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Bad News by Bad News © 2004 Parlophone Records Ltd.
Nickel Tipple By Andrew Burns Origin: I was initially unsure about Nipple Tickle and who they were going to be, so I toyed with the idea of changing it to Nickel Tipple. I decided I liked both names and figured they would have been very different bands. And you can’t have too many imaginary bands in your life, can you? When Nickel Tipple burst onto the scene in the early 2000s they were very much ploughing their own furrow. In another era their blend of Grunge, Prog and Glam rock, with nods to Heavy Metal, might have seemed derivative, pastiche even. But they were doing this in the time of TV talent show pop fluff and so they were a breath of fresh air, innovative even. Charismatic, chameleon frontman Trent Howitzer was an unholy fusion of Bowie, Freddie and David Lee Roth. His androgynous physique and 80s poodle perm belying the once in a generation voice capable of snarling, growling rock, soaring falsetto sheen and everything in between, transitioning with seemingly no effort at all. The rest of the band were shaggier, beardier, grungier, happy to let Howitzer strut in the spotlight, but goodness could those boys play! Mac Brand, Rob Young and Zander Michaels met at school in New Jersey and played together just for fun. It was not until they met Howitzer that they let his prodigious talent and enigmatic stage persona sweep them to international stardom. Their first album, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” was a debut sensation and the single “The Seeker’s Burn” was a global hit. Almost exclusively the album was written by Brand and Howitzer, it was pure Rock. They toured extensively in promotion of WTF quickly progressing to selling out stadia across Europe, the US and Latin America. Howitzer, never one for understatement or nuance, proclaimed Nickel Tipple “…the biggest band in the World…” While this was a ludicrous statement for a band that had only recorded one album, the crowds they were able to attract suggested that he may have a point. The second album came quickly and proved controversial. “Kings of all we Survey” was the band’s reaction to their new found rock superstardom and featured songs, if interpreted literally, about hard drinking, hard drug use and easy and meaningless sex with young fans. In another age this would have been the norm, celebrated even, but times were different and the global mainstream press reacted angrily. Following Howitzer’s lead the band simply shrugged off the faux outrage and hypocrisy, focusing instead on promoting the quality of the songs- and they were quality- and continuing to gather experience in a similar vein. For all lovers of Rock and Roll excess it was hard not to embrace them for this attitude alone. The third album, “Revered Anyway” was released in 2011. This was a less raucous, more introspective collection, though the songwriting touch of Howitzer and Brand was still evident. The more mature sound was also met with a settling in their behaviour- Brand was now married and a Father; Howitzer, though resolutely single, had branched out into business and was busy investing his money incredibly wisely. There was still a world tour of sold out stadia and there was still some rumoured bad behaviour, but by their previous standards the Revered Anyway tour was a sedate affair. Trent Howitzer has subsequently released one solo album and though not as successful as his work with Nickel Tipple it was still eagerly received by his loyal and huge fan base. The band are rumoured to be back in the studio working on a fourth album.
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AuthorAndrew Burns really should know better and has so many more important things to be doing than writing this drivel. Please offer him no encouragement either via social media or through the contact page Archives
September 2017
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