COVER FEATURE
ROBERT NICHOLS & STEVE SPITHRAY AHEAD OF THE RELEASE OF STEVE SPITHRAY’S BIOGRAPHY OF TEESSIDE POWERHOUSE ROBERT NICHOLS, CLAIRE DUPREE TALKS TO THEM BOTH ABOUT THE POWER OF A DIY SPIRIT, THE JOYS OF UNPREDICTABLE PERFORMANCES AND MAKING THE MOST OF LIFE IMAGE BY AMELIA READ “In terms of degrees of separation, whatever you are involved in on Teesside you are never very far away from Robert Nichols. He’s like a kind of social web that connects the whole region; whether it’s music, football, local history or running. A uniquely positive influence.” Chances are, if you’re from Teesside or have even a passing connection to the area’s music scene, this statement from Steve Spithray will ring very true, and he should know; he’s spent the last 18 months writing a biography of the Shrug frontman, Middlesbrough FC fanzine editor and local history expert. Having first interviewed Robert about Shrug’s 2018 album Island
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Complex, and noticing that their paths continually intersected – whether as music and football fans, or as writers (they’re both longstanding members of the NARC. team) – his interest was piqued. “Rob is one of the few people I’ve met in life who I can just sit and listen to talk for hours on end, so our quick 30-minute interview turned into an hour and a half of wildly off-topic musings about music, football and life that became the genesis of the idea for the book.” Steve explains. Steve discovered after a number of Sunday morning meetings over hot chocolate – handily conducted pre-pandemic – that Robert’s story was one of grassroots glory. Coming of age in Thatcher’s
