Nick McCabe | |
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 McCabe in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nicholas John McCabe |
| Born | 14 July 1971 Haydock, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, psychedelic rock, shoegaze, ambient |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass, keyboards, accordion, autoharp, piano |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Nicholas John McCabe (born 14 July 1971) is an English musician, best known as being the lead guitarist of the rock group the Verve.
McCabe is the son of a bus driver father and a social worker mother [1] and has two older brothers, Alan and Paul. [2] When asked what it was that inspired him to become a guitarist, he answered: "That was me, I just got a guitar, and I could play a few things on it, and I liked messing with it, and I liked making my own things up." [3] He attended Haydock High School, and later met Richard Ashcroft at Winstanley College. Ashcroft described McCabe's guitar playing as sounding like "a whole other universe"; the two briefly played in a band whilst at college. [4] After leaving college, McCabe began a career as a quantity surveyor. He later recalled: "I hated it. I used to sit there all day scribbling in my pad thinking about guitar sounds." [5] He gave this up to be part of the Verve along with Ashcroft, Simon Jones and Peter Salisbury.
McCabe was generally an aloof member, being involved in relatively few interviews. Tensions and power struggles between McCabe and Ashcroft would later cause the band's dissolution. The first break-up happened in 1995 when Ashcroft left after the band's second album, A Northern Soul . Shortly thereafter Ashcroft reformed the band without McCabe, replacing him with Simon Tong. McCabe returned home to work on his own music and spend time with his daughter [6] until Ashcroft asked him to return in 1997, for the band's third album, Urban Hymns . Despite the album's success, McCabe left in 1998, and although the Verve continued touring without him, the band later split for the second time in early 1999.
In early 2007, McCabe made peace with Ashcroft, and the band reunited. A new album, Forth , was released in 2008. However, the band broke up again in 2009.
Following The Verve's split in 1999, McCabe kept a relatively low profile. In 2001, he played on "Walking Home" for John Martyn's album On the Cobbles . In 2002, he played on "Lost Broadcast" for Faultline's album Your Love Means Everything. In 2004, McCabe's remix of The Music's song "The People" appeared on their single "Freedom Fighters". In March 2009, following the death of Martyn, McCabe discussed Martyn's music and the experience of working with him in an interview with Mojo . [7]
In 2009 McCabe founded a new band called The Black Ships with Jones, drummer Mig Schillace, and electric violinist Davide Rossi. The Black Ships released their first EP, "Kurofune", in May 2011, and performed their debut gig at Kings College Student Union on 2 June 2011 before changing their name to Black Submarine in mid-2012.
In November 2019 McCabe began releasing solo work to Bandcamp, initially as a side project called Litter and Leaves with Black Submarine member Amelia Tucker and then under his own name. In June 2022 he released the EP "Home Is Where the Heart Is", a collaboration with Verve drummer Peter Salisbury and featuring Tucker. [8]
McCabe stands still whilst playing, with one reviewer in 1993 describing him as having "coaxed gorgeous, shimmering wodges of sound from his instrument while exuding all the enthusiasm of a man waiting for a bus." [9]
McCabe has cited artists such as Joy Division, John Martyn and Eddie Hazel as inspirations. [10] He has also expressed his fondness of synthesizers and explained his 'psychedelic' sound as trying to make a guitar sound like a synthesizer by using effects pedals and valve amps.
Producer Owen Morris referred to McCabe as "without a shadow of a doubt the most gifted musician I've ever worked with", but also claimed he was "a complete and utter nightmare" to work with, saying "He'll never play the same thing twice. Now you can ask Noel Gallagher to play the same guitar line a hundred times, and as long as there's a good reason for him doing it, he'll do it. But with Nick you've got no chance. But that's what he does, y'know?" [11]
The Verve were an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member in their first reunion only.
Urban Hymns is the third studio album by English alternative rock band the Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Records. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling release and one of the biggest selling albums of the year. As of 2019, Urban Hymns is ranked the 19th best-selling album in UK chart history and has sold over ten million copies worldwide. This is the only Verve album to feature guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong, who initially joined the band to replace their original guitarist Nick McCabe. McCabe rejoined the band soon after, however, and Tong remained in the band also considered as the fifth member; this makes the album the only one that the band recorded as a five-piece.
A Northern Soul is the second studio album by English rock band the Verve, released on 3 July 1995 through Hut Records. With the tumultuous promotion for their debut studio album A Storm in Heaven (1993), combined with their friends in Oasis becoming popular, relationships between members of the Verve became strained. After connecting with Oasis producer Owen Morris, the Verve went to a rehearsal space in Wigan to write material for the next album, which they recorded at Loco Studios in Wales. The sessions gained notoriety for the stories that emerged from the time, including Ashcroft going missing for five days and him allegedly totalling a car on the studio's lawn. In the first three weeks, they had finished 15 tracks; after this point, the situation soured as guitarist Nick McCabe grew exhausted from dealing with the other members frequently partying and taking ecstasy, in addition to vocalist Richard Ashcroft and Morris screaming and destroying objects. Eventually, McCabe had a different working schedule from the others, starting at 10–11am while the rest of the band started at 6pm.
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. Songs he wrote for the band include "Bitter Sweet Symphony", "Lucky Man", and the UK number one "The Drugs Don't Work". He became a successful solo artist, releasing three UK top-three solo albums. The Verve reformed in 2007 but again broke up by summer 2009. Ashcroft then founded a new band, RPA & The United Nations of Sound, and released a new album on 19 July 2010. Ashcroft released his fourth solo album, These People, on 20 May 2016. Ashcroft went on to release the album Natural Rebel in 2018, and the compilation of acoustic versions of his best hits, Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1, in 2021.
Peter Anthony Salisbury is an English rock drummer, best known as the drummer for The Verve, whom he co-founded in 1990.
This is Music: The Singles 92–98 is a singles compilation album by the English alternative rock band the Verve. The compilation was released in November 2004 and included two previously unreleased tracks: "This Could Be My Moment" and "Monte Carlo". Nick McCabe did not participate in the songs, Simon Tong being the one that took the control of the lead guitar. The album was named after a track by the same name off their 1995 album A Northern Soul. The album cover is based on the cover of their 1992 single "She's a Superstar".
A Storm in Heaven is the debut studio album by the English rock band Verve, later the Verve, released on 21 June 1993 on Hut Records. The band had formed between school friends vocalist Richard Ashcroft, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury, with guitarist Nick McCabe joining shortly after. After a show in London, they signed to the Virgin Records imprint Hut Records in 1991, which released their first three singles in 1992. Following the appointment of the company Savage and Best as their management, the band recorded their debut album at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall with producer John Leckie. Referred to mainly as a psychedelic album, A Storm in Heaven was largely written in the studio.
Verve is the first EP by English rock band Verve, released in December 1992 on Vernon Yard Recordings in the United States and Hut Records in the United Kingdom. Two singles from the EP would reappear on the B-side compilation No Come Down and the singles compilation This Is Music: The Singles 92–98.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, from their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It was produced by Youth and released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the album's lead single.
Simon Tong is an English guitarist and keyboardist who was a member of the Verve between 1996 and 1999. He has played with Damon Albarn on tour with his bands Blur and Gorillaz, and as a member of the Good, the Bad & the Queen. He ranks in BBC's "The Axe Factor" as the 40th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years.
"Lucky Man" is a song by English rock band the Verve. It was written by singer Richard Ashcroft. The song was released as the third single from the band's third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It was released on 24 November 1997, charting at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song was the band's second top-20 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States, climbing to number 16. In Canada, "Lucky Man" peaked at number 25 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It also reached the top 40 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Simon Robin David Jones is an English bass guitarist. He played bass and provided occasional backing vocals for the rock band The Verve.
Witness were a British alternative rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1997. The band released two albums via Island Records between 1999 and 2001, before splitting up in 2004.
Davide Rossi is an Italian violinist, string arranger, orchestrator, songwriter, composer and conductor, perhaps best known for having been the electric violinist and multi-instrumentalist for the British electronic music duo Goldfrapp from 2000 until 2013, and for his large contribution of electric violin parts and for most of the string arrangements on all Coldplay's albums since Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends,.
Forth is the fourth and final studio album by the English alternative rock band the Verve before their third break up in 2009. It was released internationally on 25 August 2008 on EMI and a day later in North America on the On Your Own label. The band reformed in 2007, having broken up in 1999. Forth was their first album of new material since their 1997 album Urban Hymns and their first since 1995's A Northern Soul to feature the original line-up without second guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong. It is also the second album to feature the Urban Hymns and Ashcroft's solo album producer Chris Potter.
"Rather Be" is a song by the English alternative rock band The Verve. It is the third track on their fourth studio album, Forth. The song was released on 17 November 2008, the second single from the album, following the summer hit "Love Is Noise". Richard Ashcroft is credited as the sole composer of the track although, according to band members, the song changed a lot since the initial version brought over by Ashcroft with his companions' aid.
Black Submarine, previously known as The Black Ships until mid-2012, were an English rock supergroup formed in November 2008 by former Verve members Nick McCabe and Simon Jones, Coldplay/Goldfrapp collaborator and former The Verve touring musician Davide Rossi, singer Amelia Tucker and drummer Mig Schillace.
Nicholas James Fradiani IV is an American singer and actor from Guilford, Connecticut. He rose to regional attention as the lead singer of pop/rock band Beach Avenue when they won the Battle of the Bands at Mohegan Sun in 2011. He gained national recognition in 2014 when he competed on the ninth season of the reality talent show America's Got Talent, although he only made it to "Judgment Week".
Richard William "DW" Norton, is a Scottish-born Australian entertainer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and founding mainstay of metallers, Superheist. In 1998 he established Faultline Records – he has worked as the label's in house producer and CEO. He lives with his wife and fellow artist, London Gabraelle-Norton.
King Never is a rock band influenced by ambient, new wave, and progressive rock, based in Loomis, California. Founded by Matt McCabe in 1995, the band has undergone different formations and member changes throughout its history.
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