Nick Garrie (born Nicholas Miansarow, 22 June 1949),
[ Biography by Jason Ankeny, ''Allmusic.com'']
Retrieved 16 September 2019 also known as Nick Hamilton or Nick Garrie-Hamilton, is a British singer-songwriter.
Life and career
Garrie was born in
Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
in the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, to a Russian father and Scottish mother whose surname he adopted. After spending most of his teens in a boarding school in France, he attended the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...
in England, and began writing songs as well as poems. Around 1968, while backpacking around Europe, he began performing in bars and restaurants, and recorded an unreleased LP in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
[
He resumed his studies at Warwick, and was then contacted by the Paris-based record label DiscAZ, headed by Lucien Morisse, who offered him a recording contract. Garrie recorded an unreleased single, "Queen of Spades", with producer ]Mickey Baker
MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia.
Early life
Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His ...
, and then an album, ''The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas''. The album was produced by Eddie Vartan, who had previously worked with his sister Sylvie Vartan
Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; hy, Սիլվի Ժորժ Վարդանյան. on 15 August 1944) is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. ...
and her husband Johnny Hallyday
Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France.
During a career spanning 57 ...
. Vartan hired a 56-piece symphony orchestra for the sessions, against the wishes of Garrie who "later bemoaned the detrimental effects of such lush orchestration on his delicate, uncommonly literate songs".[ The record was briefly released in France, but label boss Lucien Morisse committed suicide soon afterwards, and Garrie's album was not widely distributed. Original copies of the album became expensive, and it was not until 2005, when ]Rev-ola Records
Rev-Ola Records is a British independent record label formed in 1990 that specializes in reissues, as well as select new releases. The label is headed by Joe Foster, a former child actor and musician/producer. He, along with Alan McGee and ...
reissued it, that it was available on compact disc. In 2010, Elefant Records re-issued the album as a deluxe edition with newly recorded songs written in the late 1960s, demos of the originals and a short book written by the artist.
Garrie then withdrew from performing and recording, returning in 1976 under the alias of Nick Hamilton – a family name – to record the single "Un Instant de Vie" with Francis Lai
Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film ''Love Story''. The so ...
, a friend and admirer of his earlier album. He then managed a ski resort in the Swiss Alps for several years, but in 1983 returned with the single "Back in 1930", produced in France by Paul Samwell-Smith, followed by an album, ''Suitcase Man'', on the Spanish Picap label. The album was arranged and co-produced by guitarist Alun Davies, best known for his work with Cat Stevens, and other musicians included drummer Gerry Conway
Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...
. It was successful in Spain, and Garrie supported Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
on his concerts there.[
Garrie started to become better known in the English-speaking world after a track, "Wheel of Fortune", appeared on a ]psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included "trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...
compilation album, ''Circus Days''. In 1988, again under the name Nick Hamilton, he recorded another album, ''The Playing Fields'', with producer Peter-John Vettese
Peter-John Vettese (born 15 August 1956 in Scotland), also known as Peter Vettese, is a Scottish keyboardist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Vettese is perhaps best known for being the keyboardist for progressive rock band Jethro Tul ...
, previously of Jethro Tull. In the 1990s, he toured Japan and Korea, and wrote songs, with Francis Lai. He returned to France to work as a teacher, and in 2002 released the album ''Twelve Old Songs''.[ In late 2005 the British reissue label Rev-Ola released ''The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas'' to much critical acclaim, adding the "Queen of Spades" single as well as several unreleased Belgian demos.
Over the next few years, Garrie became more active as a performer, making his first ever U.S. appearance and playing throughout Europe. In 2009, Elefant Records put out a collection of Garrie's new songs entitled ''49 Arlington Gardens'', recorded with Scottish musicians in Glasgow, including Duglas T. Stewart ( BMX Bandits), Norman Blake ( Teenage Fanclub), Francis Macdonald (Teenage Fanclub) and Ally Kerr (singer-songwriter). In June 2012, for the first time in over 40 years, Garrie performed ''The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas'' in its entirety – with a string section and members of Trembling Bells – at the ]Primavera Sound
Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espanyo ...
festival in Barcelona to a rapturous reception and critical acclaim.
In recent years Garrie has played Shepherd's Bush Empire (with Camera Obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole.
''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...
), Celtic Connections
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of tra ...
(Glasgow), Tanned Tin (Barcelona), Tonic (New York), L'International (Paris), Lemonpop, Easypop and Felipop (Spain), Jacco Gardner (Netherlands) and Altafidelidad (Madrid and Barcelona). In 2017, Tapete Records
Tapete Records is an independent record label based in Hamburg, Germany.
It was founded in 2002 by Gunther Buskies and Dirk Darmstaedter and primarily focused on Deutschpop Bands such as Erdmöbel, Niels Frevert, Tele and Anajo. Since 2005 T ...
released Garrie's most recent work, ''The Moon and the Village''. It was produced by two members of The Ladybug Transistor.
Discography
Nick Garrie
* ''The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas'' (1968)
* ''49 Arlington Gardens'' (2009)
* ''The Moon and the Village'' (2017)
Nick Hamilton
* ''Suitcase Man'' (1984)
* ''The Playing Fields'' (1988)
* ''Twelve Old Songs'' (2002)
References
External links
Official website
Review of ''The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas''
at ''Crawdaddy!
''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...
''
Off-Stage Video Recording Session
with ''They Shoot Music Don't They''
Tanned Tin Festival in Castellon, Spain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrie, Nick
1949 births
Living people
English male singers
English songwriters
People from Ripon
Tapete Records artists
Alumni of the University of Warwick
British male songwriters