Nick Sheppard is a British guitarist. He played lead guitar for

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

from 1983 until the band's breakup in 1986.

Life and career

Sheppard was educated at

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

, one of Bristol's leading public schools, and was in the same year as fellow musician Mark Stewart of

The Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed d ...

. He started at 16 with

The Cortinas The Cortinas were a Bristol-based punk rock band, originally active between 1976 and 1978. Guitarist Nick Sheppard went on to play with the Clash. In 2001, the band's debut single, "Fascist Dictator" (originally released in June 1977), was i ...

, named after a well-known British car, the

Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fi ...

. The band moved from R&B towards covering songs by punk forerunners like the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

. "In retrospect, I suppose we were very hip," Sheppard says. "We were listening to the right records, as we were right there at the right time." The Cortinas' singles, "Fascist Dictator" and "Defiant Pose" both appeared on Step Forward, the label run by

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

manager Miles Copeland, as did their only album "True Romances". The band split up in September 1978, after which Sheppard played in a number of bands, including

The Viceroys The Viceroys, also known as The Voiceroys, The Interns, The Inturns, The Brothers, and The Hot Tops, are a reggae vocal group who first recorded in 1967. After releasing several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they split up in the mid ...

and The Spics, a Bristol-based

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

. Sheppard moved to California, then back to Britain. When

sacked Mick Jones in 1983, Sheppard and

Vince White Gregory Stuart Lee White (born 31 March 1960) better known as Vince White, is a British guitarist, best known as one of the guitarists recruited by The Clash to replace Mick Jones after he was fired from the band in 1983. Biography Vince White ...

replaced him, and he toured America and Europe with them in 1984, playing on their final album ''

Cut the Crap ''Cut the Crap'' is the sixth and final studio album by English punk band the Clash, released on 4 November 1985 by CBS Records. It was recorded in early 1985 at Weryton Studios, Munich, following a turbulent period: co-founder, lead guitari ...

''. The album attracted criticism through manager

Bernie Rhodes Bernard Rhodes is a designer, band manager, studio owner, record producer and songwriter who was integral to the development of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom from the middle 1970s. He is most associated with two of the UK's best kn ...

' intrusive production and use of a drum machine. When "This Is England" reached a number 24 in the UK charts, Sheppard is quoted as saying: "I remember sitting in a different city watching it, thinking, 'There isn't a band'". The Clash finally split up shortly afterwards. From 1986 to 1989 he collaborated with

Gareth Sager Gareth Sager (born 10 August 1960 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British guitarist, keyboardist, musician, composer and songwriter, and is a founding member of The Pop Group, Rip Rig + Panic (with Neneh Cherry), Float Up CP and Head (band), Head ...

(formerly of

and

Rip Rig + Panic Rest in peace (RIP), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace. ...

) in

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

, but their three albums made little impact. Sheppard next worked with Koozie Johns in Shot, which signed with

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave ...

in 1991, with Copeland as manager; the band's recordings were never released. Sheppard moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia in 1993, and has formed/played in two local bands, Heavy Smoker and the New Egyptian Kings with

Shakir Pichler Shakir Pichler (born August, 1967 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian Drummer, Singer, and feature film Action Vehicle Coordinator. Shakir joined his first performing rock band, the WAMI award-winning The Kryptonics in Perth, Western ...

. Sheppard owns the Elroy clothing store on

Beaufort Street Beaufort Street is a major road in the inner north-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting the Morley area to the Perth central business district. For most of its length, it is a single-carriageway, two-way road with two lanes i ...

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. In July 2002, it was suggested that he would be guest guitarist on a Japanese tour with Koozie Johns' new band, Sinnerstar, but the tour was cancelled. In 2007 Sheppard formed The DomNicks with

Dom Mariani Domenic Desio Mariani (born 27 July 1958) is an Australian guitarist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter. Mariani has been a member of several bands since the early 1980s, including The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, Datura, The Majestic Kelp and ...

(

The Stems The Stems are a garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band formed in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983. They were founded by Dom Mariani in late 1983. The Stems are heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. The band ini ...

The Someloves The Someloves were an alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia which formed in 1986. They were led by Dom Mariani (also a member of The Stems), on guitar and lead vocals; and Darryl Mather (ex- The Lime Spiders) on lead guitar. The gr ...

, DM3), together with bass player Howard Shawcross (The Elks) and drummer Marz Frisina (

The Chevelles The Chevelles are a power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. They formed in 1989 and have toured Australia, Europe, the United States and South America. Biography Pre-Chevelles The Chevelles' founding members are Guy Douglas on drums, J ...

). This combo play a mix of Mariani and Sheppard originals with a spread of 1960s and 1970s garage rock and soul material. In 2009 they released an EP, ''Hey Rock 'n' Roller'', which was produced by Wayne Connolly ( The Vines,

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

). The DomNicks toured with the

Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...

and performed in Sydney and Melbourne at the

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

tribute concert, 'Revolution Rock'.

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

Artist Direct biography

Sheppard playing with The Spics on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Nick 1960 births English punk rock guitarists Living people Musicians from Bristol People educated at Bristol Grammar School The Clash members