Nigel egg
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Biography
Nigel Egg was borne in Ramsgate, England in 1949, named Nigel Eccleston.
Nigel answered an Musician Wanted advertisement in Melody Maker in 1968 and was the winner of an audition to join the “Radical Rock” group “Nexus”, led by Kurt Biere of Polydor Records. They were produced by Georgio Gomelski (Marmalade Records, first manager of the Rolling Stones), engineered by Eddie Offord (Yes) and attracted interest at the time from Chas Chandler, who was looking for new acts to develop after his protege, Jimi Hendrix, died. Nexus disbanded before any product was released due to acute disagreements about politics between the members.
After Nexus dissolved in 1969, Nigel had the opportunity to audition and jam with then up-and-coming London-based groups Supertramp (“Daddy”), Mott The Hoople, and other musicians who frequented The Cabin (Shepherd’s Bush, London).
He came to the US in 1972 as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. In 1975 he became the blues harp instructor at the West Bank School of Music, where he taught until 1985. He also taught many group classes in harp and guitar through community education programs, and community organizations such as COMPAS.
In 1975 he joined the group "[Big Sky]", which morphed out of popular West Bank group "The Jackelopes".
In 1978 he was hired on a CETA grant as a community artist through COMPAS and worked as a community music-maker based in the Dayton’s Bluff area of St Paul. Marisha Chamberlain formed The St Paul Poetry and Music review, under the auspices of the COMPAS program, and Nigel wrote and performed songs, recited poetry and performed in this ensemble, which include Bob Hale, Mario the Juggler and others. An outshoot of this ensemble, Professor Potentate’s Patent Potent Potion Show was the first “non-radio” live entertainment to play at the Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul, which had recently been remodeled and opened to host Garrison Keillor’s “The Prairie Home Companion” radio show.
He was a full-time musician in numerous bands until 1985, when he began a 25-year corporate career at Lutheran Brotherhood (now Thrivent Financial).
In 2007 he began his four-year plan to return to making music full-time. The first step was to change his name to Nigel Egg, after giving up on the idea that people would be able to pronounce or remember his given name.
Nigel is an active member of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters (MAS) and currently serves on the MAS Board of Directors as Showcase Organizer. He is a member the Greater Twin Cities Blues Music Society (GTCBMS) and also volunteers through GTCBMS as a [Blues for Kids] instructor.
Awards
Nigel won first place at the 2004 Minnesota Folk Festival New Folk song contest in 2004, and was the runner-up in 2003. He placed second at the Telluride Blues and Brews festival’s Acoustic Blues competition in 2007, and came third at the 2008 Highway 61 Folks Festival in Mahtowa, MN. He is a four-time winner of the “mnspin” music competition sponsored by mnartists.org in 2007 and 2008.
Bands
High School rock bands - The Roots of Evil, Blind Lemon. In 1967, Blind Lemon opened for David Bowie and the Lower Third at the Beehive club in Canterbury, England.
Big Sky (Minneapolis, MN.)Included Nigel, Dick Kronick, Bill Fehlow, Matt Cook, Nick Gadbois, Roz Madsen.
The Deadbeats. This band was the "house band" for KFAI's Nine Oscar show, broadcast live from the Riverside Cafe every Friday lunch time, hosted by Tom Lambertson.
The Hoofbeats. The Sunday-through-Wednesday house band at Peabody's, in Inver Grove Heights. The Wednesday-through-Sunday house band was Steamboat Willie.
Pink and Gold
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Audio
Listen at Nigel Egg MySpace page
