1980 - 1989

Cut-Throat releases the single Dead Man's Curve, a twisted re-make of the Jan and Dean classic from the '60s.

Nash opens for The Slits at Hurrahs, N.Y.C.

Nash opens for XTC, N.Y.C.

Nash does St. Valentine's Massacre show at The Edge. It was a week-long engagement, the first and only Nash has ever done. Gary Numan and his dad (his manager) came to see the show. Gary was in Toronto rehearsing for his North American Tour. Nash was to be the opening act for just the Toronto concert but Gary loved what he heard and saw, so with just a handshake, Nash was on board to do the whole tour.

North American Tour with Gary Numan

Nash opens for The Who in front of 70,000 people at C.N.E Stadium, Toronto. This was an auspicious occasion. The Who were on tour with Heart and J. Geils Band opening for them, and in each city, the promoter would add a local band to the bill. Two weeks before the gig, the Toronto promoter still hadn't found an appropriate opening act. Some bands, when offered the gig, lost out because they wanted too much money. One day, when Nash was in the office of his agent, he overheard the agents talking about this problem. Nash, being a huge Who fan, offered his services for nothing. Nash had even bought tickets to the show. This was to be Nash's 15th time seeing The Who live. When the agent called the promoter, the gig was on.

But the promoter couldn't let Nash play for nothing. Nash would get union scale for one musician playing a 25 minute set -- $125. In the blazing sunlight, Nash went on at 5:30 in the afternoon in front of 70,000 people. Dressed as the The Cop, Nash tore into Dopes on the Water. The Who's soundman was very generous. There was no threat from a one-man band. The main PA, as well as the stage sound was incredibly loud. It is an awesome sensation when one hits a power chord at that volume and you realize that all that noise is you. The set was very well received and The Who's sound techs all compliment Nash on his ability to thrash. The Who went on at 11 pm and made $300,000 -- almost 3,000 times more money than Nash, their humble opening act. Nash did not get to meet his heroes that night; they were in a foul mood, and Pete was not very communicative.

According to Billboard Magazine, this concert was the largest grossing and attended concert in North America that year.

Nash composes electronic sound effects for the film The Kidnapping of the President.

Gary Numan calls up for Nash to do tour of U.K. The call came on a Thursday night. Gary wanted Nash to come to England to start the tour on the following Monday! Needless to say it was chaotic. Nash had two roadies but could only take one with him due to costs. He chose the stage/sound tech, Mike Dent. That left the problem of passports.

With connections in Ottawa, both passports were issued within 48 hours. The next problem was getting there as Nash didn't have the $2,000 for airfare and equipment. A quick call to Laurie Dunn at Virgin Publishing in London and Nash had an immediate advance and the first flight out on Monday morning. The first show was in Birmingham that night, but due to delays and the long drive up from London, Nash didn't make it. The first performance of Nash The Slash in England would be the next night in Manchester. The tour arrived London on September 16 for two nights at the Hammersmith Odeon. This is a very old building in the heart of London and not very secure. While equipment is left set up on stage overnight, thieves break in and steal two of Numan's keyboards and both of Nash's mandolins, which are in one case that resembles a guitar case. The loss is devastating. Unlike a keyboard or guitar, electric mandolins are hard to find, and Nash's instruments were custom made. The famous "Skull" mando might be gone forever. Scotland Yard is called in to investigate and a police drawing of the Skull mando is shown on a TV show called Crime Search. This show is usually dedicated to jewelry heists in Knightsbridge, but being a foreign visitor, Nash is given special attention. As Russell Bell (Numan's guitarist) said to Nash at the time, "I once had my stereo stolen and it didn't get on Crime Search!"

On the second night at the Hammersmith, Nash does a shortened set, playing just violin. Before the tour continues in Portsmouth, Nash must find another mandolin. After searching all over London, Nash settles on a cheap Japanese model, and with some serious alterations, it becomes a functional instrument. This instrument will be used for the rest of the tour, as well as on the upcoming recording sessions for the Children of the Night LP. Nash calls back home to Canada for a new mandolin to be made. Vladomir Bosnar, the maker of all Nash mandos, goes to work on another black model. The first of the two nights at Hammersmith was recorded on a cassette machine at the board. The last-known performance of the Skull mando had been preserved for posterity. This tape would come in handy very soon.

Nash remains in England and does local London dates.

Nash plays The Greyhound

Nash plays London's Rock and Roll Mecca, The Marquis Club. Blancmange opens the show.

Nash signs with Dindisc, a sub-label of Virgin. Dindisc wants to put out some promo records to the media, but Nash doesn't have anything recorded yet. Oh yes, he does. Release of limited edition (300 copies) live "official" bootleg of Hammersmith Holocaust, recorded at The Hammersmith Odeon opening for Gary Numan. All three hundred copies are hand-stamped by Nash and Mike Dent, his sound tech. It takes three days of sitting on the floor of their apartment to stamp all the labels and jackets as well as number each one. The LP's are distributed to radio and music journalists. They are not for sale. This is the rarest of Nash recordings.

The Children Of The Night LP.

Nash must now meet a producer he'd like to work with. Separate lunches with John Leckie and Mick Glossop prove that big names are pricey. Steve Hillage was an interesting musician on the Virgin roster but had no experience producing. Nash and Steve met through a mutual friend and it was instant camaraderie. Dindisc was reluctant to have Steve produce the record, citing his recognition as a an old hippie and not being "now". Nash isn't interested in flavour-of-the-weak mentality, so he insists Steve is on board. A studio is the next important find. Virgin Records owns some of the finest studios in England, from The Manor to the TownHouse (where Nash lived upstairs in a small apartment. More on this later). They even have a studio in a barge on The Thames. All are too big (expensive) or too small. Nash and Steve visit a lot of studios before Steve remembers Britannia Row, the studio owned and operated by Pink Floyd. A few years earlier he had recorded an album there with Nick Mason producing and the rates were reasonable. The studio is in an old stone building and houses the studio and offices on the first floor, with Pink Floyd's sound system on the second, and the lighting on the third. The studio isn't fancy, but the engineers Nick Griffiths and Mike Johnson have seen it all and aren't confounded by weird machines and weirder noises. This is where the Children will find their home.

While recording the album, Steve and Nash travel back and forth to the studio, listening to tapes of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. They listen to one episode on every journey for 12 days straight. Nash flies home for Christmas, glad to know he has an album in the can. He also has a new mandolin waiting for him thanks to Vlado.

Nash returns to the London apartment he shares with Mike Dent. It is upstairs from the TownHouse studio owned by Virgin. Nash and Mike have access to the lounge and kitchen area of the TownHouse. Many other recording artists come and go. Jello Biafra stays down the hall for a few weeks. Phil Collins interrupts Nash's game of pool to play his latest mix of In The Air Tonight. Kinda catchy Phil. Should do well. Peter Gabriel comes in for some sessions. Mike Dent hangs out with Kate Bush and gets her some hash at 3 a.m. On one occasion, Queen came in to do some recording and banned everyone else from using the lounge or kitchen for three days! Snobs.

Children is released in the U.K., Europe, Canada and Australia. Nash does big show at The Venue in London. While setting up the gear, he gets a phone call. A lady has found what she says are his mandolins. Her dog found them in a bag under some bushes in a park. She remembered the Crime Watch show 5 months earlier and her daughter had seen an ad in the paper for tonight's concert. Nash gets in a cab and heads for NE London. The lady is given a reward of one hundred pounds and Nash returns to the gig. The mandolins are not used that night, but instead are cleaned and propped up on a sofa like lost children. The instruments are in remarkably good condition. The theory is that the thief had thought he was stealing a guitar. Upon discovery that the case contained two very unique-looking mandolins, the merchandise became too hot to sell. The original case had more value than the contents. Thankfully the thief didn't destroy the evidence, but instead kept them indoors for some time. Considering how little rust was on them, and only a few new scratches, the mandolins could only have been in the park for a week or so.

Nash opens for Japan at The Hammersmith Odeon. The Skull mandolin makes a glorious return to the stage. For weeks, Nash was hounded by Japan's management to do this gig. Nash didn't want to do the show because he doesn't like Japan's music. He finally gives in, does the show, and blows Japan off stage. Robert Shelton in The London Times had this to say: "Japan deals in an all-too predictable mood music that masquerades as rock glamour. [...] Nash the Slash orchestrates himself with tapes and effects mixed in and out of enough equipment to launch a cheap day return to Mars. The effects were imaginative, the climaxes often chilling."

Single Novel Romance recorded with Bill Nelson producing. It was a worthless attempt at pop music, but Nash at least got to spend a weekend with one of his musical heroes. There's a story here, as well.

Club tour of U.K. A variety of venues, from clubs to University halls. The most memorable gigs are sometimes the most bizarre, such as Middlesborough. The solid oak picnic tables (too heavy to throw), with chains attached to the concrete floors (to be sure they can't be thrown), flanged into troughs of beer, puke and blood.

Middlesbrough is in the hinterlands of England. Sort of like Blind River, only rougher.

On that late Saturday afternoon, Nash and his crew were setting up the equipment at the venue while the local football club was going down to defeat at the hands of Manchester United at the nearby stadium. Little did Nash know that the local drunken frustration would show up at his gig five hours later. A very punk audience came out to whoop and holler. There is a quaint ritual at gigs in these parts to throw large pennies onto the stage in appreciation of the performer. These pennies are the size of Canadian quarters, and when hurled at the solo artist standing at his microphone with nowhere to go, the effect is traumatizing. The audience is warned. It happens even more. Members of the audience who want Nash to continue playing start fighting with the drunken rowdies. It spreads to the girls and soon two young women in black punk garb start to flail at each other right in front of the stage. Hair and blood start flying.

Nash, fearing a riot, leaves the stage in mid-set. The owner later told Nash that this happens all the time and that Nash was the only performer to have the balls to tell them off.

Later that night, as Nash and Mike Dent are packing up the stage, the entire room is hosed down by the staff. The plastic cups of stale beer are swept off the solid oak tables by hoses of water, joining with the puke and blood into troughs in the concrete floor. The plastic cups are then swept off the floor. Very efficient. The place looks more like an abattoir than a performance venue. London is more civilized with Blancmange opening.

Nash plays violin on three tracks of Gary Numan's new LP Dance as well as performs in Gary's band for his final shows at Wembley Arena. Stories here.

European tour with The Tubes. Lots of stories.

Nash returns to Canada.

Opens for Iggy Pop in New York City.

Performs at The Police Picnic outside of Toronto. This is Nash's first big gig since returning to Canada. The Police Picnic is a one day festival of great bands including Iggy Pop, Killing Joke, The Specials, and of course The Police. This would be the first big concert by The Police (a crowd of 25,000) and their management became very arrogant.

As Nash was doing his set to an enthusiastic crowd, the manager of The Police told the stage sound tech to shut Nash down. His excuse was that Nash was going on too long. Nash was one song away from his allotted time. The stage sound tech refused to turn off Nash, so the manager himself started to pull down the faders. As he cut the power to the front sound, he couldn't figure out why Nash still had sound on stage. That's because Nash always uses his own stage monitors as well as the house system. Nash finally quit the stage when he realized what was going on. The entire incident was captured on video by CITY-TV. It is now part of the Nash Archives.

Monster Solo Halloween Show at the Concert Hall, Toronto.

This is the big solo return gig to Toronto. A crowd of 800 have come to see a spectacle and they get it.

On stage, Nash is flanked by two large abstract metal sculptures, with platforms holding a collection of 8 carved and lit pumpkins. The finale is Dopes on the Water, and at the start of the opening power chords, the top two pumpkins explode like a sonic boom. Pumpkin goosh is sent into the upper balcony. The front rows are underneath the trajectory, but the orangey flesh hits the sound board and the stunned crowd 50 feet away. The exploding pumpkins have never been done since, as it took two weeks to get all the crap out of the stage equipment. All the white stage cloth had to be thrown out.

Nash opens for Human League at Massey Hall and for Gentle Giant at Massey Hall.

These gigs are very special. Nash is a fan and friend of both groups, and the chemistry with these very different audiences proves that Nash fits anywhere. A great time was had by all. Nash gets an encore at each show.

Decomposing is released. It's the first LP playable at any speed. Rave reviews in Playboy magazine and The Village Voice. Wins Best Instrumental Album of the Year at CFNY U-Know Awards. Gets airplay in strange places including Polish National Radio.

Cut-Throat releases new LP, And You Thought You Were Normal.

Nash goes to N.Y.C. to make video for Dance After Curfew with Rock America. Dance After Curfew is produced by Daniel Lanois.

North American tour with Iggy Pop.

Nash can't remember, but he thinks there are serious stories to be told here, but..he...can't.... remember. Jim.....Help!!! Just kidding. Iggy and Nash remember everything that happened over the entire six week tour, but they refuse to incriminate each other.

Ralph Records (The Residents) releases an LP titled The Million-Year Picnic, a compilation of previously released material.

Normal chosen as top album pick in Billboard Magazine.

Normal wins Best Import in a readers poll in Germany.

Nash opens for Kim Mitchelli at the Oshawa Arena. The show is being taped by CITY-TV. A crowd of 5,000 are anticipating a great show.

As Nash starts into his third song, Who Do You Love, a golf ball is hurled at him, bouncing off the violin. A few seconds later another golf ball hits Nash in the face. Nash, always the contained performer says, "Quit throwing the fuckin' golf balls!!!" This has all been filmed for future broadcast, but now the performance is shot.

Seizing the moment, Nash demands to know who the fuck is throwing the golf balls. The crowd responds by beating the crap out of the morons who wrecked the gig. Nash remains on stage in silence, watching the action.

Recording begins on American Bandages, a collection of American Rock Classics from Grand Funk to Spirit. Nash assisted by FM cohorts Cameron Hawkins and Martin Deller.

American Bandages is released in Canada by Quality Records. The re-make of Spirit's 1984 becomes a dance-club hit. Ironically, the LP is not distributed in the U.S. due to bad management and worse record company.

Nash tours across Canada and in eastern U.S.A.

Nash is nominated for a Juno Award (Canada's Grammys) as Best New Male Vocalist. He loses to Alfie Zappacosta.

Pepsi Cola Canada begins a TV ad campaign featuring the local pop group Rough Trade being served the refreshing beverage by butlers wearing bandages, dark glasses and dressed in Tuxedos. Many people comment on Nash's involvement with a corporate sponsor.

The trouble is, it isn't Nash. A lawyer is contacted, and the legal battle begins -- Nash vs Pepsi.

With letters flying back and forth by lawyers wasting time and money, Nash is compelled to take it to the highest court. The headline in The Toronto Star June 12 says it all: Rocker Nash The Slash sues Pepsi for $1 Million. The local and national press eat it up. Nash gets more publicity than if he had done the commercial. The story even appears in Billboard Magazine.

Pepsi argues that Nash just took his look from Claude Rains's The Invisible Man, and it's hardly original. Nash responds that Pepsi sells its product based on the images of current pop culture, not silent film characters.

Everyone on the street recognizes that image in that context as only one person, Nash the Slash. In legal terms it is known as "misappropriation of personality." Nash and Pepsi resolve their differences, as long as Nash stops talking to the press. The commercial was pulled at the beginning of the controversy, and poor Rough Trade lost a whole summer of corporate promotion.

What do Nash the Slash and Michael Jackson have in common?

They both got burned by Pepsi.

Nash played Canada's Wonderland with FM. At one point in the show, Nash made gestures at a cop in front of the stage. When the cop turned around, Nash grabbed his hat and then put his fedora on the officer. As Nash bounced around on stage wearing the police cap, the audience went crazy, but when the officer demanded his cap back, the crowd booed. After the show, Nash and the cop had a good laugh backstage.

Nash re-forms FM with Cam and Marty and the band tours extensively in Canada. Two more FM albums are recorded (Contest and Tonight). Marty leaves before the making of the Tonight album. Once again, Nash has been distracted from his true mission in life, and he decides to depart from FM as well.

Black Pearls