3:10pm Thursday 11th March 2010
By Andrew Mosley
THE Nick Jackson band has done The Italian Job with the launch of their new album, and now they want to repeat the process in the UK.
For the Romans seem to have taken the band’s music to heart, and they have just returned from launching their third album in the Italian capital.
Singer Nick says songs from Beautiful Place went down just as well, if not better, than some of the tunes from the band’s previous two albums.
He said: “We went to Rome to play Big Mama, a small rock club in an area near the Vatican. We’ve done it now for the past five out of six years, normally as part of an initiative by the British Council that gives grants abroad for people to learn English and want to come to England. As part of that they bring in artists, poets, actors etc to perform in English to enhance their learning.
“Every time we played there it was heaving and this time the guy at the club just booked us in our own right.
“We went down really well. We sold copies of our previous albums Secrets and Miracles as well as about 30 of the new one, which considering people had already paid about 14euros to get in was really good.
“I think it’s maybe because the Italians don’t seem to have a word for apathy and they’re very big on guitar bands and we happen to fit the bill.”
The songs on the album have a less rocky, poppier, almost Liverpool indie feel to them than the band’s previous albums, with stand-out tracks including the excellent Julie’s Shot In the Dark, Machine Heart, Die Young and the closer, Sound of the Skylark.
Nick, who rose to prominence as the front man of 1990s Manchester group Mirrors Over Kiev, launched the band a decade ago following the success of his exploits as a solo busker on the streets of Bolton, Manchester, York and Chester.
He was soon joined by brother Ben on drums and John Wilkinson on bass, and was re-united with former Mirrors guitar man Phil Abram after demand for Jackson’s songs became apparent on the internet.
“It gives me a huge thrill when I get 20 or so digital sales from people you don’t know on the other side of the world. It’s the best thing about being an artist. The internet provides that connection with the rest of the world,” he said.
Nick says writing, recording, producing, promoting and taking his own album out live has pros and cons. “My album was recorded in my attic and in a rehearsal room and the technology now exists where you can put out a good quality track for very little money.
“It is very time-consuming doing everything yourself though. I did an album in 2000, another one in 2005 and again five years later. Sometimes by the time it comes to promoting them you are ready to move on.”
So how does Nick approach his songwriting? “When you are writing the songs in the first place you don’t really set out to write a three-minute hit or a five-minute epic. The songs tend to drive you — you are just a vehicle for them and they happen somewhere in your subconscience that you are unaware of.
“One of the things I tried to do with this album was make the songs a bit less personal and more about issues.
“My favourite on the new album is Sound of the Skylark, which I wrote in Bedgellert in North Wales. The last track I wrote was Machine Heart. On the last two albums, the last tracks I have written have been the most popular, which in a way is good, because it means I haven’t let go of the quality control towards the end.”
Nick says he is going to put more work into promoting Beautiful Place and with that in mind is looking for a Bolton venue in which to launch the album around Easter time — a decent sized, comfortable room with good sound. Anyone who may be able to help can email Nick at jackorud@hotmail.com.
• The album is available from the band's website at www.thenickjacksonband.co.uk and can be bought from www.cdbaby.com/cdnickjacksonband, from i Tunes or at £5 by emailing jackorud@hotmail.com
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