Andy Nicholson is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and photographer, best known as the original bass guitarist of the Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, which he left in 2006. In 2008, he founded Mongrel with Jon McClure of Reverend and The Makers. In 2009, he became the bassist for ex-Milburn frontman Joe Carnall's band The Book Club, but left later that year to join Reverend and The Makers. He is currently producing and performing in hip hop group Clubs & Spades with Maticmouth from Reverend Soundsystem.
Biography
Early days
An attendee of Stocksbridge High School, Nicholson was the only member of the Arctic Monkeys to not live in the High Green district, residing in nearby Hillsborough. Nicholson played bass guitar, and was seen as "the band wit, reliably swift with a self-deprecating quip". He played on Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and the EPs Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys and Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?.
Departure from Arctic Monkeys
The band announced in May 2006 that Nicholson would miss the band's forthcoming North America tour as he was suffering from "fatigue following an intensive period of touring", and would be temporarily replaced by Nick O'Malley of The Dodgems while Nicholson recovered. However, on 20 June 2006, it was announced that he was no longer part of the band, with Alex Turner later stating "we sorta found ourselves in a situation where we wanted to move forward". The band asked Nicholson to leave. Helders later remarked: "It’s not for everyone, the traveling, I suppose... He didn’t get specific. We didn’t want to drag all of that out of him... We took out to America and we just couldn't see going back to the way things were for whatever reason." Not until 2019 did Nicholson himself open up on the issue. In an interview with podcast The Michael Anthony Show, Nicholson told the host that leaving the band that he co-found was "soul destroying". The bassist added that news of his imminent departure came as a huge shock and was far from mutual. Nicholson went on to detail the meeting which ended his time as a Monkey and also painted a vivid picture of life in the years that followed which included struggles with mental health as well a new search for identity.
Post-Arctic Monkeys
Initially, Nicholson began making a name for himself in Sheffield as a DJ, mainly as a resident at Threads, but also performing at Reverend Soundsystem. He also remixed a Reverend and The Makers song "You Get So Alone Sometimes it Just Makes Sense". In November 2007 he made his DJ début in London at a club event called Threads vs Filthy Few. In 2008, Nicholson formed Mongrel, which consisted of himself, Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers, Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell and Matt Helders from Arctic Monkeys, as well as London rapper Lowkey from the Poisonous Poets. They released their first album, Better Than Heavy on 7 March 2009. He was also in the band Lords of Flatbush, with Sheffield-based singer Steve Edwards and Louis Carnall formerly of Milburn, but left to concentrate on Mongrel. The position was handed over to his brother Rob Nicholson of Sheffield band Dead World Leaders. In August 2009, Nicholson joined ex-Milburn frontman Joe Carnall's band The Book Club, but left later that year when, on 23 December Jon McClure announced via his Twitter account and official website that Nicholson would be made an official member of Reverend and the Makers. He remained in the group until their 2010 hiatus but when they reformed in January 2012 Nicholson was replaced by his friend and former bandmate in The Book Club, Joe Carnall. Nicholson is currently producing and performing in hip-hop group Clubs & Spades with Maticmouth from Reverend Soundsystem. They made their live début at The Plug on Saturday 20 July 2013 as part of Tramlines Festival and their début album Stand Up was released on Monday 22 July 2013. He is also part of production duo Sticky Blood with Jamie Shield.
