KEN NICOL ~ The tip of the iceberg

I’ve known Ken since he moved back to England from the US around 1989. He was playing in a duo with Chris While, and I still regard them as one of the best male-female combination I’ve ever seen. Ken and I have become good friends and he is always willing to help me demonstrate guitars. He has been a member of Steeleye Span for seven years, but that is "the tip of the iceberg" of his musical life. Good title for a song.
 
He plays just about anything, and is well known for his technical ability, (one pro musician was heard to say in a broad Geordie accent "I'd give my right goolie to play guitar like that!”). The "Ken Nicol Signature" guitar is one of my best sellers, and was awarded the highest ever marks in Acoustic magazine, losing one point because it wasn't at all "flash".  Well, that's ok, Ken and I are not flash, just pure quality.

More recently I think he deserves recognition for his writing, not just my favourite songs like "Last Chances" and "One night in Paris", but also some extraordinary instrumentals from his latest album  "Initial Variations".  Each track is written for different people and ideas, my favourites of course being FY and RB. I know I’m making two assumptions there, but Ken won’t tell me how many FYs or RBs he knows. Look out for the beautiful finger picked mandolin track.

Here he is playing his Oberon and his nylon string featured last year and his signature guitar. Some nice close ups of his busy fingers. His thumb needs therapy.

Ken Nicol is an exceptional musician. As a guitarist he is one of the most skilled and exciting players anywhere today; as a singer he is capable of evoking wide range of emotions in his audience, and as a songwriter he demonstrates these abilities in his clever and well-crafted material.

His music covers the spectrum from blues to rock, effortlessly taking in folk, jazz, ragtime, ballads and more along the way.

Born in Preston, UK, Ken started playing the regional club circuit where his talents were soon recognised.

In the early seventies he formed the band ‘Nicol & Marsh’s Easy Street’ with Pete Marsh, and it wasn’t long before they landed their first major record contract. They went on to produce four albums to widespread acclaim on the CBS and Polydor labels, the last one was recorded in Los Angeles. This prompted Ken to make his home in the US where he played gigs as a solo acoustic performer and as lead singer and co-songwriter for the band ‘Versailles’.

Ken returned to the UK from LA in 1989 and once again began working the club circuit as a solo performer, going on to produce the albums: “Living in a Spanish Town”; “Two Frets from the Blues”; “Clean Feet – No Shoes”; “The Bridge” and more recently; “Thirteen Reasons”, all released on his own M.V.S label. 

In 1997 Ken joined The Albion Band as lead guitarist and singer, writing much of the band’s material himself as well as co-writing with Ashley Hutchings. They produced four albums: “Happy Accident”, Before Us Stands Yesterday”, “The Christmas Album” and “Road Movies” on the Topic record label.

In December 2002, he successfully joined forces with the legendary folk-rockers Steeleye Span on their UK ‘Reunion Tour’ and due to its great success his collaboration with the band continued for a further seven years. 2004 saw the release of two albums, ‘They Called Her Babylon’ and ‘Winter’. His third collaboration with the band, ‘Bloody Men’ was released in 2006, and the most recent, ‘Cogs, Wheels and Lovers’ in 2009.

2009 proved to be an extremely busy time with Steeleye. The band celebrated their 40th year in the business as well as the UK Spring Tour (April/May). They also visited the USA in September for six dates, then flew on to Australia for a further eight concerts before finishing their anniversary year with a ‘Winter Tour’  in the UK in November and December.  

Deciding to take full advantage of his trip ‘down under’ with Steeleye, Ken immediately followed the Australian leg with a string of solo performances beginning in Perth and continuing across the North and South islands of New Zealand during October and November.

Ken continues to write, record and tour as a solo artist; his latest album - Initial Variations (reviews below) is completely instrumental, and was released in 2008.

“Formidable and painstakingly acquired skills on both acoustic and electric guitars, a very high class player indeed. Flexible too. He seems comfortable with whatever style is tossed at him.”
Martin Carthy

“I first met Ken when we collaborated on an Ashley Hutchings song on his last album. I was amazed at Ken’s beautiful ragtime guitar style.
He has such a great way of delivering a story and gently laying down the punch line.
Humour, great guitar skill and the right drop of humility, and a passion for right, proper, good music.”
Ralph McTell

“Ken Nicol is a consummate musician. A guitarist of broad scope, a sensitive singer and an intelligent writer of songs with stirring melodies. A musical paragon.”
Maddy Prior

“It’s difficult for me to imagine a more talented all rounder than Ken; both as singer and guitarist.”
Ashley Hutchings