''Nigel Lived'' is the first album by the British vocalist and actor
Murray Head
Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a mus ...
, released in 1973 on
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
.
It is a
concept album which tells the story of Nigel, a young singer who arrives in London seeking a career in the music business. His early optimism gives way to disillusionment, struggle, and finally
heroin addiction. The original vinyl release came in an elaborate package, with a lyric sheet featuring pages from Nigel's diary to depict the course of his gradual disintegration.
In 2017 Intervention Records reissued ''Nigel Lived'' on 180-gram double 45RPM vinyl. The reissue was 100% analog mastered using the original master tapes provided to the label by the original sound engineer on the project,
Phill Brown
Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career
Brow ...
. The album quickly became Intervention’s best selling reissue ever
and resulted in Murray Head’s decision to perform songs from the album live for the first time eve
Track listing
Side One (labelled "Success"):
#"Pacing On the Station" – 4:55
#"Big City" – 3:29
#"Bed & Breakfast" – 2:28
#"The Party" – 3:13
#"Ruthie" – 3:19
#"City Scurry" – 1:58
#"When You Wake Up in the Morning" – 3:10
Side Two ("Failure"):
#"Why Do We Have to Hurt Our Heads" – 3:13
#"Pity the Poor Consumer" – 2:29
#"Dole" – 3:05
#"Nigel, Nigel" – 2:11
#"Miss Illusion" – 2:18
#"Religion" – 4:46
#"Junk" – 8:49
Background
This album followed Head's appearance as
Judas Iscariot, Judas, a leading role on the recording of the
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
''
Jesus Christ Superstar'', and his subsequent 1971 single "
Superstar
A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...
".
His supporting musicians include the Giles brothers of
Giles, Giles and Fripp
Giles, Giles and Fripp were an English rock group, formed in Bournemouth, Dorset in August 1967. It featured brothers Michael Giles on drums and vocals and Peter Giles on bass guitar and vocals, and Robert Fripp on guitar. The band's music sh ...
, a group which evolved into
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
.
Personnel
*Murray Head – vocals; acoustic guitar on "Ruthie"
*Mark Warner – acoustic guitar on tracks 1,3-5,10,12-14, electric guitar on tracks 2,6,7,9,14, slide guitar on tracks 3,6,7
*
Dave Wintour
David M. Wintour (1 September 1944 – 12 July 2022) was a British bass guitarist and session musician.
Wintour was born on 1 September 1944 in Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire and died on 12 July 2022 in Drumnacross, Kilraine.
Dave Wintour is be ...
– bass guitar on tracks 5,7,9,11
*
Peter Giles – bass guitar on "Junk"
*
Phil Chen
Phillip David Chen (21 October 1946 – 14 December 2021) was a Jamaican bassist. He was one of England's most utilized session bassists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Jeff Beck, and the Rod Stewart band from 1977 to 1980, but is prob ...
– bass guitar on "The Party" and "Religion"
*
Clive Chaman
Clive Chaman (born 5 September 1949) is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician, born in Trinidad and Tobago.
After appearing on Ram John Holder's 1969 ''London Blues'' album, Chaman became a member of the second Jeff Beck Group in 197 ...
– bass guitar on tracks 1,2,6,8
*
Spike Heatley
Brian John Heatley (17 February 1933 – 10 November 2021), better known as Spike Heatley, was a British jazz double bassist.
Early life
Heatley was born in Muswell Hill, North London in February 1933.
Career
He appeared with Vic Ash's sextet ...
– double bass on "Bed & Breakfast" and "Dole"
*
Peter Robinson – electric
Clavinet on "The Party", electric piano on "Big City", church organ on "Pity the Poor Consumer", piano on tracks 1,2,8,14
*
Fiachra Trench
Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench (born 7 September 1941, in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
Trench first studied Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before moving on to t ...
– conductor, pipe organ on "Miss Illusion", piano on "Dole"
*John Donnelly – flugelhorn on "Bed & Breakfast", trumpet on "City Scurry"
*Nick DeCaro – accordion on "Miss Illusion"; string and horn arrangements
*James Harpham – contrabass on "Bed & Breakfast"
*
Tony Coe
Anthony George Coe (born 29 November 1934) is an English jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones.
Career
Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self- ...
– clarinet on "Bed & Breakfast" and "When Do You Wake Up in the Morning", saxophone on tracks 1,6,14
*Jimmy Chester – baritone saxophone on "Bed & Breakfast", saxophone on tracks 1,6,14
*Jimmy Hastings – saxophone on "Pacing On the Station" and "Junk"
*
Tommy Whittle
Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) was a British jazz saxophonist.
Biography
Tommy Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by A ...
– saxophone on "Pacing On the Station" and "Junk"
*Chris Mercer – baritone saxophone on "Dole", electric saxophone on "Bed & Breakfast", plastic saxophone on "The Party", tenor saxophone on "Big City"
*
Henry Lowther – trumpet on "City Scurry"
*David Chapman – trombone on "Nigel, Nigel"
*Dave Charman - trombone on "Bed & Breakfast" and "City Scurry"
*Martin Fry – tuba on "Religion"
*Ralph Ho – horn
*
Michael Giles – drums on tracks 7,9,11,14, percussion on "Ruthie"
*
Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, B ...
– drums on tracks 1,2,6,8
*Miguel Baradas – steel drums on "Religion"
*
Ray Cooper – percussion on "Bed & Breakfast" and "Miss Illusion"
*
Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist.
Early life and education
Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...
– congas on "The Party", bass marimba on "Miss Illusion"
*Barry De Souza – congas on "Big City" and "The Party", drums on "Religion"
*Glen LeFleur – drums on "The Party"
*
Chris Karan
Chris Karan (born Chrisostomos Karanikis, 14 October 1939) is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent.
Life and career
Karan was born in 1939 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Karan played in The Three Out t ...
– tabla on "Religion"
*
Sue Glover – vocals
*
Sunny Leslie
Sue and Sunny were a British vocal duo and session singers operating in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Although sisters, their stage names were Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. For three years (1969-1972) they were members of British pop group The Bro ...
– vocals
*Friendly Sisters – backing vocals
*Kay Garner – backing vocals on tracks 1,2,12
*Sue Garner – backing vocals
*
Skaila Kanga
Skaila Kanga (born in India) is a harpist and Professor Emerita of Harp at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After winning a Junior Exhibition to the Royal Academy of Music for piano, she switched to harp studies at age 17. She studied wit ...
– electric harp on "Religion"
*
Chris Neil
Chris Neil (born June 18, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Neil was originally drafted in the sixth round, 161st overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators, and played his entire NHL career with ...
– harmonica on "Pacing On the Station"
*Graham Preskett – mandolin on "Miss Illusion", electric violin on "Why Do You Have to Hurt Our Heads"
*Michael Rennie – strings, violin
*Jack Rothstein – violin strings on tracks 5,7,11
*Timothy Bond - choirmaster on "Religion"
;Technical
*
Phill Brown
Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career
Brow ...
- chief engineer
References
*
''Nigel Lived''at
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
.
Murray Head albums
1973 debut albums
Concept albums
Albums produced by Joe Wissert
CBS Records albums
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