« Wolfmother to Webster Hall | more 2006 Tour Dates | Main | TVOTR & Celebration playing in Brooklyn tonight »

Posted in music on April 13, 2006

RIP Nikki Sudden | His final days | reviews, photos, video, MP3s

DOWNLOAD: New York by Nikki Sudden (MP3)

"Do I have to die to be popular?" [Nikki Sudden to Metro Times]

SWELL MAPS

Nikki Sudden (July 19, 1956 – March 26, 2006) born Adrian Nicholas Godfrey in London, was a prolific British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps whilst attending Solihull School in Solihull. Following the band's break-up in 1980 he started a solo career, as well as releasing records with Dave Kusworth as the The Jacobites." [Wikipedia]

"Cult British musician Nikki Sudden died Sunday (March 26) after a show the night before at New York's Knitting Factory, Billboard.com has learned. He was 49." [CNN]

Nikki was out for drinks with photographer Andrew Bicknell a few days before he died. Andrew posted a picture from that night to his Flickr account.

Knitting Factory was Nikki's last show, but it was just one of three NYC dates he played during his final days.

NIKKI SUDDEN @ CAKE SHOP | MARCH 24, 2006

NIKKI'S FINAL TOUR DATES (copy & pasted from his site)

• 23 March - Fat Baby 112 Rivington St (212) 533-1888 - $8 Nikki Sudden & The Bruised Poets w/VietNam, The Lords & Electric Shadows


• 24 March - Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002 (solo acoustic Record Shop Instore - starts @ 6) NEW!!!


• 25 March - Knitting Factory NY, 74 Leonard Street, New York NY 10013 - (Nikki Sudden’s New York City Bash!)

NIKKI SUDDEN @ CAKE SHOP | MARCH 24, 2006

Punkcast was at the cake shop show: "...Of course, many wanted to hear Swell Maps classics, and he obliged with several including their very first single 'Read With Seymour'. I've seen Nikki a few times over the last few years, but this was definitely the best, with him playing intimately for an attentive audience that was well familiar with his material. It is poetic irony that I suspect would give him a chuckle that his cause of death was reportedly an enlarged heart...." [PUNKCAST EVEN TAPED THE CAKE SHOP SHOW]

NIKKI SUDDEN & EVAN DANDO @ KNITTING FACTORY | MARCH 25, 2006 (cred)

New York Night Train reports on Fat Baby & Knitting Factory: "Last night a friend of mine sent me a digital picture of Evan Dando on stage with Nikki Sudden's band at the Knitting Factory (see top of page). As the picture came through on my phone, a member of Vietnam told me a bit about their last minute show opening for Sudden at the Fat Baby two nights before – how they backed him up on a song and how he looked near-death..." [New York Night Train]

The Village Voice has reports from the Knitting Factory too: ".....Sudden played to the scarcely two dozen people just the same as if he had been performing for the sold-out capacity crowd squeezed in upstairs to see flavor-of-the-week the Gossip. Overdose rumors abound on the Internet—that morass of misinformation—but the medical examiner's office has yet to determine the cause of death. What is for certain is that the 49-year-old singer-guitarist passed at some time shortly after the show...." [Village Voice]

One new fan Amy randomly made it to the Knitting Factory show "...I was not a fan until Saturday, March 25, my birthday. Early morning, March 26, a friend and I stopped off at the Knitting Factory before going home. Not knowing who was playing, I asked the bouncers if it was worth going into the club and one of them chimed in enthusiastically, 'the set is almost finished but you should check out the band playing on the ___ floor. Great sound.' So we went in and sat almost directly in front of Nikki Sudden (hence I feel the need to share this). There was someone on the side of the stage videotaping the set. We heard two songs - I think the last song was Sympathy for The Devil. Midway through the first song I looked over at my friend and said what a great way to end the night - their amazing." [Lots more discussion at I Love Music]

DOWNLOAD: When Angels Die (Acoustic) by Nikki Sudden (MP3)

Posted on April 13, 2006 5:51 PM

« Wolfmother to Webster Hall | more 2006 Tour Dates | Main | TVOTR & Celebration playing in Brooklyn tonight »