Nicholas Beggs (born 15 December 1961Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 270-271) is an English musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the

Chapman Stick The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and is used to play bass lines, melody lines ...

; he is a member of

the Mute Gods The Mute Gods are an English progressive rock supergroup uniting Nick Beggs, Marco Minnemann and Roger King. Beggs approached King—with whom he had worked as part of Steve Hackett's band—about a collaboration in 2014, and Minnemann was chosen ...

and

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed in Leighton Buzzar ...

, formerly also a part of Iona and Ellis, Beggs & Howard and plays in the band of

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...

. He is known for modifying a Chapman Stick into a fully

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

-capable instrument triggering MIDI from both bass and melody strings; he calls it the Virtual Stick.

Early life

Beggs was born on 15 December 1961 in

Winslow, Buckinghamshire Winslow is a market town and civil parish designated as a town council in the north of the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It has a population of just over 4,400. It is located approximately south-east of Buckingham, and south ...

. His parents were Herby and Joan Beggs, and he has a younger sister, Jacqueline. His father left when he was young but came back into his life at a later age. In November 1979, Beggs' mother died of cancer, leaving him to care for his sister, who was then 15. He took a job as a dustman upon leaving school.

Career

Beggs' first band Johnny and the Martians (formed when he was 10) consisted of two friends on trumpet and acoustic guitar and Beggs on drums. He went to Linslade Secondary School. After attending art school, in 1978 Beggs formed the band Lawnmower with

Steve Askew Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single " Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed in Leighton Buzza ...

, Stuart Croxford Neale and

Jez Strode Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed in Leighton Buzzar ...

. Chris Hamill ( Limahl) joined the band in 1981 and at Beggs' suggestion it was renamed

. The release of the first single "

Too Shy "Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by English band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album ''White Feathers'', the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two we ...

" in January 1983 saw the band on a promotional tour as the record reached number 1 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The band went on to have four more UK top 40 hits throughout 1983 and 1984. After firing lead singer Limahl in 1983 and, following a split with Strode in 1985, the three remaining band members reformed as Kaja, releasing the album ''

Crazy Peoples Right to Speak ''Crazy Peoples Right to Speak'' is the third album by English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released in 1985 by Parlophone. The album was not a commercial success and failed to make the UK Top 100. The only single from the album, "Shouldn't Do That" ...

'' and the single " Shouldn't Do That". Between 1985 and 1987, Beggs concentrated on writing with various other songwriters and formed Ellis, Beggs & Howard in March 1987.Burnett, Bryan (1998)
Nick's Knack for Finding Success
, '' Evening Times'', 7 December 1988, p. 17, retrieved 2 July 2011 Ellis, Beggs and Howard split in 1989, and in 1990 Beggs joined the progressive

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

band Iona. He recorded two albums with them: ''The Book of Kells'' and ''Beyond These Shores''. He continued working with various artists and bands, including Gary Numan, Alphaville,

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

, Emma Bunton (on her album Life in Mono) and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's former bass player,

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

.Christman, Ed (1999)
Zeppelin's Jones Makes Solo Return
, '' Billboard'', 14 August 1999, p. 12, 15, retrieved 2 July 2011 In 1996, Beggs met Howard Jones on a flight from the United States, and Jones invited Beggs to tour as part of his band. Beggs worked as a manager for

Phonogram Records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany. Phonogram was the nam ...

for eight months. He later became a contributor to various guitar publications, and he is a staff writer for ''Bass Guitar'' magazine. He is also a patron of London-based guitar and bass school Guitar-X. He has recorded and released ''Stick Insect''"(2002), ''The Maverick Helmsman'' (2004), and ''The Darkness Inside Mens Hearts''. Beggs and Askew have been heavily involved with a duo named Industrial Salt, which have been successful in Japan. They have written material for Claudia Mills, a finalist on the talent show '' Let Me Entertain You''. A reformed Kajagoogoo with Beggs, Askew and Croxford Neale toured in 2004. Limahl and Strode both rejoined in 2008, and the band toured extensively. The band released an EP of new material in 2011. In an interview with Cherry Red TV in 2018, Beggs talked about the reunion, stating "we reformed and we toured and we recorded an EP and remastered the back catalogue...and at that point I felt that we had done it all. It was a nice way to tie it up, put a bow on it and leave it alone and move on." Since 2011, Beggs is a member of

's touring band, having also played on Wilson's albums '' Grace For Drowning'', '' The Raven That Refused to Sing'', '' Hand. Cannot. Erase.'', the EP '' 41/2'', '' To the Bone'' and ''

The Future Bites ''The Future Bites'' (stylised as ''THE FUTURE BITES™'') is the sixth studio album by British musician Steven Wilson. The album was initially set for release on 12 June 2020 through Caroline International, but later was pushed back to 29 January ...

''. In February 2013, Beggs's project

Lifesigns Lifesigns are an English progressive rock band, first conceived by lead singer and keys player John Young in 2008. By 2014, the band's lineup included Steve Rispin as their sound engineer, Jon Poole on bass and vocals, Martin "Frosty" Beedle on ...

, with

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

and Frosty Beedle, released a self-titled album. Beggs also became a member of the band Fish on Friday, which released an album named Godspeed at the end of 2014, and contributed to John Mitchell's solo project Lonely Robot, which released the album ''Please Come Home'' in February 2015. Beggs's latest collaboration is named

The Mute Gods The Mute Gods are an English progressive rock supergroup uniting Nick Beggs, Marco Minnemann and Roger King. Beggs approached King—with whom he had worked as part of Steve Hackett's band—about a collaboration in 2014, and Minnemann was chosen ...

, with Marco Minneman and Roger King. Their first album was released in January 2016, titled ''

Do Nothing till You Hear from Me "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (also written as "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me") is a song with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940 instrumental ("Concerto for Cootie") that was designed to highlight th ...

''. This was followed up with ''

Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth The Mute Gods are an English progressive rock supergroup uniting Nick Beggs, Marco Minnemann and Roger King. Beggs approached King—with whom he had worked as part of Steve Hackett's band—about a collaboration in 2014, and Minnemann was chose ...

'' in February 2017 and Atheists and Believers in 2019. Nick Beggs bassist

Personal life

From his first marriage to Eleni Gagoushi, which ended in 1994, he has one daughter, named Lula, who was born 29 May 1991. He has another daughter, Willow Beggs (b.2002), with his girlfriend Ann Staniford, whom he married in 2003. He is stepfather to his wife's three children: Olivia, Callum and Jake Keenan. Beggs currently lives in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. Beggs was a

pescetarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adults ...

for a while and currently is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

as of January 2016 due to his rejection of the livestock industry.

Discography

Ellis, Beggs and Howard

Singles

* "Big Bubbles No Troubles" –

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

PB 42089 – June 88 – # 59 UK * "Bad Times" – RCA PB 42041 – August 88 * "Where Did Tomorrow Go?" – RCA PB42317 – November 1988 * "Big Bubbles No Troubles" remix – RCA PB 42089 – February 89 – # 41 UK * "Big Bubbles No Troubles" remix – RCA PB 42788 – April 1989

Albums

*''Homelands'' – RCA – 1988 *''The Lost Years Volume One'' – available from Nick Beggs website *''The Lost Years Volume Two'' – again, available from Nick Beggs website as of February 2010

Lifesigns

*''Lifesigns'' – Esoteric Antenna – 2013

Solo

Albums

* ''Stick Insect'', 2002 CD Stick Enterprises * ''The Maverick Helmsman'', 2004 CD Stick Enterprises * ''The Darkness Inside Mens Hearts'', 2014 Burning Shed: a compilation of the solo Chapman Stick pieces from his two albums ''Stick Insect'' (2002) and ''The Maverick Helmsman'' (2004) * ''Words Fail Me'', 2019 CD Cherry Red Records

With other artists

With Steve Hackett *''

Out of the Tunnel's Mouth ''Out of the Tunnel's Mouth'' is the 20th studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett, released in October 2009 by Wolfwork and EAR Music. Hackett started recording the album in 2008 while he was involved in a legal case against ...

'', 2009 *''

Beyond the Shrouded Horizon ''Beyond the Shrouded Horizon'' is the twenty-first studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett. Background and recording "Loch Lomond" is named after the loch of the same name in Scotland. Hackett described the track as bl ...

'', 2011 *''

Live Rails ''Live Rails'' is an album by musician Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Ge ...

'', 2011 *'' Genesis Revisited II'', 2012 With Steven Wilson *'' Grace For Drowning'', 2011 *'' Catalog / Preserve / Amass'' (live), 2012 *'' Get All You Deserve'' (live), 2012 *'' The Raven that Refused to Sing'', 2013 *'' Drive Home'', 2013 *'' Hand. Cannot. Erase.'', 2015 * '' 4½'', 2016 * '' To the Bone'', 2017 * ''Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall'', 2018 * ''

'', 2021 With Lonely Robot (i.e. John Mitchell) *''Please Come Home'', 2015 With The Mute Gods *''

'' (2016) *''

Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth The Mute Gods are an English progressive rock supergroup uniting Nick Beggs, Marco Minnemann and Roger King. Beggs approached King—with whom he had worked as part of Steve Hackett's band—about a collaboration in 2014, and Minnemann was chose ...

'' (2017) *''Atheists and Believers'' (2019) With Trifecta *''Fragments'' (2021)

References

External links

Official website

KajaGooGoo official website

KajaFax – The KajaGooGoo fan community

Facebook page for Lifesigns

The Mute Gods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beggs, Nick 1961 births Living people People from Winslow, Buckinghamshire English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English new wave musicians Chapman Stick players Lifesigns members