lira
Nomad
I am on a quest to discover when (or if) Nicko really got involved with any of the THE BLOSSOM TOES members. There are a few sites suggesting Nicko played on the last BT lineup, comprised of Brian Godding (voc, gtr), Jim Cregan (gtr), Brian Belshaw (b), but I'm pretty sure this NEVER happened.
First, let's check Nicko's quote in the official biography Run To The Hills (p. 146):
"This is where it gets a bit complicated," says Nicko, "but basically I'd been in a band called The Blossom Toes, who looked like they were gonna land this big record deal, but then - surprise, surprise - it all got fucked up at the last minute. The guitarist in The Blossom Toes was a guy called Jim Cregan, and when things went pear-shaped he went off and joined Family. That was in about 1973. Then Family broke up in 1974 and Jim left to join Cockney Rebel. But before he did, he must have put the word in for me or something, but the next thing is, I get a call saying, would I be interested in auditioning for the gig in Roger and Charlie's new band? I'm, like, 'Yes!' I mean, I was a huge Family fan[...]"
Here are a few facts:
1) The Blossom Toes ended on December 1969 (contradicting Nicko's date);
2) The last reported drummer from BT was Barry Reeves;
3) BT biographies never mention Nicko McBrain;
4) Shortly after dissolving they did a gig with Julie Driscoll and the drummer was still Barry Reeves;
Nicko tells from his memories in a chronological way, and this quote comes after another one about his involvement with Billy Day, around 71-72. He's talking about what happened around 1973, so it doesn't match with BT lifetime at all. But what about the other members...?
5) Brian Godding and Brian Belshaw formed B.B. Blunder (1970-1973);
6) Jim Cregan went to form Stud (1970-late 1972), before joins Family (1972-1974);
7) Jim Cregan played in briefly in the first lineup of Chapman-Whitney's Streetwalkers.
Could Nicko in reality be involved with B.B. Blunder or Stud? Regarding the time, it's possible! But again, none of their biographies say anything about Nicko. You may be asking that's may be Stud band because Nicko talks about the guitarist being Jim Cregan. But Jim Cregan was asked about it in this interview (http://dmme.net/interviews/cregan.html ). And here's what he says:
"Yes, I had seen Nicko play with some band and recommended him to Roger Chapman. It was from there that he got the gig with IRON MAIDEN and he still says “thanks” every time we meet."
So if he had seen Nicko played, he didn't play with him, did he?
Anyway, there's this site talking about a possible B.B. Blunder lineup with Nicko, but they also lack information:
http://musiciansolympus.blogspot.com.br/2012_01_01_archive.html
I wonder in what band Nicko really played.............?
First, let's check Nicko's quote in the official biography Run To The Hills (p. 146):
"This is where it gets a bit complicated," says Nicko, "but basically I'd been in a band called The Blossom Toes, who looked like they were gonna land this big record deal, but then - surprise, surprise - it all got fucked up at the last minute. The guitarist in The Blossom Toes was a guy called Jim Cregan, and when things went pear-shaped he went off and joined Family. That was in about 1973. Then Family broke up in 1974 and Jim left to join Cockney Rebel. But before he did, he must have put the word in for me or something, but the next thing is, I get a call saying, would I be interested in auditioning for the gig in Roger and Charlie's new band? I'm, like, 'Yes!' I mean, I was a huge Family fan[...]"
Here are a few facts:
1) The Blossom Toes ended on December 1969 (contradicting Nicko's date);
2) The last reported drummer from BT was Barry Reeves;
3) BT biographies never mention Nicko McBrain;
4) Shortly after dissolving they did a gig with Julie Driscoll and the drummer was still Barry Reeves;
Nicko tells from his memories in a chronological way, and this quote comes after another one about his involvement with Billy Day, around 71-72. He's talking about what happened around 1973, so it doesn't match with BT lifetime at all. But what about the other members...?
5) Brian Godding and Brian Belshaw formed B.B. Blunder (1970-1973);
6) Jim Cregan went to form Stud (1970-late 1972), before joins Family (1972-1974);
7) Jim Cregan played in briefly in the first lineup of Chapman-Whitney's Streetwalkers.
Could Nicko in reality be involved with B.B. Blunder or Stud? Regarding the time, it's possible! But again, none of their biographies say anything about Nicko. You may be asking that's may be Stud band because Nicko talks about the guitarist being Jim Cregan. But Jim Cregan was asked about it in this interview (http://dmme.net/interviews/cregan.html ). And here's what he says:
"Yes, I had seen Nicko play with some band and recommended him to Roger Chapman. It was from there that he got the gig with IRON MAIDEN and he still says “thanks” every time we meet."
So if he had seen Nicko played, he didn't play with him, did he?
Anyway, there's this site talking about a possible B.B. Blunder lineup with Nicko, but they also lack information:
http://musiciansolympus.blogspot.com.br/2012_01_01_archive.html
I wonder in what band Nicko really played.............?
