James George Nicol, born London 03.08.193940s/50s Choir boy at Honeywell Road School, Battersea, London
50s The Boys Brigade (percussion instruments)
50s schoolband with 1 saxophone + 2 trumpet players and Jimmie as drummer
50s Army Cadet Military Band (percussion and xylophone)
50's working as drum repair man for UK musical instrumental distributor Boosey & Hawkes
1957/1958 Colin Hicks & The Cabin BoysColin Hicks is the younger brother of British rock'n' roll pioneer Tommy Hicks aka Tommy Steele.
Colin never sold many records despite following Tommy's footsteps to the famous 2-'I's coffee bar in Soho London. Tommy Steele's manager, John Kennedy, signed him up to sing in a nightclub in London's posh Mayfair district. Then three TV guest spots and a top-of-the-bill tour. A recording contract with Pye records and TV appearances with his backing group 'The Cabin Boys' in 1958. Jimmie Nicol used to get up regularly at the 2 I's and Bobby Green arranged an audition for Colin's backing group The Cabin Boys.
Pye 7N15114 1957 Wild Eyes And Tender Lips / Empty Arms Blues
Pye 7N15125 1958 La Dee Dah / Wasteland
Pye 7N15163 1958 Little Boy Blue / Jamabalaya
1959 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys appeared in the Italian film Europa Di Notte (Europe By Night / Nuits D'Europe ) with Giddy Up A Ding Dong, which had proved to be a big hit in Italy, resulting in a lucrative invitation to tour there. The Cabin Brothers consisted of Jimmie Nicol (drums), Mike O'Neill (piano), Dave 'Zom' Tick (lead gt.) and Rod 'Boots' Slade (bass gt). In Italy they had rave reviews about their rock'n'roll show, the Italians loved them and Colin and his group recorded eight songs for the Italian Broadway label.
Broadway Int. 1022 1959 Brand New Cadillac / ?
Broadway Int. 1028 1959 Sexy Rock / Johnny B. Goode
+ Giddy Up A Ding Dong / Book Of Love / 20 Flight Rock / Iea Iea / Oh Boy / Tutti Frutti
1960 Vince Eager & The Quiet ThreeTex Makins (bass gt.), Jimmie Nicol (drums), Colin Green (lead gt.) replaced by Kenny Packwood
1960 Oscar Rabin Band (big band, weekly radioshow "Come and Go")
1961 Cyril Stapleton (big band)
1961-1964 session work with musicians from the orchestras of Ted Heath and Johnny Dankworth.
Jimmie was very much inspired by the legendary British jazz drummer Phil Seamen. Jimmie and Phil were both often booked together for sessions by the famous fixer Charlie Katz. Jimmie was booked as substitute for Phil Seamen in case of his prevention.
1964 The Shubdubs (Jimmie's own band)
Jimmie Nicol (drums), Quincy Davis (tenor sax), Bob Garner (bass gt.), Roger Coulam (organ), Johnny Harris (trumpet), Tony Allen (vocals)
Pye 7N15623 2/1964 Humpty Dumpty / Night Train
Mar-Mar 313 1964 Humpty Dumpty / Night Train (US)
Pye 7N15666 6/1964 Husky / Please Come Back
Pye 7N15699 10/1964 Baby Please Don't Go / Shubdubery
1964 April/May: Georgie Fame & The Blue FlamesGeorgie Fame (vocals, keyboards), Tex Makins (bass), Micke Eve (sax), Peter Coe (sax), Speedy Acquaye (percussion), Jimmie Nicol (drums)
The Beatles (stand-in for Ringo Starr)June 3, 1964: The Beatles in the studio (Studio Two, EMI Studios, London). That morning, during a photo session, Ringo Starr had become seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. Since The Beatles were scheduled to leave on a world tour the very next morning, it was too late to cancel the tour. Brian Epstein and George Martin arranged for a temporary drummer to take Ringo's place for the first part of the tour, and the drummer selected was Jimmy Nicol, someone who they knew to be talented but who was unknown enough not to be mistaken as a permanent replacement for Ringo. On the spur of a last-minute phone call from George Martin, Nicol rushed over to EMI Studios, where he and The Beatles ran through six songs from their tour repertoire in a quick rehearsal ("I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", "I Saw Her Standing There", "This Boy", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "Long Tall Sally"). Just 27 hours later, drummer Jimmy Nicol was performing live with The Beatles in Copenhagen, Denmark.
June 04, 1964: KB Hallen, Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
June 05, 1964: Treslong, Hilversum, Holland, (recording TV show, VARA)
June 06, 1964: Auction Hall (Veilinghal), Blokker, Holland
June 09 ,1964: Princess Theatre, Kowloon, Hong Kong
June 12, 1964: Centennial Hall, Adelaide, Australia
June 13, 1964: Centennial Hall, Adelaide, Australia
June 13, 1964: The Beatles perform two more shows at Centennial Hall, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. For the four shows that The Beatles performed in Adelaide there were 12,000 tickets, for which 50,000 requests had been placed. The two shows on this day are drummer Jimmy Nicol's last as a "temporary Beatle". Ringo Starr will meet The Beatles in Melbourne the next day and perform with them right away. Jimmy Nicol's brief stint as a 'member' of the world's most popular musical group is over.
1964/1965 Jimmy Nicol & The ShubdubsSept. 1965 - Feb. 1967 THE SPOTNICKSIn September 1965 Jimmie was invited to join the legendary Swedish guitar group The Spotnicks. He was also offered a job for the musical West Side Story. On 7th. of October, Jimmie played with The Spotnicks in Oslo, and later on in his first gig in Sweden (Kungälv). The Spotnicks rush-released a single, The Spotnicks Introducing Jimmie Nicol, with Husky and Drum Diddley.
In November that year, The Spotnicks started a world tour until March 1966.
They visited the USA (New York), Mexico (Mexico-City), USA (Los Angelos), Hawaii, Japan (Tokyo), Japan (tour of one month; Karelia made No.1 in Japan in January 1966), Hong Kong, Manilla, Bangkok, Beirut, Italy (Rome - TV show), Germany (Berlin), Denmark (Copenhagen). After coming home they toured Sweden nationally. The albums "Spotnicks in Tokyo" and "Spotnicks Around The World" were released that year with Nicol on drums. Jimmie Nicol (& The Spotnicks) released a single Stagger Lee / C'mon Everybody (SweDisc SWES 1160) under his name James George. In October 1966, The Spotnicks visited Germany. "Spotnicks In Winterland" was released in Sweden, Japan and Mexico shortly before Christmas.
In January 1967, The Spotnicks started another world tour during which they returned to Japan and Mexico. The first live album of The Spotnicks was recorded at the Sankei-Hall in Tokyo and released as "The Spotnicks Live In Japan"
DISCOGRAPHY: THE SPOTNICKS WITH JIMMY NICOL1965 SweDisc SWES 1111:
(45) The Spotnicks Introducing Jimmie Nicol
HUSKY / DRUM DIDDLEY
1966 SweDisc SWELP 38 (Mono) SWELPS38 (Stereo):
(LP) The Spotnicks in Tokyo
AUTUMN IN JAPAN / CRYING IN A STORM / DRUM DIDDLEY / FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE / HAPPY SILENCE / HUSKY / LOOK UP TO THE EVENING STAR / MEMORY OF SUMMER / ODE TO DAWN / PIERCING THE UNKNOWN / PLAYBOY'S BUNNY HOP / THE LONESOME PORT / THE OLD LOVE LETTERS
1966 SweDisc SWELP C 42:
(LP) The Spotnicks around the world
CASTING MY SPELL / GEISHA GIRL / GREEN EYES / HONGKONG BLUES / MOOD OF ASIA / PLÄTTLAGGEN / RECADO / SENTIMENTAL GUITAR / STEEL GUITAR RAG / SUBJECT IN ORBIT / TURISTA / USKA DARA / WHAT NOW MY LOVE / WORRYING KIND
1966 Phono-Pop P 119:
(3