Nicholas Beggs (born 15 December 1961[1]) is an English musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of the Mute Gods and Kajagoogoo, formerly also a part of Iona and Ellis, Beggs & Howard and plays in the band of Steven Wilson. He is known for modifying a Chapman Stick into a fully MIDI-capable instrument triggering MIDI from both bass and melody strings; he calls it the Virtual Stick.[2]
Early life
Beggs was born on 15 December 1961 in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. His parents were Herby and Joan Beggs, and he has a younger sister, Jacqueline. His father left when he was young but came back into his life at a later age. In November 1979, Beggs' mother died of cancer, leaving him to care for his sister, who was then 15. He took a job as a dustman upon leaving school.
Career
Beggs' first band Johnny and the Martians (formed when he was 10) consisted of two friends on trumpet and acoustic guitar and Beggs on drums. He went to Linslade Secondary School.
After attending art school, in 1978 Beggs formed the band Art Nouveau with Steve Askew, Stuart Croxford Neale and Jez Strode. Chris Hamill (Limahl) joined the band in 1981 and at Beggs' suggestion it was renamed Kajagoogoo. The release of the first single "Too Shy" in January 1983 saw the band on a promotional tour as the record reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] The band went on to have four more UK top 40 hits through 1983 and 1984.
After firing lead singer Limahl in 1983 and, following a split with Strode in 1985, the three remaining band members reformed as Kaja,[1] releasing the album Crazy Peoples Right to Speak and the single "Shouldn't Do That".
Between 1985 and 1987, Beggs concentrated on writing with various other songwriters and formed Ellis, Beggs & Howard in March 1987.[3] Ellis, Beggs and Howard split in 1989, and in 1990 Beggs joined the progressive folk band Iona.[1] He recorded two albums with them: The Book of Kells and Beyond These Shores.
Beggs worked as a manager for Phonogram Records for eight months. He later became a contributor to various guitar publications, and he is a staff writer for Bass Guitar magazine. He is also a patron of London-based guitar and bass school Guitar-X.
He has recorded and released Stick Insect (2002), The Maverick Helmsman (2004), and The Darkness Inside Mens Hearts.
Beggs and Askew have been heavily involved with a duo named Industrial Salt, which have been successful in Japan. They have written material for Claudia Mills, a finalist on the talent show Let Me Entertain You.
A reformed Kajagoogoo with Beggs, Askew and Croxford Neale toured in 2004. Limahl and Strode both rejoined in 2008, and the band toured extensively.[5] The band released an EP of new material in 2011. In an interview with Cherry Red TV in 2018, Beggs talked about the reunion, stating "we reformed and we toured and we recorded an EP and remastered the back catalogue...and at that point I felt that we had done it all. It was a nice way to tie it up, put a bow on it and leave it alone and move on."[citation needed]
In February 2013, Beggs's project Lifesigns, with John Young and Frosty Beedle, released a self-titled album.
Beggs also became a member of the Belgian prog band Fish on Friday, starting the collaboration with their third album named Godspeed at the end of 2014, marking the starting point of a series of successful albums, along a decade: Quiet Life (2017), Black Rain (2020), and the most recent creation, 8mm (2023).
He contributed to John Mitchell's solo project Lonely Robot, which released the album Please Come Home in February 2015.
"Big Bubbles No Troubles" remix (RCA, 1989) – # 41 UK
"Big Bubbles No Troubles" remix (RCA, 1989)
Albums
Homelands (RCA, 1988)
The Lost Years Volume One – available from Nick Beggs website
The Lost Years Volume Two – available from Nick Beggs website as of 2010
Lifesigns
Lifesigns (Esoteric Antenna, 2013)
Solo
Albums
Stick Insect (Stick Enterprises, 2002)
The Maverick Helmsman (Stick Enterprises, 2004)
The Darkness Inside Mens Hearts (Burning Shed, 2014) – a compilation of the solo Chapman Stick pieces from his albums Stick Insect (2002) and The Maverick Helmsman (2004)
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