My Life With Rock N' Roll People
As 2025 limped to a close, the usual muddy race for the Christmas No. 1 single took place and the winner turned out to be the subtly titled XMAS from the consistently unreliable, if well-connected, Kylie Minogue who has been troubling the charts with ephemeral pap for some time now. Meanwhile, the top album was a 40-years-old relic from the…
The phrase or expression “Freak Out!” has been around for some time now but this was how I discovered it, on the handsome sleeve of The Mothers of Invention debut studio album. Although not aware of it at the time I must have been drifting in some kind of alternative universe. Released in June 1966, I was at school in…
“Ian’s death was an unbelievable marketing campaign,” according to one of the speakers at the recent launch of the revised edition of Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records by James Nice (Faber). James was on a panel which also included Peter Saville, the graphic designer who co-founded Factory Records with TV presenter Tony Wilson in 1978, and Lesley Gilbert,…
There’s always a frisson of excitement when Bob Geldof is back in town and this time round there are a couple of reasons why he should have popped up again. Firstly it’s the fiftieth anniversary of his band, the Boomtown Rats, the Dublin punk band famous for their chart-topping hits 'Rat Trap' and 'I Don’t Like Mondays'. The group has…
You’ve probably heard the name Spizz since he’s been around for years, decades even. Six, to be precise, dating back to the early post-punk scene of the late ’70s. In those days he and his ramshackle bunch of chums went under the brand of Spizzoil, making a name for themselves touring with Siouxsie and the Banshees. This coincided with the new…
So here we are, a quarter of the way through the current century and even though music and the way it’s delivered has changed and keeps changing, one thing remains the same: a charismatic front man or woman at the centre of the machine. In my last book, My Life with Rock N' Roll People, published by Ghostwriter Books, I…
A fine review from the King of Indie…
The launch party for My Life With Rock N’ Roll People by Mike Nicholls took place at The Sun & Thirteen Cantons in Soho, London to a full house and a lively convivial atmosphere. Guests included Alf Martin, former editor of Record Mirror; Allan Jones, former editor of Melody Maker and Uncut; Chris Welch, journalist and ace drummer; Maggi Ronson, opera…
Come along and join author Mike Nicholls for a book talk and signing at the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town, 6th February, 6.30pm.
