Nick Feldman

Nicholas Laurence Feldman (born 1 May 1955) is an English musician best known for forming the 1980s British new wave band Wang Chung.[1] Feldman was half of the duo Promised Land, which also featured Jon Moss of Culture Club. He was a founding investor in Interactive Ideas and has worked for Warner Brothers, Sony Music and SonyBMG.

The Honourable
Nick Feldman
Birth nameNicholas Laurence Feldman
Also known asNick de Spig
Born (1955-05-01) 1 May 1955
OriginNorth London, England
GenresRock, pop, pop rock, dance, new wave
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, composer, manager, publisher, investor, audition judge & talent scout for The Voice
InstrumentsBass guitar, guitar, keyboards, vocals
Years active1977–present
LabelsRewind Records (1980)
Arista Records (1981–1982)
Geffen Records (1982–1991)
Epic Records (1991)
Sony Records (1992)
Associated actsWang Chung, Promised Land

Biography

Feldman attended Highgate School and the University of Liverpool, originally studying psychology; however, his interest in the academic study of the human mind waned before graduation. After leaving the university he joined DJM Live Music Agency, signing Adam and the Ants. Before university, Feldman was involved in music. He left DJM to become a musician and form a band. Feldman has a younger brother, Steven, and a sister, Alexandra (a logo designer who designed the album art for Huang Chung). His father was Basil Feldman, Baron Feldman, a Conservative member of the House of Lords, and his aunt was the actress Fenella Fielding.

Wang Chung era (1977–1991)

When Feldman was forming a band in the mid 1970s, he placed a help-wanted ad in the weekly British music magazine Melody Maker. Singer and guitarist Jeremy Ryder (known professionally as Jack Hues) and bassist Feldman would eventually form the core duo of Wang Chung. They first met when Hues answered Feldman's ad for musicians. Mike Berry (an American bassist and songwriter) also answered the ad. Mike Smith (a keyboardist friend of Feldman) and drummer Paul Hammond were already members of the band. Smith was also a songwriter, but soon left after being signed as a songwriter by Chinn and Chapman. Hammond had already enjoyed some success in the 1970s band, Atomic Rooster. After a year and a half, Berry left the band, going solo as Michael Hamilton Berry.

In less than a year, that band split. Hues and Feldman joined future Wang Chung drummer Darren Costin, bassist Leigh Gorman, keyboardist Simon Campbell and vocalist Glenn Gregory to form 57 Men. This band lasted for about 18 months before breaking up.

Gregory went on to sing with Heaven 17, and Gorman later played with Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow. With the rising punk music movement in Britain in the late 1970s, Feldman and Hues formed the Intellektuals[2] in mid-1977. Two years later, Feldman and Hues formed 57 Men, meeting future Wang Chung drummer Darren Costin. The band again broke up within 18 months, but the three remained together and in late 1979 became known as Huang Chung. At this time, Feldman was known professionally as Nick De Spig.

Huang Chung released two singles in 1980 for independent music company Rewind Records. In May 1981, the band signed a two-album agreement with Arista Records, releasing its self-titled debut album the following year. That year (still as Nick De Spig), Feldman co-wrote one track of the album Walls Have Ears by Blanket of Secrecy. By 1983, Huang Chung changed its name to Wang Chung and Feldman returned to his real name professionally.

Wang Chung signed with Geffen Records in the U.S. They wanted to change their name from Huang Chung to something more understandable; Geffen insisted that they keep the name, only changing the spelling. After a summer tour for their first Geffen album (Points on the Curve) in 1984, Costin left the band to pursue a solo career. Without a full-time drummer Wang Chung continued recording, releasing singles (including "Dance Hall Days" and "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart), four gold and platinum albums and touring extensively. In addition to writing and producing for Wang Chung, Feldman scored the William Friedkin film To Live and Die in L.A. and wrote and performed for John Hughes' The Breakfast Club.

Post-Wang Chung era

By early 1990, the band quietly broke-up. Shortly afterwards, Feldman joined Jon Moss of Culture Club to form Promised Land.[3] They released a cover version of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air", which was the New Musical Express Single of the Week upon its release. Promised Land was signed by Pete Tong's ffrr label, recording their self-titled debut album for Epic Records in the U.S. Within two years the band broke-up and Feldman became a founding investor in a multimedia software distribution company, Interactive Ideas.

After scoring a number of film and TV projects, Feldman became A&R manager for Warner Music UK Limited.

In 1997, (whilst still working for Warner Bros) Feldman and Hues briefly reunited for the release of their first greatest-hits album on Geffen records, recording a new track ("Space Junk") as a bonus track. It was recently heard on The Walking Dead. Feldman worked at Warners until 2001, when he became head of A&R at Sony Europe for five years.

In 2005 Wang Chung appeared on Hit Me Baby One More Time on ABC in the U.S., performing "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and "Hot in Herre" by Nelly. Wang Chung reformed, working on a new album whilst Feldman still worked at Sony. He left Sony to concentrate on finishing the Wang Chung album and to expand into artist management.

Wang Chung has toured the U.S. four times from June 2009 to September 2010 and planned to release their album, Abducted by the 80s, in conjunction with another tour. In 2011–2012 Feldman judged auditions and talent-scouted for the BBC One show, The Voice.

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References
  1. Michaels, Randolph (22 September 2005). Flashbacks to Happiness: Eighties Music Revisited. iUniverse. pp. 208–. ISBN 978-0-595-37007-8. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  2. Talevski, Nick (8 June 2006). Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 242–. ISBN 978-1-84609-091-2. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  3. "New Releases: Promised Land". New Straits Times. Kuala Lumpur. 30 January 1993. p. 18. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
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