Nigel Dick

Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953, Catterick, North Yorkshire, England) is an English music video and film director, writer and musician based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Band Aid video "Do They Know It's Christmas?", as well as over 500[1] other music videos.

Education

Educated at Gresham's School, Holt, in the East of England and the University of Bath, Dick began completing a degree in architecture before pursuing a career in the record business. He has studied mime and is also a graduate of Judith Weston's Acting for Directors class.

Career

Before success in the music and film industries, Dick worked as an architectural draughtsman, a clerk, a busker, a cab driver, a construction worker, a farm labourer, a motorcycle messenger, a salesman, a waiter, and served a spell in the Sewage Division of the Anglian Water Authority.

He began his career in the record business working at Stiff Records, where he stayed for five years working as a Press Officer with Madness, Ian Dury, Lene Lovich and The Plasmatics. In the early 1980s he moved to Phonogram Records. While at Phonogram he directed the original Band Aid video "Do They Know It's Christmas?". In 1986, he moved to Los Angeles to direct his first feature film, P.I. Private Investigations (1987), starring Ray Sharkey and Martin Balsam. Sitwenty documentaries and feature films and over three hundred music videos.

In 1986, he co-founded Propaganda Films, which became a major production company for commercials and music videos.

In 1999, he directed MTV's first made-for-TV feature 2gether. The film spawned a TV series and two albums. Dick co-wrote a number of songs on the first album which reached the US Top-40 chart. In 2003 he directed Seeing Double for Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment, which starred British pop act S Club 7.

In 2008, E! Television announced that Dick would be co-exec producing an observational documentary TV series starring Pamela Anderson titled: Pam: Girl On The Loose.

The artists and bands Dick has directed to date include The Offspring, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Breaking Benjamin, Anastacia, Carly Simon, Def Leppard, Steve Lukather, Nickelback, Guns N' Roses, Oasis, Kula Shaker, Backstreet Boys, Toni Braxton, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Il Divo, Elton John, Ricky Martin, Paul McCartney, Amy Lee, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, REM, Gloria Estefan, S Club, Pussycat Dolls, and Ozzy Osbourne.

Awards

Dick's film work has won three MTV awards, two Billboard Awards and three MVPA awards. His videos have won a BRIT Award and been nominated for more than twenty MTV Video Music Awards, sixteen MuchMusic Video Awards and a Grammy Award. His personal nominations include a Cable Ace Award.

In 2000, the MVPA (Music Video Producers Association) awarded him and the other founders of Propaganda Films a joint Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012 the MVPA awarded him his own Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2014, Berlin Calling won a Gold REMI award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival

Musician

Dick was a founding member of pub-rock act and Stiff Records house band The Stiff All Stars. The band was briefly signed to Stiff Records competitor Chiswick Records in 1980 and subsequently released four singles. Band line-up was Andy Murray (guitar, vocals), Nigel Dick (bass, vocals), Pete Glenister (guitar), Nicky Graham (keys), Nick Garnett (drums) Hugh Attwooll (drums). Despite band's name only Murray and Dick actually worked at Stiff Records and Glenister went on to write and produce for Alison Moyet, Kirsty MacColl, Darius; Graham went on to write and produce Bros. The band appeared on TV, toured frequently and supported Jools Holland, Any Trouble, Madness amongst others. Jamie West Oram featured in an early line-up but left to join The Fixx. Thirty years after the release of their first single The Stiff All Stars released their first album '12.5 on a 10 Point Scale' which featured new tracks and previously unreleased songs featuring Jeff Porcaro (Toto) and Carl Verheyen (Supertramp).

Dick also appeared four times as a backing musician on BBC's famous 'Top of the Pops': three times with Jona Lewie ('Kitchen at Parties', 'Stop The Cavalry') and once with The Snowmen ('Hokey Cokey').

As a guitarist, he has released three albums:

Traveller

Nigel Dick travels by bicycle and has made cycle tours in fourteen countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, and various states of Europe, including his home country of the United Kingdom.

Selected music video credits (as director)

Year Video Artist
1983 "I Think I'll Get My Haircut" Jona Lewie
1984 "Mothers Talk" Tears for Fears
"Shout
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid
1985 "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" Tears For Fears
"Head over Heels
"I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)
"Living on the Borderline" Smash Palace
1987 "Welcome to the Jungle" Guns N' Roses
1988 "Sweet Child o' Mine"
"Paradise City"
"Rocket" Def Leppard
1989 "Patience" Guns N' Roses
1992 "TV Crimes" Black Sabbath
1993 "Right By Your Side" Enuff Z'Nuff
1994 "Rock 'n' Roll Star" Oasis
1995 "Wonderwall"
1996 "Falling into You" Celine Dion
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
"Tattva" Kula Shaker
"Wide Open Space" Mansun
"Don't Look Back in Anger" Oasis
"Champagne Supernova"
"Slang" Def Leppard
Work It Out"
1997 "As Long as You Love Me" Backstreet Boys
"All I Have To Give"
"Push" Matchbox Twenty
"Gone Away" The Offspring
"How's It Going to Be" Third Eye Blind
1998 "Don't Go Away" Oasis
"Shorty (You Keep Playing with My Mind)" Imajin featuring Keith Murray
"Only When I Sleep" The Corrs
"...Baby One More Time" Britney Spears
"'Cruel Summer" Ace of Base
"I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" Marc Anthony & Tina Arena
1999 "At My Most Beautiful" R.E.M.
"Sometimes" Britney Spears
"(You Drive Me) Crazy"
"I'm Outta Love" Anastacia
"Believe" Cher
"Don't Say You Love Me" M2M
"Strong Enough Cher
"Me, Myself & I" Vitamin C
2000 "Oops!... I Did It Again" Britney Spears
"I Think I'm in Love With You" Jessica Simpson
Swear It Again" (US Version) Westlife
"Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" Fuel
"Breathless" The Corrs
"Innocent" Fuel
Alive" S Club
"Pretty Boy" M2M
"I Wanna Be with You" Mandy Moore
2001 "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" Train
"Cowboys & Kisses" Anastacia
"Drowning" Backstreet Boys
"Astounded" Tantric
"Aroma" Pru
"For You" Staind
2002 "Too Bad" Nickelback
"Never Again" Nickelback
"Hero" Chad Kroeger (featuring Josey Scott)
"That's What Girls Do" No Secrets
"Kids in America"
2003 "Someday" Nickelback
2004 "Out of the Blue" Delta Goodrem
"Vindicated" Dashboard Confessional
(Spider-Man 2 soundtrack)
"Broken" Seether (featuring Amy Lee)
"Angel" The Corrs
"Everything to Me" Brooke Hogan
2005 "Far Away" Nickelback
"Blind" Lifehouse
"Dancing" Mai Kuraki
"Photograph" Nickelback
"Stickwitu" Pussycat Dolls
2006 "Always on Your Side" Sheryl Crow & Sting
"Savin' Me" Nickelback
"Rock On" Def Leppard
"Time of Our Lives" Il Divo & Toni Braxton
2007 "Better Than Me" Hinder
2008 "Absolutely Positively" Anastacia
"Gotta Be Somebody" Nickelback
"Underneath the Same Sky" Kenny Loggins
2009 "I'd Come for You" Nickelback
"If Today Was Your Last Day"
"Never Gonna Be Alone"
"I Love This Town" Clive Gregson
"Constant as the Wind" Carl Verheyen
"First There Is a Mountain" Kenny Loggins
2010 "Give Me a Sign" Breaking Benjamin
"Ambitions" Joe McElderry
"Monster High Fright Song" Monster High
"This Afternoon" Nickelback
"Fever" Bullet for My Valentine
"Bittersweet Memories"
"Pretend" Destinee & Paris
"Not a Love Song" Wonderland
"Lose My Mind The Wanted
2011 "Bittersweet" Clive Gregson
"The Road Divides"
Live DVD
Carl Verheyen
"Wranglin'" 3 Boxes
"Gold Forever" The Wanted
"Starlight" Wonderland
"The Last Goodbye" David Cook
"Something To Say" The Brilliant Things
"Give" LeAnn Rimes
2012 "Forbidden Kiss" Frank Gambale
"Lullaby" Nickelback
"Start of Something Good" Daughtry
"Bang, Bang" Beth Hart
2013 "Borrowed" LeAnn Rimes
"Spirit of Julia" Carl Verheyen
"These Things You Do" Billie Rainbird
"Cantik Calls" Billie Rainbird
"My Kind of Girl" Clive Gregson
2014 "A Billion Girls" Elyar Fox
"Dirt" Florida Georgia Line
"Wastin' Gas" Dallas Smith
"All I Want for Christmas is You" Fifth Harmony
2015 "Lifted" Dallas Smith
"She Keeps Me Up" Nickelback

Credits as director (Feature films)

Credits as screenwriter (Feature films)

References

  1. Nigel Dick counts his works as Dick Films (DF), as of 4 June 2014 he reached DF514. Compare nigeldick.com

External links