Hey up, Germany was quite wonderful yet again, lovely people, lovely gigs, and lovely food and drink. I had planned to take a little time of to write songs for a new album, but another tour of Croatia has just reared it’s beautiful head. I leave next Sunday 21st April for 8 days. All organised again by Luka Belani. News of a new release will follow as soon as I have any.

Cheers Nick x

Hi. I’m writing this post 31 minutes before leaving for Germany and Holland for a couple of weeks doing some solo shows. Details are on the gig page but I’ll be going to Warstein, Chemnitz, Reutlingen, Marburg, Unna, Aachen, Wiedenbruck, Amsterdam and Hörstel-Bevergern near Osnabruck. Hope to see some of you there. Cheers xx

Hey up, So we did it. We popped off to Germany and had a right laugh. We met many many lovely people, but rather than bore you with all the details, you can check out our tour video, lovingly hand-crafted by bassist Tom Granville.

Hey, Hope you are well. Tomorrow afternoon we will be leaving for our second band tour of Germany. The ‘we’ this time includes Sam Boughen on drums, Tom Granville (wot did come last time) on bass, John Steer on electric guitar and David Little on lapsteel, harmonium and electric guitar. The instrumentation being what it is, the sound this time round is more country than folky and a lot more uptempo. Gonna be a lot of fun. Check out the GIGS section above if you are interested. Apologies if you’re reading this on your phone. I mucked about with the settings and it’s not displaying properly. I’ll sort it when we get back.

Cheers Nick

I’m writing this entry a couple days after Christmas so apologies that some of the info is a bit dated now. On November 13^th I made my fifth trip to Latvia and on the Wednesday I played in Nabaklab in Riga, the Thursday in Fontaine Palace, Liepaja, the Friday in Caffee Pasēdēt, Riga and the Saturday in Melno Cepurīšu Balerija in Jelgava. Ha! Scratch that. It’s now 11^th January and I realised I have no time to write about everything I did so I’ll round it up. Latvia was awesome as it always is. As soon as I got home I had a show in Winchester with Joe Driscoll. That was a laugh. A week later it was off to Croatia. Croatia was just incredible. Luka Belani (HERE) looked after me and took me around his beautiful country to meet many very beautiful people. He’s coming here in February to meet our beautiful people. As soon as I got home I had a show in Swindon which was more than fun. Singer songwriter circle stylee. Then came that huge Christmas thing but not before I went back to the studio with Luke Stidson to commit some more songs to tape for an EP release. Still working on it but it should be out sooner or later. I’ve also been busy practising with the False Alarms for our impending tour of Germany. Right. Best get on with booking some gigs.

See you soon. x

Hey. Just a quickie to say that I have had a busy few weeks and it isn’t slowing up any time soon. Last weekend I had a lovely time in Switzerland adding another favourite venue to my list. (Bateau Lavoir in case you are interested. I followed that by going back into the studio to start work on a new EP or album depending on what comes out. This morning, ie in about half an hour I will leave for my fifth trip to Latvia. Can’t wait but I am by no means ready, sitting here with my nonkempt hair and my pitiful excuse for a set of PJs. When I return I have a few days at home doing a bit more recording and a gig in Winchester before heading off to Croatia for my first tour there. Should be a right doss.

See you anon. x

Hello you. On Monday I returned from my favourite-yet solo tour of Germany. Leaving on Wednesday 25th September I walked to my car, drove to Bristol, trained to Gatwick, planed to Hamburg and bussed to meet Keith, Elisa und Paulie. After a quick refreshment in Freundlich und Kompetent, I got some well-deserved shut-eye (sitting all day can be quite tiring). The next morning Keith und Elisa had to work so I took Paulie (below) for a (small) stroll around Hamburg.

I made my way to Kiel via bus and train and the got SOAKED in a torrent  on my way to the venue Prinz Willi, for the first gig. It was a relatively quiet affair but with a lovely group of students – one of whom was a Lithuanian girl who was friends with a friend of mine back home. Small world and all that. Gabi very kindly put me up that night and we sipped a Bowmore with Liam Ó Maonlaí (on the tape recorder) Next day was a bit of a mammoth to say the least. I woke in Kiel (as you might imagine) and took my first Mitfahrgelegenheit (Germany’s incredibly efficient car sharing scheme) to Bremen. In Bremen I met up with Phil who was to be my driver (and friend it turned out) for the next few days. I had two gigs this night.

The first in Delmenhorst near Bremen brought back some fond memories. Been there three times now and it’s always quite lovely to see Jens and Ekrem again. After an 8pm gig there – unfortunately not being able to stay for IsaMirja and Hello Pied Piper – Phil and I drove to Hannover for a 10.30pm gig. If you know German geography you may realise this is a bit tight. We made it though even though we had rapeseed oil for fuel, bald tyres and a steering wheel that oh-so-desperately wanted us to drive in the hard shoulder. In Hannover we met up with many friends and made a bunch more. Next morning was a bit of an early one though. We got up at 8am and drove to Melle for a two day street festival. I basically had my own little stage and I had to play from 11 – 6 on the Saturday and 1 – 6 on the Sunday. Needless to say I had to slip a few covers in but it was a great laugh and we were well looked after by Maik from the Lamker Modehaus and Jurgen und Vanessa from the Groene Krabbe opposite. Not sure how I would have coped without Phil there to amuse me. On the Saturday evening we went to the mainstage and met up with Vanessa and her man Marco, where we ‘enjoyed’ German covers band Smile doing their leathery best. On the Sunday night I said a sad goodbye to Phil and a glad hello to Michael (my agent) and we made our way to Mykonos for our tea. After tea we went to the Kermis in Wiedenbrück and picked up Caroline en route. After a much-needed long night’s sleep at Michael’s house, his mutter made me two of the finest meals of the tour. She’s such a sweet lady who is just the best cook like ever. Naturally I was reluctant to leave but on the Tuesday night I had a gig down south in Tübingen so I decided to split the journey with an overnight stop in Marburg. Tuesday morning came and so did Mitfahr #2. I left Marburg at 9ish and one train, one car, 5 S-Bahns, 4537 footsteps and 10 hours later I arrived in Tübingen. The gig in Tübingen was a new one for me and it was really cool. Loads of people – including some children from a school I’d visited earlier in the year, and their moms – came along. I mentioned during the gig that I might go Stochenkahnen on the River Neckar the following day and after the gig, a lovely chap, Jonathon invited me out on his boat. So after another nice long sleep in the hotel I made my way to town for my punting boat trip. To be honest I wasn’t expecting to have to do the punting myself, but after a few wobbles I actually really got into it.

After a soaked me said goodbye and thank you to a dry Jonathon, I got picked up by Kerstin for the wohnzimmer gig at her place. After a quick soundcheck and slow bath Kerstin treated me to Spätzle. The wohnzimmer gig – as they usually are – was a very laid back, friendly affair and was almost like having a night off. The next morning Kerstin took me to Stuttgart where I met Mitfahr #3 who drove me back to Gießen where I caught the train back to Marburg.

I’ve played at Molly Malones in Marburg five times in 18 months now and I love it there, but seeing as this was the first gig there since the band tour in May it felt like something was missing. Still enjoyed it immensely, even though my voice was starting to tire a little. Luckily I had a nicely timed night off the following night so I was able to enjoy a quiet night in with Dom and his friends to recover in time for Saturday.

Mitfahr #4 the next morning took me to Winterberg where I met Sancho. Sancho and Manu drove me to the Pianobar in Warstein for my penultimate gig of the tour. This was definitely the most surreal of the lot. First two sets were just fine and normal… just before I started my third, a large group of boys with lederhosen celebrating Octoberfest, filled the bar. It suddenly got very noisy and a bit rough and tumble. Anyway, I got on with it and they got noisier. Two of the guys asked nicely if they could join me for a song; one playing wooden spoons and the other playing some kinda washboard/bells/stompstick type thing.

Needless to say, I agreed and did a cover of Die Toten Hosen’s Hier Kommt Alex. Nearly all the audience had their video phones out so I may post it if I ever find it. I really enjoyed it there and will definitely make it a regular trip.

Next morning I shared a train or two with lots of drunk people on their way home from Willingen – imagine Butlins, times it by Wetherspoons and you’re about there – and another train with loads of Frankfurt and Mönchengladbach fans as I made my way to Aachen for my last gig. In Aachen I met up with The Tideline, who had been over to England for a few gigs with me last year. It was so good to see them all again and we played a few songs together for old times’ sake.

The next day I took the train to Amsterdam from where I flew home. It was by far my favourite solo tour so far and I can’t wait for my next one. Needless to say, details will be here as and when they come through.

Cheers Nick

Hey up, Hope all is well. Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I spent a couple weeks on the continent in July/August then a few weekends in Wales doing a few bits and bobs including some songwriting and tour organising. Next Wednesday (26th Sept) I leave for a solo tour of Germany which I’m looking forward to a great deal. Starting in Kiel then going to Delmenhorst, a secret location, Melle, Tübingen, Reutlingen, Marburg, Warstein and Aachen. Then it’s home for a little while before heading off to Switzerland and Latvia in November. The end of November sees the second band tour of Germany. We had our first practice last night and it was a slightly rockier affair than last time. Hmm, just realised that doesn’t give us very long to get it together. Ah well, it’ll be a laugh anyway. Cheers Nick x

Hi, Got back this week from my fourth trip to Latvia. This time it was festival season and I was at Summer Sound. Weather was perfect as was the vibe, and the gig went well too. Off to Germany and Holland next week for a holiday and to do some demoing/videos etc, but not before going to Hurst House in South Wales to try to write a few more songs for my next album.
Course, I say album but if I don’t manage many it may just be an EP. Cheers Nick

So two years after recording the audio, we finally got round to shooting a video for the song Metaphor. A couple of rather chilly days were spent in the old Morlands factory in Glastonbury and at Worthy Farm and the tithe barn in Pilton (where they hold the Glastonbury Festival). Seeing as she knew all the words anyway – and sometimes sings it at gigs with me – I thought it would be nice for my daughter Flo to do the singing.