Nick

Then.....
"While based in London I played in and toured with a few punk bands. It was usually fun, but there were a couple of gigs which were memorable for very wrong reasons and I decided to leave it behind for a while. You can still hear my chops and chants on some old Oi compilations, but you'll have to look carefully!"

Now.....
"I listen to a diverse range of music so my writing influences are far too many to mention, but among my very favourite records you'll find

Give 'Em Enough Rope - The Clash
Quadrophenia - The Who
Pinkerton - Weezer
Valley Of The Dolls - Generation X
Hunky Dory - Bowie
It's Alive - The Ramones
Too Low For Zero - Elton John (no, seriously)
Gold Against The Soul - Manic Street Preachers
Coming Up - Suede
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion - The Black Crowes
Bent - Kinky Machine

Anyone who says second albums are never as good as a debut are simply wrong! I also think B sides are often as good as, if not better than, their respective A sides: X Ray Spex's Identity, The Clash's White Man... and Complete Control, The Damned's Don't Cry Wolf, The Ants' Xerox and The Pistols' GSTQ spring to mind

"In a desert island situation I'd take paperbacks of Papillon and The Hotel New Hampshire, DVDs ('cos let's face it, all desert islands have DVD players these days) of Blazing Saddles and Goodfellas and if I had to pick just one record - 7" Mystery Action by The Rezillos. What do you mean you've never heard of it? It's on the flip side of Destination Venus, get yourself on eBay and buy a copy.....

"For playing live my main guitars are Washburn wing series but I have a few other carefully chosen guitars for specific tracks. In the studio I often favour a Strat, or my beloved old Tele for comfort. Oh, and there's a vintage Yamaha electro for those acoustic moments!

"Who are my favorite guitarists? Well, in no particular order... Matthew Ashman (RIP), Richard Oakes, Bob 'Derwood' Andrews, Dave Navarro and James Dean Bradfield.