Andy Nicholson
Andy Nicholson | |
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Background information | |
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Born | 9 April 1986 |
Origin | Hillsborough, Sheffield, England |
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Website | www |
Andy James Nicholson (born 9 April 1986) is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and photographer, best known as the original bassist of
Biography
Early days
An attendee of Stocksbridge High School, Nicholson was the only member of the
Departure from Arctic Monkeys
The band announced in May 2006 that Nicholson would miss the band's forthcoming
It was not until 2019 did Nicholson himself open up on his departure. In an interview with podcast The Michael Anthony Show, Nicholson told the host that leaving the band that he co-founded was "soul destroying". The bassist added that news of his imminent departure came as a huge shock and was far from mutual. Nicholson went on to detail the meeting which ended his time in the band and also painted a vivid picture of life in the years that followed which included struggles with mental health as well as a new search for identity. Despite this, Nicholson did state that he has since been on good terms with his former bandmates, with them often meeting up whenever they return to Sheffield.[11]
Post-Arctic Monkeys
Initially, Nicholson began making a name for himself in Sheffield as a DJ, mainly as a resident at Threads,
In 2008, Nicholson formed Mongrel, which consisted of himself, Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers, Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell and Matt Helders from Arctic Monkeys, as well as London rapper Lowkey from the Poisonous Poets. They released their first album, Better Than Heavy on 7 March 2009.
He was also in the band Lords of Flatbush,[15] with Sheffield-based singer Steve Edwards and Louis Carnall formerly of Milburn, but left to concentrate on Mongrel. The position was handed over to his brother Rob Nicholson of Sheffield band Dead World Leaders.[16]
In August 2009, Nicholson joined ex-Milburn frontman Joe Carnall's band The Book Club, but left later that year when, on 23 December Jon McClure announced via his Twitter account and official website that Nicholson would be made an official member of Reverend and the Makers. He remained in the group until their 2010 hiatus but when they reformed in January 2012 Nicholson was replaced by his friend and former bandmate in The Book Club, Joe Carnall.
Nicholson is currently producing and performing in hip-hop group Clubs & Spades with Maticmouth from Reverend Soundsystem. They made their live début at The Plug on Saturday 20 July 2013 as part of Tramlines Festival[17] and their début album Stand Up was released on Monday 22 July 2013.[18] He is also part of production duo Sticky Blood with Jamie Shield.
Political views
In November 2019, along with 34 other musicians, Nicholson signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity.[19][20]
References
- ^ "MONGREL announce debut live dates". NME. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ "Ex-Arctic Monkeys man gigging with new band: Andy Nicholson gearing up with Joe Carnall And The Book Club". NME. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ "Ex-Arctic Monkeys man speaks about new band: Andy Nicholson talks about new project Book Club". NME. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ "Ex-Arctic Monkeys member joins Reverend and the Makers Reverend and the Makers: Andy Nicholson is officially unveiled as the band's new member". NME. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ a b "The Lads Are Alright". Blender. May 2006. Archived from the original on 4 May 2006.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys lose a member". NME. 22 May 2006.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys: Too much monkey business". The Independent. 25 May 2006. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys bassist leaves band". NME. 19 April 2006. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys on split: "We wanted to move forward"". NME. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
- ^ "Matt Helders: Pop Success With Arctic Monkeys". Drummagazine.com. 11 July 2011.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys' former bassist Andy Nicholson considered suicide following "soul-destroying" departure". Nme.com. 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Threads Residents". Archived from the original on 14 February 2008.
- ^ "Featured Content on Myspace". Myspace.
- ^ "Former Arctic Monkey Andy Nicholson to play London". NME. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 January 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ UK. "Lords of Flatbush | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Profile.myspace.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ^ "Deadworldleaders.com". Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- ^ "TRAMLINES WITH STEVE PAPA EDWARDS, HOT SOLES, CLUBS AND SPADES & SCOUNDREL, FALLEN TREES". The Plug. 20 July 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ "iTunes Preview: Stand Up by Clubs & Spades". iTunes. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ "Musicians backing Jeremy Corbyn's Labour". The Guardian. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ Gayle, Damien (25 November 2019). "Stormzy backs Labour in election with call to end austerity". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2019.