Nikki Sudden

Biography

Following the early-’80s dissolution of post-punk outfit Swell Maps, frontman Nikki Sudden launched an eclectic and ceaseless solo trajectory that encompassed numerous band affiliations and ancillary projects. His inaugural solo album, Waiting on Egypt, surfaced in 1982 and was succeeded the following year by The Bible Belt; both sets revisited the sonic terrain he had explored with Swell Maps. In 1984 he assembled the Jacobites alongside drummer Epic Soundtracks—his sibling and former Swell Maps colleague—and guitarist/vocalist Dave Kusworth, who shared songwriting duties with Sudden. The group cultivated a languid, dissolute, romantic strain of classic rock and pop anchored by acoustic guitars and a propulsive rhythm section. Between 1984 and 1986 the Jacobites issued four albums and three EPs before Kusworth departed. Sudden retained the Jacobites name for the 1986 Creation release Texas. Throughout the latter half of the decade he abandoned the Jacobites designation and turned toward material strongly redolent of the early Rolling Stones on Texas and Dead Men Tell No Tales. Although none of his recordings ever reached a broad listenership, Sudden maintained a devoted cult following across his career. Notable guests began contributing: Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy appeared on 1999’s Red Brocade, while Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan performed on the 2004 album Treasure Island. Sudden died on March 26, 2006, shortly after a New York City performance. At the time he had been completing The Truth Doesn’t Matter, issued that October. In spring 2011 Easy Action presented Playing with Fire, a meticulously assembled collection of previously unreleased tracks omitted from his final two studio albums and accompanied by liner notes from bassist and confidant John Barry. A limited-edition box set compiling his first two solo albums, two Jacobites releases, the collaboration Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc with Rowland S. Howard, Texas, Dead Men Tell No Tales, and a reissue of his debut solo single was issued exclusively for Black Friday in December 2014.