
(Picture, left, shows Nikki & bother Epic on Swell Maps last tour, in Milan on 31st March 1980)
Somewhat in awe at first, as I was for some time to come, I spent the first of many evenings over many years in his engaging and charmingly egocentric company. My specific memories of that first meeting include mild astonishment at the number of books and records crammed into his room, in particular his mighty collection of T Rex records, tapes and of the books of both Captain W E Johns (Biggles et al)
and of Franks Richards (Greyfriars/Billy Bunter).


Not only had Nikki been part of the scene at the gestation of punk rock, he actually had a copy of the Pistols infamous “Spunk” album, the bootleg of Dave Goodman produced pre ...Bollocks demos featuring Glen Matlock on bass, and what was more, he was happy to do me a cassette of it. Remember I'm living in sleepy mid Warwickshire, such items were unobtainable outside London, and this was verily the Holy Grail of Punk. And so in the early hours of the morning, I leave Harbury in my Austin 1100,

Though Nikki would later introduce me to all manner of (possibly, probably, no definitely) more crucial music, this very first “gift” could not have been more thrilling. Moreover, there was the prospect of further advancing my musical education with a promise to compile a tape of the best of T Rex and, the first of many, a various artist compilation tape both of which he'd drop round on his first visit to my home a few days later. The “Spunk” cassette has long gone – eventually got a copy on vinyl myself – but I still have the other two near on 30 year old cassettes, the first of which introduced me to lesser known T Rex gems such as “Venus Loon”, and the second, to the likes of The Desperate Bicycles
of Big In Japan, of Can and, for the very first time, “Bangkok” by Alex Chilton

It wouldn't be long before there would be a Swell Maps compilation, and all manner of other delights, along with the inspiration to take my fanzine, eventually, to a slightly more ambitious and certainly a higher level.
Coming Soon - Late Night Shopping For Pets With Sonic Youth
1 comment:
Nice blog! I love the way the story is unfolding.
I too was starstruck when I first met Nikki, a feeling I found a bit strange because I'd promoted hundreds of gigs and had already met musicians whose records I had played to death. But there was something different about meeting Nikki, a musician I'd seen play several times around Birmingham, often to small audiences. I can't explain it. But he was very charming....
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