Born in Essex, where he still remains due to a worrying obsession with village cricket, Nic is Assistant Editor and Senior Writer with the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, which allows him to indulge an even greater obsession with music. A childhood spent playing trumpet in brass bands pointed to a career as the new Doc Severinsen, but his parents' hopes were cruelly cast aside when he discovered his brother's record collection. Educated in the various delights of Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, Roy Harper and Irish folk ballads, he then graduated to The Triffids and the Go-Betweens to provide respite from chilly Essex nights full of robo-pop, cheap lager and white stilettos. Completing an English degree at Kent University, he returned to Essex to play cricket, temp for some shady companies, and write music reviews for a local magazine. A stroke of good fortune led him to the EPM, which he helped build up as a leading reference source on popular music (sorry, strictly no classical please!). In his spare time Nic continues to play cricket and wonder if his vinyl collection should be 'trimmed down' to make room for a new sofa. His worries are soothed by the realisation that the current music scene is as vibrant and diverse as he has ever known it. Particular favourites: Rachel Unthank and The Hold Steady, although he also got rather excited by the reissue of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue.

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