Nigel Olsson | |
|---|---|
 Olsson performing in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter Nigel Olsson |
| Also known as | Ollie Olsson |
| Born | (1949-02-10)10 February 1949 (age 76) Wallasey,Cheshire, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation | Drummer |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Member of | Elton John Band |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | nigelolsson |
Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English drummer, best known for being a lifelong member of theElton John Band. He has had an equally long career as asession musician and composed, recorded and produced albums as a solo artist.
Olsson was born to John and Elsa Olsson inWallasey,Cheshire, England, the second of five boys.[1] He began his musical career playing the guitar in small bands, and took up the drums at a gig where the drummer did not show up at the last minute.[2] His first appearance on a record album was in the bandPlastic Penny, which releasedTwo Sides of a Penny onPage One Records in 1968. Olsson was spotlighted on one song on that album, "I Want You," performing both lead vocals and a drum solo.
In 1969 he played drums on the "flower power" pop single "Mr. Boyd" b/w "Imagine" by Argosy, a one-off group which also included Reginald Dwight (later known asElton John),Caleb Quaye, andRoger Hodgson.[3] Olsson also had a brief stint with the English hard rock bandUriah Heep, playing drums on two songs on their 1970 debut LP,Very 'eavy... Very 'umble.
Subsequently, he played drums on one track onElton John's debut album,Empty Sky, and then replaced Dave Hynes inThe Spencer Davis Group, joining forces with bassistDee Murray. The pair joined John on the road as his touring band in April 1970, and played with John during his debut tour in the United States at theTroubadour Club on 25 August 1970. Only permitted at first to play on one track of each of John's early studio albums, Olsson and Murray, along with guitaristDavey Johnstone, became Elton's studio band with the recording ofHonky Chateau in January 1972.
With Johnstone, Olsson, and Murray on board, John enjoyed a string of critically acclaimed albums and hit singles. The albums includeHonky Chateau,Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player,Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, andCaribou. Shortly before theCaribou studio sessions, famed session percussionistRay Cooper joined permanently, having previously been asideman, what was billed as The Elton John Band. Olsson played during all of John's tours, and confesses that he still gets nervous before going on stage.[4]
In 1971, Olsson produced and released his debut solo albumNigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra and Chorus onUni Records, featuring Murray,Cochise (band) guitaristMick Grabham, andHookfoot guitaristCaleb Quaye, who had played on John's early albums. Olsson also teamed up with theLiverpooltrio,The Big Three, for their reunion albumResurrection (1973).
In May 1975, Olsson and Murray were dismissed from John's band following the release ofCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which, upon release, entered the charts at No. 1. Olsson's second solo album,Nigel Olsson, appeared later that year on John's ownrecord label,The Rocket Record Company, and featured acover of theBee Gees'-penned "Only One Woman", which had been recorded with John and his band in August 1974 during the sessions forCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, and was produced byGus Dudgeon. The album was produced by Robert Appére.
Olsson continued working as a studio musician, releasing another self-titled album produced by Paul Davis onColumbia in 1978, while managed by Martin Pichinson. Although that album brought noTop 40 recognition, in 1979 he released the albumNigel and enjoyed some mild success as a solo artist, scoring a pair of Top 40hits on the U.S.pop chart with "A Little Bit of Soap" and "Dancin' Shoes", the latter of which cracked the Top 20 at No. 18. "Dancin' Shoes" was written by Carl Storie, and first recorded by hisFaith Band.
In August 1980, he released the albumChanging Tides on CBS'sBang Records, but the album failed to achievechart success. That same year, Olsson returned to Elton John's band for what was to be a four-year tenure, appearing on John's albums21 at 33 andThe Fox. He rejoined former bandmates Murray and Johnstone for the tour behind John's 1982 albumJump Up!, and stayed with the reformed band through the next two albums and tours forToo Low for Zero (1983) andBreaking Hearts (1984). Following another line-up change, they would rejoin only one more time in 1988 for backing vocals onReg Strikes Back prior to Murray's untimely death on 15 January 1992.
In 1991 Olsson reunited with Johnstone in the band Warpipes, releasingHoles in the Heavens. Although the album was critically successful, it failed commercially when their label, Artful Balance, went bankrupt, and the band was unable to tour to support the record.
On 31 March 2000, Olsson sang backing vocals alongside Billy Trudel andKen Stacey when John appeared onThe Today Show to promote the soundtrack to the filmThe Road to El Dorado. On 3 April, Olsson played drums on three songs at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit saluting John at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. By the time of John's "One Night Only" concerts in New York City on 20 and 21 October, Olsson was alternating with and playing drums alongsideCurt Bisquera. In January 2001, Olsson took over the full-time drumming chores when Bisquera left to pursue other projects.
In 2001 Olsson released another solo album titledMove The Universe on 81 Records.Davey Johnstone andGuy Babylon produced the record and played on all of the tracks, along withBob Birch on bass, Elton John alumnusFred Mandel on piano, John Mahon on percussion, and Billy Trudel on backing vocals.Kiki Dee sang lead vocals onRoachford's "Naked Without You", and Olsson's brother Kai sang lead vocals onMcGuinness Flint's "When I'm Dead an' Gone." The track "Building A Bird" had been written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin in 1994 during the sessions for Elton's album "Made in England," but never recorded. Olsson dedicated the album to the lateDee Murray.
In the studio, he played and sang backing vocals on several tracks on John'sSongs from the West Coast (2001). He then played all the drums onPeachtree Road (2004) andThe Captain & the Kid (2006), as well as continuing in the touring band, along with Johnstone,Bob Birch (bass), Kim Bullard (keyboards) and John Mahon (percussion). With bassistMatt Bissonette replacing the late Bob Birch in 2012, this band recordedWonderful Crazy Night in 2015 for release in February 2016.[1]
On 9 November 2014, Olsson played his 2000th concert with Elton John at the Ice Hall Palace inSaint Petersburg, Russia.[5]
On his 68th birthday, 10 February 2017, Olsson played his 2,267th concert with Elton John at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada.[6]
On 25 June 2023, Olsson played with headliner Elton John at theGlastonbury Festival.
Olsson was married to Lisa Gombatz, twin sister toDee Murray’s wife Maria, from 1980 to 1989; they have one son. In 1989, Olsson married Schanda Butler, daughter of music producerLarry Butler. They live in Los Angeles.
Olsson is a longtime car and racing fanatic, and has been associated with the Vintage Auto Racing Association and the Historic Motor Sports Association in the United States as both a race car driver and apace car driver.
| Year | Album | Billboard 200 | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Nigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra and Chorus[7] | — | DJM Records |
| 1975 | Nigel Olsson[8] | — | The Rocket Record Company |
| 1975 | Drummers Can Sing Too![9] | — | The Rocket Record Company |
| 1978 | Nigel Olsson (second self-titled)[10] | — | Columbia Records |
| 1979 | Nigel[11] | 140 | Bang Records |
| 1980 | Changing Tides[12] | — | |
| 2001 | Move The Universe[13] | — | 81 Records |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record Label | B-side | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US AC | AUS[14] | |||||
| 1971 | "Some Sweet Day" | — | — | — | Uni Records | "Weirdhouse" | Nigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra and Chorus |
| "Sunshine Looks Like Rain" | — | — | — | "And I Know in My Heart" | |||
| 1972 | "Alabama" | — | — | — | DJM Records | "Sunshine Looks Like Rain" | |
| 1974 | "Something Lacking in Me" | — | — | — | The Rocket Record Company | "Songs I Sing" | Nigel Olsson |
| "Only One Woman" | 91 | — | 58 | "In Good Time" | |||
| 1976 | "Get It up for Love" | — | — | — | "Can't You See" | ||
| "Girl We've Got to Keep On" | — | — | — | "A Girl Like You" (US No. 107) | |||
| 1978 | "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" | — | — | — | CBS Records International | "Living in a Fantasy" | Nigel |
| "Dancin' Shoes" | 18 | 8 | 62 | Bang Records | "Living in a Fantasy" | ||
| 1979 | "Little Bit of Soap" | 34 | 9 | 54 | "Thinking of You" | ||
| "Part of the Chosen Few" | — | — | — | "All It Takes" | |||
| 1980 | "Saturday Night" | — | — | — | "Trapeze" | Changing Tides | |
Empty Sky, 1969
Elton John WithDee Murray And Nigel Olsson 11-17-70, 1970[15]
The Early Years, 1970[16]
Tumbleweed Connection, 1970
Very Alive, 1971[17]
Friends, 1971
Madman Across the Water, 1971
Tokyo Shakes: Live in Japan 1971, 1971[18]
First Visit 1971, (Italy) 1971[19]
Honky Château, 1972
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, 1973
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973
Live, (Hollywood Bowl) 1973[20]
Caribou, 1974
Live atHammersmith, 1974[21]
Apple Pie, 1974[22]
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, 1975
Stand At The Seattle Center Coliseum, 1975[23]
Here and There, 1976
Elton John Band FeaturingJohn Lennon and TheMuscle Shoals Horns, 1976[24]
Concierto Grabado En Vivo!, 1976[25]
21 at 33, 1980
The Fox, 1981
In Central Park, 1981[26]
Too Low for Zero, 1983
Breaking Hearts, 1984
Reg Strikes Back, 1988 (vocals)
The Night Time Concert, 1990[27]
To Be Continued…, 1990
The One, 1992 (vocals)[28]
Madman Shakes Tokyo!, 1998[29]
The Road to El Dorado soundtrack, 2000 (vocals)[30]
Elton John One Night Only – The Greatest Hits, 2000
Songs from the West Coast, 2001
Peachtree Road, 2004
Dream Ticket, 2004
The Captain & the Kid, 2006
Live AtRose Hall, 2006[31]
Live AtWatford Football Club, 2006[32]
Elton 60 – Live at Madison Square Garden, 2007
The Red Piano, 2008[33]
Elton John In Japan, 2008[34]
Live 2009 -Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, 2009[35]
Wonderful Crazy Night, 2016
