NEV NICHOLLS

Nev Nicholls was born on 16 September 1930 in Millthorpe, in the central west of NSW, and grew up on a farm in Tallwood. Tallwood wasn’t a town, just a district of small farms, and during the Depression years, life was tough for the whole family. In 1952, he headed to Sydney to record some custom tracks, where he landed an audition and a contract with Regal Zonophone. He went on to record 22 tracks for the label, most of them his own songs. Nev later appeared on Australia’s Amateur Hour and Tim McNamara’s Talent Quest. In 1957, he embarked on his first country tour with The Reg Lindsay Show along the north coast of NSW, sharing the stage with Reg Lindsay, Heather McKean, Rick & Thel Carey, Judy Stone, comedian Freddy Merideth, and Chad Morgan.

In 1968, Nev got a call to audition for a nightclub gig in Kings Cross, which kicked off a ten-year run at the legendary Texas Tavern. It wasn’t just a job—it was an unforgettable experience, playing for American servicemen on R&R from Vietnam, rubbing shoulders with celebrities performing at the Chevron Hotel across the street, and winning over the local crowd in a way country music never had before. That’s what inspired Nev to write ''I Like Beer''. His band, The Country Playboys, was made up of some of the best performers in the country. In 1970, Nev released his first album, 'Cross Country Music', on the Du Monde label, paving the way for more than a dozen albums in the years that followed.

In 1975, Nev won the Golden Guitar for Instrumental Track of the Year with ''Nashville Express'' as part of Nev Nicholls’s Country Playboys. Two years later, in 1977, he was inducted into the Hands of Fame. From the late ’70s through 1988, The Nev Nicholls National Roadshow aired across more than 90 radio stations in Australia as a weekly two-hour program. He also took the Roadshow on tour around the country, featuring at various times Gary Brown, Phil Emmanuel, Lisa White, Debbie Lee Rae (now Kaye Payne), and Cowboy Bob Purtell.

Adding another achievement to his career, Nev launched his own record label, Nicholls’N’Dimes, and in 1992 was inducted into the Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown at Tamworth. A prolific songwriter, he not only recorded countless original tracks but also had many covered by artists like Reg Lindsay, Chad Morgan, Frankie Davidson, Johnny Garfield, Terry Gordon, The Wayfarers, Truckin Stevens, and his close friend Lucky Grills. In 1998, Nev and Lucky teamed up for a truckies’ album titled 'Ya Wanna Screw Driver'. Nev officially retired from country music in 2002, the same year he was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Tamworth. Nev died in 2022.

SINGLES 
''Blue Melody / Oklahoma Waltz'' 1958 Columbia

''Flower Of Love / My Heart Skips A Beat'' 1969 du Monde

''Fickle Little Woman / I've Got A Tiger By The Tail'' 1970 RCA
''Wheel Of Progress / Love Bug'' 1970 du Monde
''Sweet Thang / Nashville Piper'' 1971 du Monde
''I Want One / Cotton Pickin' Guitar'' 1971 du Monde
''Take My Heart / Transit'' du Monde
''Biding My Time / You Won't See Which Way I Went'' 1973 du Monde
''Truck Me Dead / Truckin' Around'' 1975 RCA
''Chicken Roll / Raz-Ma-Taz Polka'' 1976 RCA
''You've Gotta Have A Beer Mate / Sorrow'' 1976 RCA
''Good Old Country Outhouse / Mother Trucker'' 1976 RCA
''Super Lady / Hot Wheels'' 1980 7 Records
''Teddy Bear's Last Ride / When The Big Rigs Roll'' 1982 Brook
''Country Music Turns Me On / Good Old Love'' 1984 Powderworks
''Radio Lover / Last Rights'' 1986 RCA

EPs 

'Nev Nicholls Country Playboys' 1969 World Of Sound

ALBUMS 

'Cross Country Music' 1970 du Monde
'Lovin' Country' 1972 du Monde
'Folsom Prison Blues' 1972 Universal Summit
'Keep On Truckin' 1974 RCA

Just My Truckin' Luck 1974 Nicholls N' Dimes Records
'Truckin' Around' 1975 RCA
'Hit The Road Jack' 1976 RCA
'King Of The Road' 1976 RCA
'You've Gotta Have A Beer Mate 1977 RCA
'Blazing Diesels' 1978 7 Records
'Supertrucker' 1979 7 Records
'Loaded Up And Truckin' 1981 Telmak
'Bar Rooms & Bedrooms' 1984 Powderworks
'Gotta Get Back On The Road' 1986 Nicholls N' Dimes Records