In Conversation with Nic Salmon
s part of the build up to this October’s Turn The Clocks Back Festival, we caught up with one of the leading lights of the 80’s Scunthorpe music scene Nic Salmon during a recent visit to the UK. Nic, who played with several prominent local bands including Harry The Spiders Coming Out Party, Lesser Blessed, The Day It Rained Frogs, The Hoverchairs, Johnny X and Big Red Gun to name but a few, is based in Thailand these days so unfortunately will not be able to play the festival but he kindly agreed to meet up for a chat in a cosy beer garden in Market Rasen.
TTCB: Hi Nic – thanks for taking the time to meet up. How are you?
NS: I’m great thanks and thanks for coming out to see me.
TTCB: You were involved with many local bands in 80’s but how did it all start?
NS: Somebody Stole My Fridge were the first band – in Scunthorpe – I was playing in bands before I came to Scunthorpe – I had two friends, Dave Shaw and this Julian fella, I can’t remember his second name (laughs) and it all stemmed from working at Scunthorpe museum. I put on an exhibition of photos of Scunthorpe Goths – the whole thing’s on my Facebook page – and I’ve done some 25 years on, Bruce Watts is on – he hasn’t changed much. Anyway, how did we start? I played bass (because nobody played bass), Julian played guitar, Dave Shaw played keyboards with Paul Vollans on drums. But it soon became apparent, because I was the vocalist, that playing bass and trying to do vocals at the same time is a pain in the arse. So we advertised in the paper and that’s how Bruce Watts came along. I thought he was going to beat us up actually. I was working for the paper at the time and I’d just been in the darkrooms and had come out to meet with the lads and Bruce comes up to me and says “Don’t you want me then?” – and he’s a big bloke (laughs) – what? I’ve never seen him before in my f***** life – “I’m the one that wants to play bass with you – and I’m going to play bass with you”. I said, well, fair enough then (laughs). And he turned out to be a wicked bass player. Colossal power! And that’s how it came about.
TTCB: Where did you get the name from?
NS: I made it up. We did a track at the time called “Somebody Stole My Fridge”. It went something like “Yesterday I had eggs and cheese, cottage pie and lettuce leaves. But now that my fridge got stole, I’ve gotta get pancake roll. Somebody stole my fridge last night, it was there when I went out”. I do tend to write a lot about food. I went by the name JP DaDa then nobody knew who I was, I always wore dark glasses and I was an old git anyway even in those days.
TTCB: So the next band was?
NS: Oh that was with my all-
America last time I spoke to him. We formed The Day It Rained Frogs. We’d be on and off for about 10 years and the only gigs we would do were at the Baths Hall. So me and Stig have a long history – and lots of cider – and probably even more Guinness (laughs). Having said that, the first gig we ever did was a benefit gig that Steve Askew had organized at the church hall on Brumby Corner and we only had 3 songs! (laughs again). We spent all day at The Priory and we were absolutely lathered by the time we went on. We only had 3 songs and they wanted another one so we had to do one again. But yeah, we got to the Final of The Rock Open with those 3 songs.
TTCB: You mentioned The Rock Open – you hold a record for that.
NS: I hold the record for consecutive appearances in The Scunthorpe Rock Open. I
was in the first one that was held at The Baths and 13 more after that. So 14 yeah
– I played every year in The Scunthorpe Rock Open. No-
TTCB: The Final of this years Rock Open will be back at The Baths Hall.
NS: The Baths?
TTCB: Yes, its being rebuilt with the original façade with a huge new building tagged on to it.
NS: Oh that’s good. That’s a step in the right direction. It was always a great place. We used to get some good bands coming – The Cardiacs, New Model Army – in fact Big Red Gun supported New Model Army there.
TTCB: Another of your bands who graced the Rock Open were The Carpets On Fire. Tell us a little about them.
NS: Well, this had Figgy on drums (Shag Pile), Bruce Watts on bass (Walter Wall) and I was Axe Minister. That was fantastic. It was a real good giggle. We didn’t get anywhere but it was a good giggle.
And Figgy cropped up again later on because Paul Vollans couldn’t do the (Big Red Gun) gig at Brixton Academy. That was great. I’ve had loads of beer off that, even now, even to this day in Bangkok, I’ve had beers bought for me on the strength of that gig.
Going back to the Rock Open, the second time we got into the Final , Stig again was
away so I had Amanda on bass and Steve Connolly on drums and that was probably The
Day It Rained Frogs again -
