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| Nick Straker Band |
| British bloke Nick "Straker" Bailey joined his first group in 1969. Since his childhood he has always had the desire to be a musician. It would take ten years after joining his first group for him to receive chart success. That success came in the form of "A Walk In The Park." The song was a major hit in Europe and upon re-releasing it in 1980 it gained attention in the States. His first U.S. hit came in the form of "A Little Bit Of Jazz." I remember working at Importes Etc. back in 1981 when we got our first copies of the CBS 12" single. The song took off here in Chicago and before the summer was over it had caught on all over the U.S. The success of the import prompted Prelude Records to license it for American release. In the fall of 1981 we eagerly bought copies of "Leaving On A Midnight Train" and it too caught on. This track was quite different from the downbeat jazz/funk of his previous release. This decidedly uptempo energy track did well in the clubs but America was in it's funk/rap period and Prelude did not pick it up for release. Nick and his cohorts had one more 12" single club hit here in America with "Straight Ahead" released on Prelude in 1982. The feel of the song was more in line with "Jazz" and was a Top Ten club favorite. The Nick Straker Band released more albums in England but nothing else ever impacted the U.S. He did do some writing for Taylor Dayne, Jellybean and Siedah Garrett but Bailey has never really courted the U.S. market for mainstream success. Bailey has continued making music all along, after ending the N.S.B. he has picked his projects sparingly. Very little is known about Bailey and The Nick Straker Band. Even his website gives no information about his past or his previous accomplishments. Despite that we honor him for the few releases we danced to in our youth. To find out about his current projects click on the link below. |
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