Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suz ...

he had a long string of

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international number-one records. The duo wrote hits for

the Sweet The Sweet (often shortened to just Sweet), are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer M ...

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...

, Mud,

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, Arrows, Racey, Smokie,

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempo ...

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

and

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...

Career

Chinn was born in London to an affluent Jewish family that owned a string of service stations and car sales distributorships. As a young man his talent for writing successful pop songs was obvious and within a month or two of his first efforts as a songwriter, Chinn co-wrote with Mike d'Abo the two main songs for the hit film, ''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'' (1970). It was at this point that Chinn met Australian-born Mike Chapman, who was a waiter at a night club Chinn frequented, and they decided to team up. Chapman was already a professional musician and songwriter with the band Tangerine Peel, and the two quickly joined up with

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Ch ...

's RAK

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. They began writing songs for a new

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

band,

The Sweet The Sweet (often shortened to just Sweet), are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer M ...

, and their compositions accounted for all the singles the band released in their early years. Chinn's and Chapman's songwriting style was so successful with British and worldwide audiences that Sweet had an uninterrupted string of million-selling hits in the next few years. These included "Co-Co", "Little Willy", "Wig-Wam Bam", "

Blockbuster! "Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK No. 1 hit. Released in January 1973, it spent five w ...

" "

The Ballroom Blitz "The Ballroom Blitz" (often called "Ballroom Blitz") is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The song reached number one in Canada, number two in the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Chart, an ...

", "Hell Raiser" and "Teenage Rampage". "Ballroom Blitz" entered 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 ...

at number two – an unusual feat. "Little Willy" and "Ballroom Blitz" both went on to be top five hits in America. Chinn and Chapman stopped working with Sweet in 1975 but achieved equal success worldwide with

, for whom they wrote many hits. These included "

48 Crash "48 Crash" is Suzi Quatro's third solo single and was released after "Can the Can". It was included on her debut album ''Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In th ...

" and the No.1 singles "

Can the Can "Can the Can" is the second solo single by American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro and her first to reach number one in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the chart in June 1973. It also reached number one on the European and Australi ...

" and "

Devil Gate Drive "Devil Gate Drive" is a song by American singer Suzi Quatro. It was Quatro's second (and final) solo number one single in the UK, spending two weeks at the top of the chart in February 1974. According to ukcharts.20m.com, she only reached numbe ...

". Chinn and Chapman found their next big success with Mud, who had hits with a number of their compositions between 1973 and 1975, including two number ones in "

Tiger Feet Tiger Feet is a popular song by the English glam rock band Mud, released in January 1974. Written and produced by the songwriting team of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, it was the first of three number No. 1 singles for the band, in the UK Singles ...

" and "

Lonely This Christmas "Lonely This Christmas" is a Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling over 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one. Song Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, ...

". Smokie became Chinn and Chapman's next project and they had a number of hit singles with them between 1975 and 1978 including the worldwide hit "

Living Next Door to Alice "Living Next Door to Alice" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Originally released by Australian pop band New World in 1972, the song charted at No. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for British ...

". In 1978, the two scored their first number one in the United States with Exile's "

Kiss You All Over "Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by American group Exile, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was included on the band's third album, ''Mixed Emotions'' (1978), and featured lead vocalist Jimmy Stokley and guitarist J.P. Pen ...

", and Suzi Quatro's duet with Smokie's lead singer

Chris Norman Christopher Ward Norman (born 25 October 1950) is an English soft rock singer. Norman was the original lead singer of the English rock band Smokie, (1964–1986), who found success in Europe in the 1970s. " Stumblin' In", a 1978 duet with Suz ...

, "

Stumblin' In "Stumblin' In" is a song written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, performed by Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro. Originally released as a standalone single, it was later added to some editions of the Quatro album '' If You Knew Suzi...'' It was Nor ...

", reached number four in the same year. In 1982 "

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

" by

gave the two their second American number one, and in the mid 1980s they had top ten hits with Tina Turner's " Better Be Good to Me", and Huey Lewis's " Heart and Soul".

1980s–2000s

Chinn and Chapman gradually separated during the early 1980s, finally splitting up in 1983. Chinn's 12-year stint with Chapman had made him co-writer of over fifty Top 40 hits. In 1983 he co-wrote " Dancing in the Dark", a UK hit for

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single " Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Awar ...

. During their careers they were recipients of three

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for songwriting, including the Jimmy Kennedy award for outstanding career achievement in 1997. During the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Nicky Chinn suffered from ill health causing an enforced break in his career. He returned in 2004 and started working with various writers including

Jorgen Elofsson Jorgen may refer to: *Jørgen, a Scandinavian masculine given name *Jörgen Jörgen is a village in the municipality of Tieschen in the ''Bezirk'' of Südoststeiermark in the Federal State of Styria in Austria. Its population was 159 in 2016 ...

, and they wrote "You Must Have Had a Broken Heart" for

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

's 2006 album '' Back Home'', which went to number one in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

selling over a million copies. Chinn now spends time in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, working with many writers there. He co-wrote " Live Like There's No Tomorrow" recorded by

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

for her 2010 album, ''

A Year Without Rain ''A Year Without Rain'' is the second studio album by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene. The album was released on September 21, 2010, via Hollywood Records. Gomez worked with Rock Mafia duo Tim James and Antonina Armato, as well as Fe ...

'', which debuted at number 4 on the

Billboard Top 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artis ...

albums chart. The song was also featured in her Disney movie ''

Ramona and Beezus ''Ramona and Beezus'' is a 2010 American family adventure comedy film based on the Ramona series of novels written by Beverly Cleary.Vena, Jocely"Selena Gomez To Star In 'Ramona and Beezus' Movie."MTV.com, 2009-02-06.Kilday, Gregg"Young actress ...

''. Also while in Nashville he co-wrote "A Beautiful Life", which was recorded by Donny and

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and p ...

for their 2010 album, ''Donny & Marie''.

Singles

* 1971: :

: "Tom Tom Turnaround", "Kara, Kara" :

: "Funny Funny", "Co-Co", "Alexander Graham Bell" * 1972: : Peter Noone: "Shoo Be Doo Ah" :New World: "Sister Jane", "Living Next Door to Alice", :The Sweet: " Poppa Joe", " Little Willy", "

Wig-Wam Bam "Wig-Wam Bam" is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, released as a single in September 1972. It was the first Sweet single on which the band members actually played their instruments, ...

" * 1973: : Mud: "Crazy", "Hypnosis", " Dyna-mite" :New World: "Rooftop Singing" :

: "

", "

Daytona Demon “Daytona Demon” is the fourth solo single and third UK hit by Suzi Quatro, released in 1973. The song is frequently believed to be a revision of Freddy Cannon's "Tallahassee Lassie" and a reference to Daytona Beach in Florida in which Quatro's ...

" :The Sweet: "

Block Buster! "Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK No. 1 hit. Released in January 1973, it spent five ...

", "Hellraiser", "

" * 1974: : Arrows: "

Touch Too Much "Touch Too Much" is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was released on their 1979 album ''Highway to Hell'', their last with lead vocalist Bon Scott, who died the following year. Overview The song was performed by Scott and AC/D ...

", "Toughen Up" :Mud: "

", "The Cat Crept In", "Rocket", "

" :Suzi Quatro: "

", "Too Big", "The Wild One" :The Sweet: "Teenage Rampage", " The Six Teens", "Turn It Down" * 1975: :Mud: "The Secrets That You Keep", "Moonshine Sally" (originally recorded in 1972), :Suzi Quatro: "Your Mama Won’t Like Me", "I Bit Off More Than I Could Chew" : Smokie: " Pass It Around" " If You Think You Know How to Love Me", "

Don't Play Your Rock 'n' Roll to Me "Don't Play Your Rock 'n' Roll to Me" is a song by British rock band Smokie. It was released in early September 1975 as a single and appeared later on the album '' Changing All the Time''. Like the band's previous two singles " Pass It Around" an ...

" * 1976: :Smokie: " Something's Been Making Me Blue", " Wild Wild Angels", " I'll Meet You at Midnight", "

" * 1977: :

: "Try it On" :Smokie: "

Lay Back in the Arms of Someone "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, performed by the English band Smokie. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Cover versions *The song was covered by American country music artist Rand ...

", " It's Your Life", :Suzi Quatro: "Tear Me Apart" * 1978: :Exile: "

", "You Thrill Me" :Smokie: "

For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' ( it, Per qualche dollaro in più) is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor ...

", " Oh Carol" :Suzi Quatro: "If You Can't Give Me Love" :Suzi Quatro &

: "

" : Racey: "

Lay Your Love on Me "Lay Your Love on Me" is a pop song by the British pop group Racey; it was their second single release. The song was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, produced by Mickie Most and released in 1978 on the RAK Records label. It was their f ...

" * 1979: :Exile: "How Could This Go Wrong", "The Part of Me That Needs You Most" :Racey: "

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

" :Suzi Quatro: "Don't Change My Luck", "She’s in Love with You" * 1981: :Exile: " Heart and Soul" :

: "

" * 1983: :

: "Heart and Soul" * 1984: :

: " Better Be Good to Me"

References

External links

Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinn, Nicky 1945 births Living people Musicians from London English songwriters English record producers