In this boisterous and entertaining memoir, Nigel Dick recounts his wild ride from record company motorcycle messenger to one of the world's leading music video directors.
After a brief stint busking in the Paris Metro, Nigel Dick got his start in the music business at London's upstart Stiff Records in the late '70s, working with Graham Parker, Ian Dury, Devo and the Go-Go’s. From helping out on a Madness video, he began a career as a music video director; he went on to work with hundreds of stars, including Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Guns n' Roses, Cher, Toto, Britney Spears, Yes, Nickelback, Celine Dion, Alice Cooper, Alice in Chains and Tears for Fears. If you’ve ever watched MTV, you’ve seen his work.
Ten classic videos directed by Nigel Dick:
- Band Aid: “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
- Cher: “Believe”
- Def Leppard: “Rocket”
- Celine Dion: "Falling Into You"
- Guns n’ Roses: “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
- Nickelback: “Photograph”
- Oasis: “Wonderwall”
- Ozzy Osbourne: "Back on Earth"
- Britney Spears: “Oops!...I Did It Again”
- Tears for Fears: “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
With so many artists depicted here making the videos by which they have come to be known, there is something for everyone who's ever watched MTV and wondered about their creation.
Chad Kroeger of Nickelback: "If you thought Nigel Dick could direct a video, you should see him write a book!"
Steve Lukather of Toto: "We hated doing videos cause we are musicians not dancers or actors. But Nigel made it fun, did an amazing job, was a great hang and caught on to our personalities quick."
Tony Scalzo of Fastball: "Nigel is a brilliant storyteller and a tireless creative force."
Rob Tannenbaum, co-author of I Want My MTV: "It’s pretty unlikely that Nigel Dick – a frustrated architect, failed rock star and failed bike messenger (he didn’t own a bike), a man whose own mother told him he’d never amount to anything – played such a significant role in music video history, but it’s true. He was a balding, abstemious 28 year old PR man when he was handed a camera and told to figure it out. In this blunt, colorful memoir, in which he seemingly meets everyone in the music business, he describes the wild west early days of MTV and videos, when no one knew what they were doing and an entire art form was invented on the fly. It’s incredible what one can accomplish with ingenuity, pluck and good cheer."
Nigel Dick, a co-founder of Propaganda Films, has directed over 450 music videos and more than 35 documentaries and feature films. He has won three MTV awards, two Billboard Awards, three MVPA awards and one Brit award. His videos have been nominated for a further 21 MTV awards, 26 Much Music Awards and a Grammy. He has been responsible for some of the best known music videos in history: "Sweet Child o' Mine," "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" by Guns n’ Roses; "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis, "Believe" by Cher and "Baby One More Time" and "Oops! I Did It Again" by Britney Spears. He is also a lecturer. Nigel Dick lives in Golden, CO; this is his first book.
