NMR005-011

"Nicolodeon - The Jimmy Nicol Anthology"

"When you've played with the best, the rest is just, well, the rest." Jimmy Nicol ‘87.

In 1968 Andy Warhol said,"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."

So far as the majority of Beatles fans are concerned, he could just as well have been talking about the past......and in particular Jimmy Nicol.

It was Jimmy , who temporarily replaced Ringo as the Beatles drummer for ten whirlwind days for their tour of the Netherlands and the first date in Australia.

On the 14th of June 1964 Jimmy flew back to England and so far as the world was concerned, disappeared back into the obscurity from which he had briefly emerged.

As is usually the case, the truth is a whole lot different.

Jimmys recording career began in the late 1950s when between 1957 and 1959 he was the drummer with Colin Hicks and the Cabin Boys. Colin actually being the brother of a more famous artist, Tommy Steele.

Before that, he had been a drum repairer/technician with Boosey and Hawkes and had also occupied the drummers seat in a few very well known big bands,1960: The Oscar Rabin Band. 1961: and The Cyril Stapleton Big Band.

Following his departure from the Cabin Boys,he joined another fledgling Rock and Roll outfit Vince Eager and the Quite Three until 1960.

The trail then grows cold so far as recordings are concerned as Jimmy seems to have been involved almost exclisively in session work , including jobs with musicians from the orchestras of Ted Heath and Johnny Dankworth.

Rumours persist that he was a member of Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames in 1964, and whilst it is true that he played at the Flamingo Club, where the Blue Flames were the House Band..there is no trace of him on the recordings that they made at the time.

However in 1964 he formed his own band , The Shubdubs whilst continuing his session work.

He had worked for George Martin on both a Tommy Quickly recording session and possibly others on the NEMS roster.A set of recordings entitled Beatlemania featuring a number of Beatles songs also had Jimmie on drums.. When Ringo was hospitalised, it was George who recommended him to Brian Epstein as a replacement.

He rehearsed with John Paul and George at Abbey Road but sadly no recordings seem to exist.

Once back in England , Jimmy reformed the Shubdubs and during 1964 and 1965 they toured extensively. During this time Jimmy also released a solo single as The Sound of Jimmy Nicol.

Between 1965 and 1967 he was a member of the well-known Swedish guitar group The Spotnicks who rush-released a single, The Spotnicks Introducing Jimmy Nicol, titled Husky and Drum Diddley.

In 1967, Nicol lived in Mexico working with samba & bossa nova groups, amongst whom were an outfit called Blue Rain.

He married and had a son, Howard, who in the 1990s was to win an award as sound engineer for his work on a BBC collection of Beatles recordings.

In 1969, he recorded "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (sung in Spanish) with his own band, "Jimmie Nicol Show".

It is here that our story ends.

Sadly we have been unable to trace all of Jimmys recordings, those which have eluded us are

"The Shubdubs" (1964):

Baby Please Don't Go

Shubdubery

Solo single as "The Sound of Jimmy Nicol" (1965):

Clementine

Bim Bam

and Jumpin' Jack Flash (sung in Spanish by "Jimmie Nicol Show").

It is not known if “Blue Rain” ever enterd the recording studio.

What remains is we hope definitive .

Mister Moonlight.

Thanks to Chris (from Down Under) & Mark for their help.

CD 01 - Pre-Beatles:

01 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Wild Eyes And Tender Lips (SP, 1957)

02 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Empty Arms Blues (SP, 1957)

03 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - La Dee Dah (SP, 1958)

04 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Wasteland (SP, 1958)

05 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Little Boy Blue (SP, 1958)

06 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Jambalaya (SP, 1958)

07 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Brand New Cadillac (SP, 1959)

08 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Sexy Rock (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

09 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Johnny Be Good (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

10 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Giddy Up A Ding Dong (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

11 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Book Of Love (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

12 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Twenty Flight Rock (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

13 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Lea Iea (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

14 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Oh Boy (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

15 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Tutti Frutti (Europa Di Notte OST, 1959)

16 Jimmy Nicol & the Shubdubs - Humpty Dumpty (SP, 1964)

17 Jimmy Nicol & the Shubdubs - Night Train (SP, 1964)

18 Jimmy Nicol & the Shubdubs - Husky (SP, 1964)

19 Jimmy Nicol & the Shubdubs - Don't Come Back (SP, 1964)

20 Beatle Mania Special - She Loves You (EP, 1964)

21 Beatle Mania Special - Twist And Shout (EP, 1964)

22 Beatle Mania Special - Please Please Me (EP, 1964)

23 Beatle Mania Special - I Want To Hold Your Hand (EP, 1964)

24 Beatle Mania Special - From Me To You (EP, 1964)

25 Beatle Mania Special - Love Me Do (EP, 1964)

26 BONUS - The Sound of Jimmy Nicol - Roaring Blue (segment from SP, 1965)

CD 02 - with "The Beatles":

01 Meeting Jimmy Nicol (Abbey Road Rehearsal)

02 Interview 04.06.1964 (Copenhagen Airport)

03 I Saw Her Standing There (Copenhagen 1964)

04 I Want To Hold Your Hand (Copenhagen 1964)

05 All My Loving (Copenhagen 1964)

06 She Loves You (Copenhagen 1964)

07 Till There Was You (Copenhagen 1964)

08 Roll Over Beethoven (Copenhagen 1964)

09 Can't Buy Me Love (Copenhagen 1964)

10 This Boy (Copenhagen 1964)

11 Thanks To Jimmy (Copenhagen 1964)

12 Twist And Shout (Copenhagen 1964)

13 Pathe News (Arrival In Amsterdam)

14 Press Conference 05.06.1964 (Amsterdam, Airport)

15 Interview 05.06.1964 (Amsterdam, Doelen Hotel)

16 Interview (The Beatles In Nederland)

17 She Loves You (The Beatles In Nederland)

18 All My Loving (The Beatles In Nederland)

19 Twist And Shout (The Beatles In Nederland)

20 Roll Over Beethoven (The Beatles In Nederland)

21 Long Tall Sally (The Beatles In Nederland)

22 Can't Buy Me Love (The Beatles In Nederland)

23 Intro (Blokker 1964 -early)

24 I Saw Her Standing There (Blokker 1964 -early)

25 I Want To Hold Your Hand (Blokker 1964 -early)

26 Intro (Blokker 1964 -early)

27 All My Loving (Blokker 1964 -early)

28 She Loves You (Blokker 1964 -early)

29 Intro (Blokker 1964 -early)

30 Twist And Shout (Blokker 1964 -early)

31 Long Tall Sally (Blokker 1964 -early)

CD 03 - with "The Beatles":

32 Intro (Blokker 1964 -late)

33 I Saw Her Standing There (Blokker 1964 -late)

34 I Want To Hold Your Hand (Blokker 1964 -late)

35 Intro (Blokker 1964 -late).mp3 36 All My Loving (Blokker 1964 -late)

36 All My Loving (Blokker 1964 -late).mp3

37 Interview by Bob Rogers 07.06.1964 (flight from London to Hong Kong)

38 Press Conference 08.06.1964 (President Hotel, Hong Kong)

39 Interview 08.06.1964 (President Hotel, Hong Kong)

40 Interview by Bob Rogers 10.06.1964 (Hong Kong Airport)

41 Interview by John Edwards 11.06.1964 (Darwin Airport)

42 Radio Coverage 11.06.1964 (Mascot Airport)

43 Press Conference 11.06.1964 (Sheraton Hotel, Sydney)

44 Interview by Bob Rogers 11.06.1964 (Sheraton Hotel, Sydney)

CD 04 - with "The Beatles":

45 Interview by Bob Rogers 12.06.1964 (flight from Sydney to Adelaide)

46 Radio Coverage 12.06.1964 (Town Hall, Adelaide)

47 Press Conference 12.06.1964 (South Australian Hotel, Adelaide)

48 Intro (Adelaide 1964)

49 I Saw Her Standing There (Adelaide 1964)

50 I Want To Hold Your Hand (Adelaide 1964)

51 All My Loving (Adelaide 1964)

52 She Loves You (Adelaide 1964)

53 Till There Was You (Adelaide 1964)

54 Roll Over Beethoven (Adelaide 1964)

55 Can't Buy Me Love (Adelaide 1964)

56 This Boy (Adelaide 1964)

57 Twist And Shout (Adelaide 1964)

58 Long Tall Sally (Adelaide 1964)

59 Outro (Adelaide 1964)

60 Press Conference 5 Members 14.06.1964 (Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne)

61 Farewell To Jimmy 14.06.1964 (Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne)

62 Jimmy Nicol Leaves 15.06.1964 (Essendon Airport, Melbourne)

CD 05 - With 'The Spotnicks':

01 - Husky (Spotnicks Introducing Jimmie Nicol SP 1965 + In Tokyo 1966)

02 - Drum Diddley (Spotnicks Introducing Jimmie Nicol SP 1965 + In Tokyo 1966)

03 - Autumn In Japan (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

04 - memory of summer (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

05 - look up to the evening star (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

06 - the old love letters (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

07 - piercing the unknown (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

08 - bye bye birdie (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

09 - playboy´s bunny hop (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

10 - crying in a storm (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

11 - from russia with love (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

12 - happy silence (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

13 - big jump (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

14 - ode to dawn (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

15 - highflying scotsman (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

16 - the lonesome port (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

17 - sentimental guitar (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

18 - recado (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

19 - mood of asia (Spotnicks In Tokyo, 1966)

20 - Sentimental Guitar (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

21 - Geisha Girl (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

22 - Uska Dara (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

23 - Worrying Kind (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

24 - Mood Of Asia (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

25 - Subject In Orbit (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

26 - Casting My Spell (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

27 - Green Eyes (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

28 - Honkong Blues (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

29 - Turista (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

30 - What Now My Love (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

31 - Steel Guitar Rag (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

32 - Plättlaggen (Spotnicks Around The World, 1966)

CD 06 - With 'The Spotnicks':

33 - C'mon Everybody (James George SP, 1966)

34 - Staggar Lee (James George SP, 1966)

35 - Auld Lang Syne (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

36 - Frosty the Snowman (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

37 - Here Comes Santa Claus (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

38 - I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

39 - Jingle Bells (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

40 - Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

41 - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

42 - Silent Night (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

43 - Sleigh Ride (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

44 - White Cristmas (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

45 - Winter Wonderland (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

46 - Winterland (Spotnicks in Winterland, 1966)

47 - the spotnicks theme (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

48 - johnny guitar (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

49 - happy silence (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

50 - havah nagila (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

51 - when the saints go march (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

52 - crying in a storm (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

53 - karelia (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

54 - le dernier train de l'espace (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

55 - hey good lookin' (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

56 - memory of summer (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

57 - over and over (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

58 - wabash cannon ball (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

59 - what'd I say (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

60 - look up to the evening star (Spotnicks Live In Japan, 1967)

61 - Wham (Spotnicks In Acapulco, 1967)

62 - El Toro Bravo (Spotnicks In Acapulco, 1967)

63 - Moscow (Spotnicks In Acapulco, 1967)

CD Bonus - Videos:

01 Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys - Giddy Up A Ding Dong (1959)

02 Beatles With Jimmy - Abbey Road Rehearsal & Holland (03.06.64)

03 Rare Press with Jimmy Nicols Holland (05.06.64)

04 Beatles in Nederland - Hillegam Concert - Part 1 (05.06.64)

05 Beatles in Nederland - Hillegam Concert - Part 2 (05.06.64)

06 European Tour 1964 - Netherlands (06.06.64)

07 Concert Blokker, Holland (06.06.64)

08 I Saw Her Standing There, Blokker (06.06.64)

09 Flying To Hong Kong (08.06.64)

10 Beatles In Hong Kong (09.06.64)

11 Beatles And Bedlam , Sydney, Australia (11.06.64)

12 Press Conference Sydney, Australia (11.06.64)

13 Live Centennial Hall, Adelaide (12.06.64)

14 Beatles in Adelaide Documentary - Part 1 (12.06.64)

15 Beatles in Adelaide Documentary - Part 2 (12.06.64)

16 Adelaide News (12.06.64)

17 Beatles Salute Crowd, Melbourne (14.06.64)

18 Beatles Press Conference 5 Beatles, Melbourne (14.06.64)

19 Jimmy Leaves Australia (15.06.64)

20 Spotnicks in Italy (1966)

21 Jimmie Nicol - Spotnicks documentary (1983)