Yeah that’s how I live. I shovel up and down to there.

R: You just put on your nice jacket for today! (both laugh out loud)

N: That’s right, this jacket cost me twenty p...

I: Nick Nicely is not his real name, he is used to getting away from creditors and lives like a pig in a filthy district in London. He’s got one nice/tidy brown jacket for special occasions and that only cost him 20 p, not even a guilder (Dutch currency at that time). That’s Nick Nicely, and this is his music. DCT dreams from his first single from 1980. (plays DCT Dreams)

N: ….Sort of, I don’t know, crisis if you like or something, and I just went to America. I scraped some money to go to the States, and came back refreshed. And suddenly, it’s amazing I had all "DCT dreams" and "Treeline" arrive very quickly. Just the result of being near a synthesizer.

R: And your first single was on the Hansa label?

N: No, it was on Voxette records, my own record company. We took it around England, this is 1980…not interested-not interested-not interested. The only people who were interested were Beggars Banquet or their subsidiary 4AD. And… I didn’t fancy that, and Pinnacle were interested. Anyways so I had it on my own label, sold my studio to bring that out, so I had to start my own label. And... pressed it up…did all the distribution and…and plugged it, went up to Radio One, was hassling all the people to play it. And then they started playing it and of course all these…you know, record company types decided that...I was worth something, so….. cause it was on the radio- it was in front of them. They had the record in their hands with the cover and everything. They decided it was worth looking at. So anyway, I signed up to Hansa but I signed up too late and we got caught up in the Christmas rush.

R: And then after Hansa came EMI for the second single?

N: That’s right, no I recorded- Hansa pulled out of "Hilly Fields" halfway through the recording, said it was no good. So, then I had to dig in deeper and sell anything I could to finish "Hilly Fields", it was a real struggle. Finished it, took it around every record company in the neighbourhood and they all said "no". Apart from EMI where there was someone who had loved - a fellow who hadn’t been here joined there, my A&R man - who had loved DCT Dreams. He signed me up. And Hansa afterwards, when I played him the final version of "Hilly Fields" said "Christ, we do think that’s great". But they had pulled out halfway through. Anyway, so it came out on that… it took me a while to get to…. .That’s right that so....they signed up in July but they didn’t know, you know EMI has so short confidence in such a subject someone as difficult as me. So they didn’t know when to put it out and we waited and waited and decided on November, go with it they found someone in the company who was interested in it. The A&R man found someone else who was interested in a career in the company. Anyway so I thought… and then the day before we were due to master I thought I hated the b-side I had. And so we rushed, we did "49 Cigars" in a day……

I: Nick made this single after a trip to America for inspiration. Since there weren't any record companies that saw anything in his tapes, he put out "DCT-Dreams" and "Treeline" on his own independent label, Voxette records, and did the promotion all by himself too. Then he could get that single out to everyone. And signed up finally with Hansa. But a financial success was not destined to be for this wonderful track. For his second single "Hilly Fields", he again had to arrange everything by himself which resulted in a contract with EMI. But the collaboration didn’t go smoothly. At which point Nick immediately mentions he is not an easy subject for such a company. When "Hilly Fields" was finally ready, Nick disapproved of the b-side and in one day recorded a new track, "49 Cigars" which you now hear playing in the background. We are going to play "Hilly Fields" now and: (in American accent) "If you have a pair of headphones you better get them on, get them cranked up cos you really gonna need them on this one" (Plays "Hilly Fields")

R: And what about the connection with Strawberry fields forever?

N: (laughs) Well look the point is… the point is that there’s a place called Hilly fields around the corner. And what was they going to call it? Hilly park or something, just to avoid being compared with Strawberry fields. You know that was the place, and it's - you can see right across London from it...it’s very..it’s a very….- it’s a good place, I like it.

R: Ok we’ve got two singles now, what’s what’s what’s next?

N: Right, well that’s a very good question. But I fortunately - yesterday I couldn’t have told you, but - today I can. (R: (surprised) Oh?) Yes, well what happened the rest of this year is I’ve been a bit unwell, and I’ve done some, had a couple of whole days this last year and done some stuff that was no good. And told EMI when…They had it, I said I didn’t ..they didn't want it out, it wasn't artistic like, it wasn’t good. I just didn’t like it, it wasn’t good enough and they said alright we won't put it out so that’s great. So, I just finished a single that had taken a while to do. About a week ago said the same thing to them, don’t like it, it’s no good. And cause I knew I’ve got..I felt something coming, and so I was in the studio yesterday. And I was gonna bring it in for others' conception, even if I have. But I’m off again I’ve got something really good.

R: And why yesterday I mean, the stars?

N: It had all the hallmarks, it had all the marks of a really, the greatest, the best days I’ve had. All the marks of it.. The best days. I’ve just broken new ground, for me personally, new ground and it’s very, very, everything is very fresh and it’s very..Good. Often when you start a new style completely that’s when you do your best work I find. I mean artistic movements, their best work is always at the very start of it. The impressionists and all the rest of them. And this is the thing about yesterday, I collaborated with some people, very successfully with one person, who had never played a keyboard apart from within the last two or three weeks, his first session ever. He’s a hairdresser. And he was great. He was really great, I mean he understood the track. At the same time I had a really good musician, who was concentrating on all these complicated chords and.. messing everything up.

I: "Hilly Fields" caused many positive reactions, also because it hinted at Strawberry fields, but again little sales. Despite that, EMI longed for a new single, but Nick didn’t feel that well and had to take some time off. He did record two demo sessions of which EMI wanted to put out "On The Coast" immediately. But Nick wasn’t satisfied with it so it was cancelled. Just one day before this interview he however got the spirit and recorded a beautiful new song that we wanted to play today. But alas Nick was short of some money to finish it, so we need a little more patience. We are allowed to play the disapproved of "On The Coast". Is the cassette running?..... (plays "On The Coast")