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| The exclusive Nick Beggs Interview! |
| Nick Beggs cut his teeth in the late 70's playing into the limitless punk rock scene in London, where he honed a unique style and expressed his creative talents for playing and songwriting. With the new wave explosion of the early 80's, Nick was able to hit the scene big with his band Kajagoogoo with their smash hit "Too Shy", which received extensive rotation on MTV as well as the radio. Kajagoogoo proved to be short lived but Nick kept active, writing and performing with such artists as Steve Howe, Gary Numan, Belinda Carlisle, and Cliff richard, while displaying his prominence on the Chapman Stick, which he had mastered in the early 80's. Nick recently realized a childhood dream when he was asked by legendary Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones to join his recording and touring band in 1999. Ever since, Nick has been stunning audiences and listeners with his abilities. Nick graciously took time to answer my questions about his recent happenings, including his recent solo release, "Stick Insect". |
| Q: Nick, thank you so much for taking the time to join me here on my site. I wanted to ask you first off what you are working on at this time? Any new solo or collaborative projects? A: I've recently recorded for RIGHT SAID FRED and have been invited to help them put a band together for a German tour in sept.Also I'm working on some arrangements for BELINDA CARLISLE. Q: You released your first solo album not too long ago called Stick Insect featuring of course, your prominent stick playing. Were you pleased with it’s results? What was critical reaction like? A: The official American date of release is approaching and I'm very excited about the record. It's coming out on Stick Enterprises, which is the official home and manufacturing company of the Stick. However in the UK the record is only available through my web site. The music industry is an ever shrinking pond and labels don't have the cash to invest in something as ambiguous as a solo stick LP. It's good for my web site to have a unreleased material available on it. Q: Your most recent work includes two albums with the legendary John Paul Jones, on two incredible albums, Zooma and The ThunderThief. How have you enjoyed working with JPJ? A: John is a god to me. If I'd known, as a school boy, that I was going to end up working for him I may have never bothered with school at all.The touring and LP experiences were priceless and I know how privileged I am to have worked on them. Q: Although I have unfortunately not seen the JPJ band on tour, I understand that JPJ and Yourself have shared some intense duets onstage and have blown audiences away. Do people realize that this is a completely different JPJ or are they still just expecting too much from the old Zeppelin catalogue? A: We have done a lot of dueting but in a trio it's virtually impossible not to. I'm flattered that the reports are as you say. I think it's hard for anyone who’s been an Icon in any area to break free of old expectations and achieve a new audience based on a new collection of material. However John has done this brilliantly in my opinion.The audiences have been great. Q: You are one of the few Premiere stick players around in the music industry. How did you come about using the stick initially? A: Actually I was blackmailed into playing the stick by the 3 remaining members of Kajagoogoo. Back in 1983 they said that if I would be the new lead singer of the band they would have a stick made ready for me to play on the next record. It worked. Q: How different really is playing the Stick from playing a standard bass guitar? A: It's as different as bass guitar is from piano. Q: You first made an impact when you formed Kajagoogoo and had the new wave hit Too Shy. I understand you were the sole visual creator of the Kajagoogoo image. Is this correct? A: No that's not quite accurate. All though I came up with the name and did the art work for the releases on the kitchen table, we did all input into the direction both musically and image wise. Q: What was the London music scene like when you first broke in? Did you play in many other bands in the late 70’s? A: The scene was about playing your own instruments and writing your own songs. Also producing your own records was a big part of the expression with DJ's and producers working along side the artist, rather than being the artists themselves. Yes I worked in many precursor projects before Kajagoogoo. But no one you would have heard of. Q: Nick, I want to thank you so much for spending time here to answer my questions and I want to ask you what other projects you have scheduled in the near future? A: I'm busy writing songs and arranging material for other folks right now. There are possible tours with Howard Jones, Right Said Fred, John Paul Jones and The Human League lined up. Also I have a regular column with Bass Guitar magazine which keeps me very busy. I guess I'd like to make another solo record at some point, but it will be quite different to Stick Insect.My web site will be up dated shortly to accommodate any interested parties.Many thanks for your interest. |
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