Billy Nicholls

During his teenage years Billy Nicholls produced one of British psychedelic pop’s most coveted obscurities, the album “Would You Believe.” Deeply shaped by the Beach Boys, the record echoed the melodic architecture and lavish arrangements of the Pet Sounds/SMiLE era, though its sound also carried stronger hallmarks of late-1960s British psychedelia. While it would be mistaken to equate Nicholls with Brian Wilson, the set revealed substantial promise rather than outright mastery. That promise went largely unrealized when the album, completed in 1968, received virtually no commercial release beyond a handful of promotional copies, abruptly stalling his career; most rock listeners, if they recognized him at all, knew him only through scattered associations with the Who and its members.

At age sixteen in 1966 Nicholls summoned the courage to approach George Harrison about placing his material. Demo recordings for Beatles publisher Dick James eventually reached Andrew Oldham, who was then launching the short-lived Immediate label. Hired as a staff songwriter, Nicholls supplied three compositions—“Led Along,” “Cut and Come Again,” and “Friendly with You”—that Del Shannon recorded in February 1967. He soon became an Immediate artist himself, issuing the single “Would You Believe”/“Daytime Girl” in January 1968. The accompanying album blended Los Angeles sunshine-pop sensibilities with Swinging London flair, its vocal lines enriched by dense harmonies and layered guitars and keyboards. Among the contributors were members of the Small Faces, future Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and session players Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones, and Big Jim Sullivan.

Although a commercial launch had been scheduled for April 1968, the album was withheld for reasons that remain unclear, aside from copies sent to radio and the press. Immediate’s chronic financial instability meant other artists also suffered from suppressed or poorly promoted releases, yet few were affected as severely as Nicholls. His momentum never recovered, though he did supply uncredited backing vocals for the Small Faces’ Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake. A solo album, Love Songs, finally appeared in 1974; he participated in the group White Horse, which released an album in 1977; and another solo effort, Under One Banner, surfaced in 1990.

Nicholls remains best known for his work with the Who. He co-wrote, performed on, and sang “Forever’s No Time at All” for Pete Townshend’s debut solo album Who Came First, wrote singles for Roger Daltrey and Leo Sayer, contributed backing vocals to the Who’s Who Are You and the Tommy film soundtrack, and later served as the band’s musical director in the years after Keith Moon’s death. Originally commanding astronomical prices among collectors, “Would You Believe” received a CD reissue in 1999.