April 26, 2006

40 Watt Club - A Tribute To Nikki Sudden Setlist
Below is the set list from Nikki's tribute show at 40 Watt Club in Athens,GA on April 17th,2006.

Sleepy Horses:
"Big Store"
"I Belong To You"
"Don't Let Them Mess With You"
"Liquor,Guns,and Ammo"

Adam Musick & friends (aka Sudden Bitch):
"Bar-Room Blues"
"Family Bible"
(two new songs written & recorded in Athens,Ga./Summer 2005)

Boulevard:
"Every Girl"
"Fortune Of Fame"

Martyr & Pistol:
"Secret Island"
"Whatever Happens Next..."

Split-Side Anna :
"Looking For A Friend"
"High And Lonesome"
"Kitchen Blues"

April 20, 2006

Dave K & Friends: An Evening For Nikki Sudden - May 1st, 2006

On Monday the 1st of May' Dave Kusworth, Paul Caton and other friends will be playing at the Boogaloo, 312 Archway Road, Highgate London N6 a tribute gig to the memory of Nikki. The doors will open at around 20:30.

Nikki Sudden Live At The Cake Shop (March 24) Video Available To Download

Nikki was filmed during his in-store performance at The Cake Shop in NYC on 24 March. You
can see 4 clips from that show (and order a DVD with the entire show on it as well) right here:
http://punkcast.com/940/index.html

Nikki On The Cover Of The Latest Bucketfull Of Brains

This Spring 2006 of Bucketfull Of Brains issue went on sale shortly before Nikki's death and features a very lengthy interview by Phil Shoenfelt. Its release was meant to coincide with the 12-Bar gig....

If you want a copy, it's K £3.25, Europe £3.75, USA & Rest of World £4.75 and you can send a paypal payment to the editor, Nick, via Paypal using the address: bucketfull@blueyonder.co.uk

Nikki Sudden Live In Artliners, Berlin, Germany (17 February, 2006)

BigO is offering for a limited time the chance to download Nikki's show at the Artliners in Berling (February 2006) for a limited time. Visit the BigO website to download the album.

Nikki Sudden Memorial Show - Athens, GA

Below is a picture of Martyr & Pistol performing at the 40 Watt Club in Athens,Ga. on Monday, April 17 as part of the Nikki Sudden Tribute show.

The Electric Shadows Will Dedicate Their New 7" Single To Nikki

The Electric Shadows, with whom Nikki played and hang during his recent US Tour will dedicate their debut 7" Single "Break the Rules b/w She's All You Got" coming out in a few months to Nikki. Check out the Electric Shadows My Space Page.

April 16, 2006

US Nikki Sudden Memorial Show - Athens, GA

A memorial show in Nikki's honor will take place at the 40 Watt Club in Athens,GA on Monday, April 17th, featuring:

Adam Musick & friends
Sleepy Horses
Boulevard
Martyr & Pistol
Split-Side Anna

Kenny Aguar will be DJ-ing Swell Maps,Jacobites and Nikki solo songs in-between acts.

Each group will be performing 2-3 songs penned by Nikki Sudden.

Doors open at 9pm. 10pm showtime. $3 cover charge.

The 40 Watt Club is located at 285 W. Washington Street in downtown Athens,GA.

Tel. Number: (706)549-7871
Website: http://www.40watt.com

Visit the online magazine Athens Music to read what Nikki (2006) and R.E.M's Peter Buck (2004) had to say about Nikki's stay in Athens - in interviews done by Kenneth Aguar.

Memorial Page

Visit the Memorial Page to read tributes by Tim Chaplin and Dan Treacy (Television Personalities)

German Radio NS Tribute

The show "Hidden Tracks" of Radio Flora (Hannover, Germany) did a tribute to Nikki last Friday (4/14/06), here is the playlist:

Nikki Sudden "Cellar door"
Swell Maps "Midget submarines"
Can "Moonshake"
Nikki Sudden "untitled" (Silke Arp Miniaturen Sampler)
Jacobites "Fortune of fame"
T-Rex "Telegram Sam"
Nikki Sudden "Back to the coast"
Rolling Stones "We love you"
Nikki Sudden "Fall any further"
Jacobites "Wishing well"
Jacobites "Pin your heart to me"
Jacobites "Elizabethan Balladeer"

April 10, 2006

Memorial texts in honour of Nikki by Carl Eugene Picot (NS/Jacobites Bass Player) anf Bill Bruton (Captian Blood) have been posted on the Memorial Page.

Wolfgang Gorster a very good friend and photographer of Nikki has created a Nikki Sudden Photo Special page at his website as a tribute to Nikki - visit Wolfgang's Photography.

Kastle, columnist for the online mag CoolGrrrls.com has written a few worda about Nikki in her recent post - you may read it here: http://www.coolgrrrls.com/pages/kastle.html

Aptil 08, 2006

RCV-LILLE FM - April 9 : Tribute to Nikki Sudden

Tomorrow French Radio RCV-Lillewill be hosting a 2-hour Tribute for Nikki Sudden - full of Nikki's music as well as producer's Olivier feelings and memories. The sho will air on 9th of April between 19:00 - 21:00 (French hour) - the website is: http://www.rcv-lille.com

Visit the Memorial page to read tributes by Einar Stenseng and Paul Caton (ex-Bounty Hunters).

In addition Paul Caton has also confirmed another gig by Dave K & Friends and has also given out some more details on Nikki's Tribute Concert on the 21st of July:

Dave Kusworth, Paul Caton and other friends will be playing at the Boogaloo, 312 Archway Road, Highgate London N6 on Monday May 1st. You are all welcome to join us to remember Nikki and hear some old tunes. Thanks to Anna Page for this one.

Max Decharne and Paul Caton are organising an official tribute concert for Nikki to be held at the Dirty Water Club in London on Friday 21st July 2006. More details will be announced soon. It is hoped that all stages of Nikki's career will be represented by musicians and friends invited to take part, who will be contacted in due course. The bill will be announced shortly before the concert, which Nikki and Epic's parents, Lois and Trevor have expressed their wish to attend and of course will be most welcome.

April 05, 2006

A Night For Nikki Sudden - 21.07.2006

Dave Kusworth together with Max Decharne of the Flaming Stars have organised a special evening in tribute to Nikki Sudden - just like the one Nikki arranged a few months after Epic's death. The idea is for various friends and people who've played with Nikki to perform his songs during the course of the evening, culminating in a set of Jacobites songs with Dave singing.

The tribute gig will take place on Friday the 21st July 2006 at The Dirty Water Club, Tufnell Park in London - visit the Dirty Water Club website for a map and further details.

Evan Dando Tribute To Nikki Sudden

Evan Dando has provided his fansite www.evandando.co.uk with a video of him performing Pin Your Heart, recorded the day after Nikki's death.

The clip was heralded with the following:

"This is a tribute to our old buddy Nikki - there's nobody like you. 'Why ain't there one lonely horn with one sad note to play' Rest In Peace with Super Light Grey Dunlop Plectrum .We Miss You.
Evan & Elizabeth"

New York Night Train Webzine Tribute To Nikki Sudden

Webzine New York Night Train has a featured obituary for Nikki at their website. Jonathan from NYNT is collecting stories to be posted on the webzine next week or so, as a memorial to Nikki. If anyone is interesting to share a story/anecdote that will cast light on Nikki, his life, and his music, feel free to send it over at this email address: comments@newyorknighttrain.com . Photos will also be accepted.

KZ Radio - Tribute Hour In Memory Of Nikki Sudden

Israeli KZ Radio on Monday (3/4/06) hosted an hour in memory of Nikki, here's the playlist:

Swell Maps - Midget Submarines, Big Empty Field, Lets Buy A Bridge,Cake Shop
Nikki Sudden - New York, Johnny Smiled Slowly
The Jacobites - Silken Sheets
Nikki Sudden - Jangle town, Death Is Hanging Over Me
Nikki Sudden & Roland S Howard - Don't Explain
Nikki Sudden - Stay Bruised
Nikki Sudden & The Mermaids - Wonderful / Whistle In
Nikki Sudden - Death Is Hanging Over Me

April 03, 2006

Tonight a marching musical procession will take place in Berlin starting from the Bellman's Bar - Nikki's favourite hangout - making a way into the city and returning back to Bellman's for an all night celebration to Nikki's memory.

Following is the text from Gallery Wallywoods - another great favourite and regular live spot of Nikki:

MUSICIANS MARCH FOR NIKKI SUDDEN AT BELLMAN'S BAR, KREUZBERG

"Dear friends, here are the plans for Monday in Berlin, for the one and only Nikki Sudden.
Because there is a noise curfew in Berlin, we meet at 9pm and leave NO LATER than 9.30 pm from the Bellman´s Bar (ecke Glogauer Str & Reichenberger Str) to make a marching musical procession through Kreuzberg (BRING INSTRUMENTS, VOICES, ROCK & ROLL SOUL AND LOTS OF LOVE) to return to Bellman´s by 10pm - things will then carry on through the night.
If we are loud enough, Nikki will surely hear us..."

Mike Scott (The Watreboys) and long time friend of Nikki has written a note on his official website concerning Nikki's loss. You can read it by visiting the Memorial Page or by going to Mike's website.

Also Phil Shoenfelt - a dear friend of Nikki, has written another great piece on Nikki at the greek music website MIC, a translated version will be posted here really soon.

The Nomen one of Nikki's favourite bands and who in the past have released a series of EP's with Swell Maps and Epic Soundtracks covers - are offering as a download a cover of Nikki's High And Lonesome, "...as a tribute to the inspiration and pleasure that Nikki's music has had on all of us here at Topplers Records."

Tribute Gigs in the memory of Nikki are currently being organised in Berlin, Prague and Athens. Confirmed dates and more information will be given once details are shorted out.

April 02, 2006

Following the Jacobites' tribute gig in Nikki's Memory, Michael Sullivan was kind enough to write a short review of the show:

I really thought it'd be a rubbish gig without Nikki and that it'd be pretty maudlin, like the gathering outside the Dakota after John Lennon's death, or candle-lit vigil after Kurt Cobain's death. I had intended to go, show my face and head home early. Though I was shocked and numbed by the news, I didn't want to be a part of a mass, Diana-like, grief demonstration. Oddly I even imagined local TV news turning up to intrude.

Dave Kusworth was wondering around in his patented Birmingham glam fashion; mixing trainers and polka-dotted shirt and bandana. There was Paul Caton in spotted tie, striped shirt and black cardigan looked like he'd dashed down straight from the office (I wondered if Paul might actually work as a broker in the City, like Heartbreaker star - Walter Lure - I love that kinda duality). Darrell was dressed for rock'n'roll business in his charcoal coloured pin-stripe suit.

They took to the stage. The tiny venue was filled with the heart-warming sounds of a tri acoustic guitar assault. The sound of a warm full-body bear hug from an old friend - Dave on a battered 'blonde' Martin, Darrell twiddling with his slide, Paul on the lead riff...Big Store.

From the opening strums I knew it was going to be great - Then they moved quickly into Pin Your Heart to Me and I think the whole place was shouting the chorus - it was glorious. Other songs included Kings and Queens , Shame for the Angels, Fortune and Fame, New York City - T REX, Silver Street, It'll All End Up In Tears, You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory - segued into Lonely Planet Boy - Debris - Ronnie Lane/Faces (sung by Darrell). Returning for covers: First Cut Is The Deepest, Where Do You Go To My Lovely - according to Nikki Dave's favourite song!? As ever over too soon.

Nikki's voice, so entrenched in my head on some of those songs, was sadly missing. His sartorial elegance, his aristocratic demeanour - missing. All we had was a Nikki poster on the stage to look to when we expect Nikki's voice to come in.

Jacobites' songs are classics. Nikki and Dave are as important as Jagger/ Richards and Lennon/ McCartney. But as they have always been more reachable, more closer to home they are probably loved more.

I bet Nikki's up there getting St Peter to tailor a suit for him.

March 27, 2006

Dave Kusworth has also posted a short message on Nikki's My Space page about his loss
-----------
Dave will be in touch with a statement in the next few days...it's too soon right now. We are all just incredibly sad to lose our friend Nikki.

Our thoughts go out to his Mum and Dad....

Nikki had just finished work on his new album and had played it to us only a few weeks ago - its easily his best - long time producer John Rivers believes this too - and we'd chatted together about ideas for the cover .... I'm sure you'll all get to hear it in time.

A Jacobites gig had been booked for the 12 bar club in Denmark St. on 29th March....Dave intends to play on that night with support from Paul Caton and Darrell Bath - playing the gig in his memory - Dave feels sure that that is what he'd want....

Nikki was always a great support to us all - he was a big part of our past, part of everything we did - always believing in us - always ready to share his contacts - Nikki Sudden believed in Rock n Roll - and how hard was that in this cold new millenium!!??

Love Dave Twist Dave Kusworth and The DKG

March 23, 2006

Urgent Gig Update: Change Of Venue

The show at The Annex has been moved back at the Fat Baby - 112 Rivington St (212) 533-1888
$8 Entrance : Nikki Sudden & The Bruised Poets w/VietNam, The Lords & Electric Shadows. call for showtimes.

March 17, 2006

US Gigs Update: 23 March Change Of Venue

The show @ Fat Baby on the 23rd has now been moved to: The Annex 152 Orchard Street, between Rvington and Stanton Streets, TYel.212 673 9058. Support from Viet Nam.

Also check out the Gigs page for newly added US shows.

March 10, 2006

US Gigs Update

Corrected the street address of the Knitting Factory (NYC) where Nikki will be playing on the 11th and the 25th of March. Check out the Gigs page.

March 5, 2006

Rolling Stone Review - Hanoi Jane / Pretty Little Pretty

Review of the Hanoi Jane / Pretty Little Pretty single from the latest German Rolling Stone:

The pirate hoists the Bolan-flag on this soul selling outtake of his splendid LP Treasure Island. It's the best T-Rex 45 since Solid Gold Easy Action, no less. And: there are more single suitable tracks from those sessions, which are planned to be released on 7 inch, step by step.

Review by Wolfgang Doebbling (translation by Herbert Jennisen)

NS US Tour Update

New US show added, The Buffalo Place, NY City (March 19) - check out the Gigs page for info.

March 1, 2006

Hanoi Jane / Pretty Little Pretty Lyrics

Lyrics to Hanoi Jane and Pretty Little Pretty taken from the latest NS 7" Single Hanoi Jane can be found at the Lyrics page.

NS US Tour Update

More shows have been added to Nikki's March US Tour - check out the Gigs page.

Contribute Artwork For Nikki's Autobiography

Nikki's autobiography is alomost finished, and to make it even more special Nikki with the co-operation of the book's art director Barbara Taylor suggested fans could send in any form of original art related to Nikki, be it photos, paintings, drawings, sculptures (!!!) - if they wish, to be included in the book.

For more information / contributions: barbara@taylor212.demon.co.uk

The record, which features Darrell Bath, John Barry, Danny Hole and Einar Stenseng with guest appearances from Sanni Baumgärtner, Elisabeth Wood and Mark Mulholland includes the following tracks:

Seven Miles; Don’t Break My Soul; The Ballad Of Johnny And Marianne; Talking To The Wrong Guy; Green Shield Stamps; Jet Star Groove; Draggin’ Me Down; Nothing Left; The Price Of Nails; Black Tar; Burgundy; Beyond Hope; All This Buttoning And Unbuttoning.

Below are pictures from the studio during the recording session of the album.



Swell Maps Covered by Windsor Of Derby

Ben Swanson from Secretly Canadian Records wrote, "The Swell Maps re-issues were pretty much the inspiration for Windsor For The Derby's last record.
They're super huge fans of Nikki's... you can hear moments of his influence for sure, but they are quite a different band (much like Pavement is imbued with the Sudden sound) but Windsor For The Derby are definitely a different breed."
Windsor For The Derby, a new band on Secretly Canadian Records recently issued a 12" single which includes a version of Nikki's Swell Maps' song Gunboats.

You can hear the band's recording at: http://www.bwscd.com/secretlycanadian/mp3

Windsor For The derby will be opening for opening for one of Nikki's upcoming New York shows where they will probably back him on Gunboats.

NS More US Tour Dates Announced, Jacobites London Show Confirmed

More shows have been added to Nikki's US Tour, also one more Jacobites gig has been confirmed. Check out the Gigs page for further info.

February 5, 2006

Jacobites UK Show And More US Shows Confirmed!!!

First UK Jacobites show since January 2001 has been confirmed. Nikki and Dave will perform at the Acorn Theatre in Cornwall late March. In addition, more dates have been confirmed for Nikki's March US Tour. Visit the Gigs page for more info on dates and venues

The Mika Kaurismdki film, Honey Baby, premiered in Halle, Germany on Friday, 20 January. The Berlin premiere (which Nikki will attend) is on 25 January at Cinemaxx Berlin Potsdamer Platz, Potsdamer Str. 5, 10758 Berlin. Honey Baby will be on general distribution in Germany from February.

This Friday's Last Bandits' gig at Scherer 8, Schererstraie 8, Wedding, 13347 Berlin (27 January), will feature the live debut of assorted numbers from the new Nikki Sudden album. Special guest at the show is Norwegian musician Einar Stenseng. Einar contributes piano, Hammond and guitar to
the album and will add guitar to the show. The following morning Nikki flies to Barcelona for a Spanish solo acoustic gig and on Sunday he returns to the UK to finish mixing the album.

NS Irish And US Tour: Shows Confirmed

More NS Berlin and US shows added, check out the Gigs page for more info. By mistake the two remaining January shows (27th and 28th) had been removed, they are back in place now.

January 22, 2006

Nikki Sudden Video

In 1980 Swell Maps played their first (and their last) tour. They flew from England to Rome on 27 March 1980. The next day the band arrived at the Titan Club where Nikki asked, “How long do you want us to play for?” Expecting the standard British answer of forty-five minutes the band were shocked to be told, “One and a half hours.” They hurriedly decided to play the début live version of Gunboats thinking that way they would be able to fill out ten to fifteen minutes.

The soundcheck saw the Maps trying out other rarely played numbers and attempting to stretch some of the other songs to almost double their length. The first gig was great in a very flawed way. The third date was a strange gig at the Socialist Party Conference in Rome’s Congress Hall which saw Swell Maps playing after an Italian Eagles’ covers band.

Some of the audience looked so Mafia that they must have been. At one point a sunglassed suit-wearing type in his swarthy fifties sent his equally shaded-up bodyguards to tell the in-house soundman to turn the volume down. It fell instantly. Nikki, "We told Adam to take no notice of any such requests or threats. We needn’t have worried as our set went down incredibly well.

Six year old girls and sixty year old grandmothers were dancing. After we’d finished we were bombarded with requests for autographs. I’ve never played a political event before or since but this one was great fun. It was the first good gig we played in Italy. The best Maps’ gig ever was at
C.V.A., in Ponte S. Giovani, just outside of Perugia, Italy on 3 April. The whole show was filmed for local TV, but unfortunately the venue put an old chap on the lights and he didn’t have a clue.

His technique was a variation on strobe lighting... lights on one second and off the next. This went
on for the whole 90-minute show. You see flashes of the band and then the lights go off. They come on for a second and off again. It’s so frustrating to watch the evidence. The last gig Swell Maps ever played was in an unnamed club in a town just south of Bologna called Vignola. We played really badly."

Swell Maps Italian Tour - 1980:

28 March 1980 - Titan Club, Roma
29 March 1980 - Titan Club, Roma
30 March 1980 - Congress Hall, Rome
31 March 1980 - Odissea 2001, Milano
1 April 1980 - Teatro Massimo, Genova
3 April 1980 - C.V.A., Perugia (filmed by local TV)
5 April 1980 - Blues Island, Terni
6 April 1980 - ???, Vignola

The other day searching through the Internet Nikki accidentally came across a live version of Read About Seymour from the tour. He hadn't heard the recording before, download here.

All the shows on the tour were recorded on four track reel to reel by the band's soundman, Adam 'Skipper' Kidron, with a view to documenting the shows... alll but one of the reels of tape were stolen in at one of the last gigs on the tour! The only track released from the surviving live tape
features on the Whatever Happens Next... double album. The tape features one or two other recordings but the only releasable track is a version of Big Maz entitled Big Maz In Rome.

The live version of Read About Seymour Nikki found had been played on WFMU radio in New Jersey, America. WFMU disc jockey Brian Turner, explained that he'd found the track available for download on Soulseek (it's possible that it's also on other file-sharing programmes).

If anyone out there has recordings taken from these tapes or, even better, the original reel-to-reel master tapes, please get in touch.

January 19, 2006

Nikki Sudden Video

If you go to http://punkcast.com/48 you can seea video of Joe Armstrong (bass), Stéphane Doucerain (drums), Sean Condron (guitar) and Nikki battling their way through a simply smashing medley of Where The Rivers End / Quand Les Rivières Finissent.

On the same page you can also see The Warlocks who were opening for Nikki on that American tour. One of their two drummers is Danny Hole - who is now playing with Nikki.

NS Irish And US Tour: Shows Confirmed

More shows have been confirmed for Nikki's Fenruary Irish Acoustic Tour. Nikki will be doing a US Tour, starting late February, two shows have been confirmed so far but more will be comfirmed very soon. Visit the Gigs page, for further info.

January 15, 2006

Big Store Update: Corrected Flaws

It seems there was a problem regarding the links when ordering items at the bigstore. Now everything seems to work properly. Drop an email in case problems persist or there's something missed out.

January 5, 2006

Big Store Update: Hanoi Jane 7" & TVP Tribute Album

Available to order from the Big Store:
* Nikki Sudden - Hanoi Jane Limited Edition 7" Single - € 5
* V/A: If I Could Write Poetry: Television Personalities Tribute (w/ Free 12 track Bonus CD) - € 15

Epic Soundtracks & Nikki Sudden appear with If I Could Write Poetry at the TVP Tribute

JUST RELEASED: Hanoi Jane / Pretty Little Pretty 7" - Press Release



Double A-sided 45, Hanoi Jane / Pretty Little Pretty, is the first in a series of regular 7” releases by Munster Records in conjunction with Nikki Sudden.

Hanoi Jane is a T.Rex styled rocker from the ever unpredictable pen of Mr. Nikki Sudden. Written and first recorded in the late nineties the song should have come out far sooner but one thing didn’t lead to another and time delayed the groove.

Pretty Little Pretty is a Jimmy Reed patterned r & b shaker of a sort that while reflecting Reed’s Shame, Shame, Shame and the Stones’ Little By Little, takes things up another notch.

Both tracks feature Nikki Sudden backed by Darrell Bath and Justin Farrow on guitars, John Clifford Barry on bass and Stephane Doucerain on the drums. Hanoi Jane also features saxophone by sometime Waterboy, Anthony Thistlethwaite, and backing vocals by Marie-Therese McCormack. Terry Miles plays the Hammond organ. Both numbers were recorded at the sessions for Sudden’s best too date album, Treasure Island.

The cover and label artwork were executed devastatingly by John Clifford Barry from an idea by Tudor Vernon