Nick Gilder

Origin: London (England), settled in Vancouver (Canada)

NICK GILDER

Nick Gilder

Nick Gilder albums:

	st - 1985
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Notes about Nick Gilder:

 Text in English

- Nicholas George Gilder was born in London, England, on December 21, 1951, and moved with his family to Vancouver, British Columbia, at the age of ten [1, 2]. He sang in a number of amateur bands before joining Rasputin alongside his high-school friend, guitarist Jim McCulloch [1]. By 1974 the group had become Sweeney Todd, with Budd Marr on bass, Dan Gaudin on keyboards and John Booth on drums, and its sound drew on British glam rock [1].

Sweeney Todd signed with London Records in 1975 and released a self-titled debut album that sold more than 100,000 copies in Canada, a rare feat for a first record [1]. Its single "Roxy Roller", written by Gilder and McCulloch and produced by Martin Shaer, spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Canadian chart in 1976 [3, 4]. That same year Gilder and McCulloch left the band and moved to Los Angeles, where Gilder signed with Chrysalis Records [1]. Sweeney Todd carried on, first with singer Clark Perry and then with sixteen-year-old Bryan Adams; each recorded new lead vocals on "Roxy Roller" for release outside Canada, and Adams fronted the line-up that made the group's second album, *If Wishes Were Horses* (1977), before the band split in 1978 [3, 5]. At the 1977 Juno Awards "Roxy Roller" was named Best Selling Single, and it was Adams who accepted the award [1, 6].

Gilder's first album for Chrysalis, *You Know Who You Are* (1977), was largely produced by Stuart Alan Love and Gilder at Producers' Workshop in Los Angeles, with McCulloch on guitars, Eric Nelson on bass, Steve Halter on keyboards and synthesizers and Chet McCracken on drums; every song was written and arranged by Gilder and McCulloch [1, 7]. The album included "Rated 'X'", which Pat Benatar, a fellow Chrysalis artist, recorded for *In the Heat of the Night* (1979), and a version of "Roxy Roller" credited to producer Martin Shaer at Timbre One Sound and Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver [4, 7, 8].

International success came with *City Nights* (1978), produced by Mike Chapman and Peter Coleman, on which Gilder and McCulloch were joined by Eric Nelson, drummer Craig Krampf and keyboardist and guitarist Jamie Herndon [1, 9, 10]. Chapman had heard "Hot Child in the City" at Gilder's shows in Los Angeles clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go and the Troubadour and suggested recording it [2]. Released as a single in June 1978, with "Backstreet Noise" on the B-side, the song reached No. 1 in Canada on October 14, 1978, and on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 28, after a 21-week climb that was then the slowest ascent to the top of the American chart [2, 11]. The single went platinum, and at the 1979 Juno Awards Gilder won Best Selling Single and Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year, while he and McCulloch were nominated for Composer of the Year [1, 2, 11]. Another single from the album, "Here Comes the Night", peaked at No. 44 on the Hot 100 [4, 9].

*Frequency* (1979), produced by Peter Coleman for Chinnichap with the same band, yielded "(You Really) Rock Me", which reached No. 57 on the Hot 100 [4, 9]. Gilder then moved to Casablanca Records, which released *Rock America* (1980) and *Body Talk Muzik* (1981) [1]. *Rock America* was produced by Gilder and Ken Mansfield and recorded at Sound City in Los Angeles with engineer Bill Drescher; McCulloch, Nelson and Herndon remained, joined by drummer Jimmy Hunter, and as on all of Gilder's earlier solo albums every song was a Gilder–McCulloch composition [7, 9, 12]. The collapse of Casablanca left him entangled in legal problems for several years, which, as he explained in 1985, made it difficult to secure a new record deal [13].

His songs, meanwhile, were reaching other artists. Toni Basil recorded "Time After Time", first heard on *Frequency*, for her album *Word of Mouth* (1981); Bette Midler opened *No Frills* (1983) with "Is It Love", another Gilder–McCulloch song; and Kix covered "(She Talks) Body Talk", written by Gilder with Jamie Herndon for *Body Talk Muzik*, as "Body Talk" on *Cool Kids* (1983) [9, 13, 14, 15, 16]. His most successful song for another act was "The Warrior", written with Holly Knight and recorded by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth: in 1984 it reached No. 7 in the United States and No. 1 in Canada, where it topped the RPM chart on October 13 [8, 17, 18]. With it, Gilder had reached No. 1 in Canada as a band's lead singer, as a solo artist and as a songwriter for another act [4], and its success coincided with the settlement of his legal problems [13]. Joe Cocker later recorded "You Know It's Gonna Hurt", written by Gilder and Rick Boston, for *One Night of Sin* (1989) [19].

Gilder signed with RCA right after the success of "The Warrior", and the label's A&R man, former Zombies member Paul Atkinson, who had also signed Patty Smyth and Scandal, helped him complete the album *Nick Gilder* (1985) [8]. Most of it was produced by Peter Coleman with Gilder as co-producer, while "Footsteps" and "Don't Forget" were produced by Bill Drescher and Gilder; it was recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys with Steve Sykes on guitar, Eric Nelson on bass, Pat Mastelotto on drums and Charlie Giordano on keyboards, plus a saxophone solo by Tom Scott on "Sabotage" [20]. Although McCulloch had moved back to Vancouver, he co-wrote "Rebel" and "Fingerprints" [13]. "Footsteps", which was promoted with a video, was later used in the film *Youngblood* (1986), and "Scream of Angels" was heard in *The Wraith* (1986) [4, 8]. *Nick Gilder* was his last album of new material for a major label [1].

Gilder returned to Canada in the mid-1990s [1]. Twelve years after the RCA album he released *Stairways* (1997) on Spinner Records, followed in 1999 by *Long Time Coming*, issued on his own label with reworked versions of "Hot Child in the City" and "Roxy Roller" [1, 2, 4]. In 2001 he began touring as The Nick Gilder Sweeney Todd Group, with original drummer John Booth, and summer concerts with the group became a fixture of his career [1, 2]. His hits have been featured in television series such as *Sex and the City*, *That '70s Show*, *Nip/Tuck* and *Ed* [1, 2]. "Hot Child in the City" and "Roxy Roller" received SOCAN Classic Awards in 2006, and in 2019 "Hot Child in the City" was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame [1, 2]. - 

Notas sobre Nick Gilder:

 Texto en Español

- Nicholas George Gilder nació en Londres (Inglaterra) el 21 de diciembre de 1951 y a los diez años se trasladó con su familia a Vancouver, en la Columbia Británica [1, 2]. Cantó en varios grupos de aficionados antes de unirse a Rasputin junto a su amigo del instituto, el guitarrista Jim McCulloch [1]. En 1974 el grupo ya se había convertido en Sweeney Todd, con Budd Marr al bajo, Dan Gaudin a los teclados y John Booth a la batería, y su sonido bebía del glam rock británico [1].

Sweeney Todd firmó con London Records en 1975 y publicó un álbum de debut homónimo que vendió más de 100.000 copias en Canadá, algo poco habitual para un primer disco [1]. Su sencillo «Roxy Roller», compuesto por Gilder y McCulloch y producido por Martin Shaer, pasó tres semanas en el número 1 de la lista canadiense en 1976 [3, 4]. Ese mismo año Gilder y McCulloch dejaron el grupo y se instalaron en Los Ángeles, donde Gilder firmó con Chrysalis Records [1]. Sweeney Todd siguió adelante, primero con el cantante Clark Perry y después con un Bryan Adams de dieciséis años; ambos grabaron nuevas voces para «Roxy Roller» destinadas a su edición fuera de Canadá, y Adams encabezó la formación que grabó el segundo álbum del grupo, *If Wishes Were Horses* (1977), antes de su separación en 1978 [3, 5]. En los premios Juno de 1977, «Roxy Roller» obtuvo el galardón al sencillo más vendido, y fue Adams quien lo recogió [1, 6].

El primer álbum de Gilder para Chrysalis, *You Know Who You Are* (1977), lo produjeron en su mayor parte Stuart Alan Love y el propio Gilder en Producers' Workshop (Los Ángeles), con McCulloch a las guitarras, Eric Nelson al bajo, Steve Halter a los teclados y sintetizadores y Chet McCracken a la batería; todas las canciones las compusieron y arreglaron Gilder y McCulloch [1, 7]. El disco incluía «Rated “X”», que Pat Benatar, compañera de sello en Chrysalis, grabó para *In the Heat of the Night* (1979), y una versión de «Roxy Roller» acreditada al productor Martin Shaer en los estudios Timbre One Sound y Little Mountain Sound de Vancouver [4, 7, 8].

El éxito internacional llegó con *City Nights* (1978), producido por Mike Chapman y Peter Coleman, en el que Gilder y McCulloch contaron con Eric Nelson, el batería Craig Krampf y el teclista y guitarrista Jamie Herndon [1, 9, 10]. Chapman había escuchado «Hot Child in the City» en los conciertos de Gilder en locales de Los Ángeles como el Whisky a Go Go y el Troubadour, y le propuso grabarla [2]. Publicada como sencillo en junio de 1978, con «Backstreet Noise» en la cara B, la canción alcanzó el número 1 en Canadá el 14 de octubre de 1978 y en el Billboard Hot 100 el 28 de octubre, tras una escalada de 21 semanas que entonces era la más lenta hasta lo más alto de la lista estadounidense [2, 11]. El sencillo fue disco de platino y, en los premios Juno de 1979, Gilder ganó los galardones al sencillo más vendido y al vocalista masculino más prometedor, además de compartir con McCulloch la candidatura a compositor del año [1, 2, 11]. Otro sencillo del álbum, «Here Comes the Night», llegó al número 44 del Hot 100 [4, 9].

*Frequency* (1979), producido por Peter Coleman para Chinnichap con la misma banda, dejó «(You Really) Rock Me», que llegó al número 57 del Hot 100 [4, 9]. Después Gilder pasó a Casablanca Records, que publicó *Rock America* (1980) y *Body Talk Muzik* (1981) [1]. *Rock America* lo produjeron Gilder y Ken Mansfield y se grabó en Sound City (Los Ángeles) con Bill Drescher como ingeniero de sonido; McCulloch, Nelson y Herndon continuaron, junto al batería Jimmy Hunter, y, como en todos los discos anteriores de Gilder en solitario, todas las canciones eran composiciones de Gilder y McCulloch [7, 9, 12]. El hundimiento de Casablanca lo dejó enredado durante varios años en problemas legales que, según explicó en 1985, le dificultaron conseguir un nuevo contrato discográfico [13].

Mientras tanto, sus canciones llegaban a otros artistas. Toni Basil grabó «Time After Time», incluida antes en *Frequency*, para su álbum *Word of Mouth* (1981); Bette Midler abrió *No Frills* (1983) con «Is It Love», otra composición de Gilder y McCulloch, y Kix versionó como «Body Talk» en *Cool Kids* (1983) el tema «(She Talks) Body Talk», que Gilder había escrito con Jamie Herndon para *Body Talk Muzik* [9, 13, 14, 15, 16]. Su canción de mayor éxito para otros intérpretes fue «The Warrior», escrita con Holly Knight y grabada por Scandal con Patty Smyth: en 1984 llegó al número 7 en Estados Unidos y al número 1 en Canadá, donde encabezó la lista de RPM el 13 de octubre [8, 17, 18]. Con ella, Gilder había alcanzado el número 1 en Canadá como cantante de un grupo, como solista y como autor para otro artista [4], y su éxito coincidió con la resolución de sus problemas legales [13]. Más tarde, Joe Cocker grabó «You Know It's Gonna Hurt», escrita por Gilder y Rick Boston, para *One Night of Sin* (1989) [19].

Gilder firmó con RCA justo después del éxito de «The Warrior», y el responsable de A&R del sello, Paul Atkinson, antiguo miembro de los Zombies que también había fichado a Patty Smyth y Scandal, le ayudó a completar el álbum *Nick Gilder* (1985) [8]. La mayor parte la produjo Peter Coleman con Gilder como coproductor, mientras que «Footsteps» y «Don't Forget» las produjeron Bill Drescher y Gilder; se grabó en Sound City (Van Nuys) con Steve Sykes a la guitarra, Eric Nelson al bajo, Pat Mastelotto a la batería y Charlie Giordano a los teclados, además de un solo de saxofón de Tom Scott en «Sabotage» [20]. Aunque McCulloch había regresado a Vancouver, firmó con Gilder «Rebel» y «Fingerprints» [13]. «Footsteps», que se promocionó con un videoclip, se utilizó después en la película *Youngblood* (1986), y «Scream of Angels» sonó en *The Wraith* (1986) [4, 8]. *Nick Gilder* fue su último disco de material nuevo para un gran sello [1].

Gilder regresó a Canadá a mediados de los años noventa [1]. Doce años después del disco para RCA publicó *Stairways* (1997) en Spinner Records, y en 1999 llegó *Long Time Coming*, editado en su propio sello con versiones revisadas de «Hot Child in the City» y «Roxy Roller» [1, 2, 4]. En 2001 empezó a girar como The Nick Gilder Sweeney Todd Group, con el batería original John Booth, y los conciertos veraniegos con el grupo se convirtieron en una constante de su carrera [1, 2]. Sus éxitos se han escuchado en series de televisión como *Sex and the City*, *That '70s Show*, *Nip/Tuck* y *Ed* [1, 2]. «Hot Child in the City» y «Roxy Roller» recibieron en 2006 sendos SOCAN Classic Awards, y en 2019 «Hot Child in the City» ingresó en el Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame [1, 2]. -

Sources/Fuentes

[1] Hale, James. "Nick Gilder." *The Canadian Encyclopedia*. Historica Canada, published April 9, 2007; last edited December 16, 2013. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nick-gilder-emc

[2] "Hot Child in the City." *Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame* (song inducted in 2019). https://www.cshf.ca/song/hot-child-in-the-city/

[3] "Roxy Roller." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxy_Roller

[4] "Nick Gilder." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Gilder

[5] "Sweeney Todd (band)." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweeney_Todd_(band)

[6] *RPM Weekly*, March 26, 1977 (list of 1977 Juno Award winners). https://www.worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/70s/1977/RPM-1977-03-26.pdf

[7] Nick Gilder. *You Know Who You Are*. US LP, Chrysalis, 1977. Back-cover credits. Physical source.

[8] Nick Gilder. *Nick Gilder*. CD reissue, Yesterrock, 2013. Booklet credits and liner notes by Nick Gilder, dated March 2013. Physical source.

[9] Nick Gilder. *City Nights / Frequency*. US CD, Collectables COL-CD-2909, 2006 (*City Nights* originally released on Chrysalis as 1202, 1978; *Frequency* originally released on Chrysalis as 1219, 1979). Booklet and inlay credits. Physical source.

[10] "City Nights." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Nights

[11] "Hot Child in the City." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Child_in_the_City

[12] Nick Gilder. *Rock America*. LP, Casablanca 6302 066, 1980. Back-cover credits. Physical source.

[13] Newton, Steve. "30 years ago: Nick Gilder on his new LP and his 'ironic' replacement in Sweeney Todd." *The Georgia Straight*, October 16, 2015. Shortened version of his 1985 story "Nick Gilder: 'Hot Child' Rocks Back," based on an interview conducted in October 1985. https://www.straight.com/blogra/557426/30-years-ago-nick-gilder-his-new-lp-and-his-ironic-replacement-sweeney-todd

[14] "Word of Mouth (Toni Basil album)." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_of_Mouth_(Toni_Basil_album)

[15] "No Frills (Bette Midler album)." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Frills_(Bette_Midler_album)

[16] "Cool Kids (album)." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Kids_(album)

[17] "The Warrior (song)." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warrior_(song)

[18] "List of number-one singles of 1984 (Canada)." *Wikipedia* (based on the weekly RPM charts archived by Library and Archives Canada). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_of_1984_(Canada)

[19] "One Night of Sin." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_of_Sin

[20] Nick Gilder. *Nick Gilder*. Japanese LP, RCA RPL-8318 (US catalogue NFL1-8051), 1985. Back-cover credits and lyric insert. Physical source.