Nick Gilder Online - Biography



BIOGRAPHY


British born recording artist Nick Gilder was born December 21, 1951. He moved from England to Canada at a very young age, eventually settling with his family in Vancouver. Like most, Nick began playing in bands in high school - his first being Rasputin, which later became Canada's first glam rock band, Sweeney Todd (please also visit, Sweeney Todd).

Sweeney Todd's first release, on London Records, had the #1 hit "Roxy Roller" penned by Nick and Jim, with Nick on vocals. Their production deal was then sold to a new label, Chrysalis Records (Blondie, Billy Idol, The Babies) of Los Angeles, where both Nick and Jim wrote and recorded, including recording with Beatles producer, George Martin.

Back in Vancouver, after various incarnations Sweeney Todd found Bryan Adams, who did vocals for awhile.

Nick and Jim's collaboration on the 1977 solo album "You Know Who You Are", scored a top ten hit for Pat Benatar - "Rated X".

Nick later returned to the studio with producers Mike Chapman (Blondie, Sweet, The Knack) and Peter Coleman (Pat Benatar, OMD, Suzi Quatro) and recorded the legendary 1978 "City Nights" album. The #1 hit "Hot Child in the City" and top 20 hit "Here Comes The Night" were spawned, placing a new Chrysalis firmly on the map.

During this time, Nick and his band had travelled and shared billings all over Europe, North America and the Orient with Peter Gabriel, The Cars, Foreigner, Journey etc starting with, fellow Chrysalis recording artists, The Babys.

He also performed live on various Television specials - from Top of the Pops in England to all the music late night shows in the U.S. and Canada.

He continued his work with Casablanca and RCA, where his songs came to the attention of other artists and film producers. His songs have been recorded by Pat Benatar, Joe Cocker, Bette Midler, Patty Smyth, Brett Walker, Martin Briley, and many others - appearing on over 20 million records.

On the motion picture front, his talents have been heard on "Sex and the City" with an episode titled, "Hot Child in the City," "Barb Wire" with Pamela Anderson, "Went To Coney Island on a Mission from God...Be Back by Five," "My Science Project," "Youngblood" with Rob Lowe, "The Wraith," with Charlie Sheen,  "Hot Child in the City" the movie, and "Scenes From the Goldmine," which included a cameo appearance, to name a few.

Armed with great tunes and singing better then ever, Nick returned from L.A. to his hometown of Vancouver in 1994. Releasing the critically acclaimed CD "Stairways" in 1997, Nick demonstrates he is a master songwriter, singing with a renewed raw energy and emotion.  It proved once again that he was still at the top of his game.

Nick has had an illustrious career, winning Juno and Socan awards in Canada.  BMI airplay and People's Choice awards in the U.S. In total Nick has had 10 top 20 hits in North America, songs written and recorded for himself and others - where of these 10, "Roxy Roller", "Hot Child in the City", and "The Warrior" for Patty Smyth, soared to # 1 in Canada.

He continues to remain active in the music business, writing and recording songs, as well as doing shows across Canada and the United States.

 

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