Ian McNabb
Encyclopedia
Robert Ian McNabb is a British singer-songwriter and musician from Liverpool
, England
. He is known both for his work as leader and songwriter-in-chief of The Icicle Works in the 1980s, and his critically acclaimed solo career throughout from the early 1990s to date. He has also played with musicians as diverse as Ringo Starr
, Crazy Horse
, Mike Scott
(of The Waterboys
), and Danny Thompson
of folk legends Pentangle
.
McNabb's first book, an autobiography
entitled Merseybeast, was released in October 2008.
The Icicle Works continued recording through the 1980s with limited success. In the UK, several of the band's follow-up singles charted, although none reached higher than #52. In the US, they briefly made the Modern Rock charts in 1988, but achieved no further mainstream recognition and were regarded in North America as a one-hit wonder
.
The original line-up of The Icicle Works broke up in 1988. McNabb put together a new "second generation" Icicle Works line-up in 1989, which released one album in 1990. However, the album was commercially unsuccessful and the band broke up the following year.
In October 2006, after 15 years as a solo artist, McNabb unexpectedly revived the name "The Icicle Works" for a series of UK concerts. However, this new version of McNabb's old band did not feature any original Icicle Works
members other than McNabb himself. In essence, McNabb seemed to be re-branding himself, using a somewhat more successful trade name in order to give his work increased exposure. Throughout 2007 and into early 2008, McNabb played dates as both a solo artist and with The Icicle Works.
A series of Icicle Works gigs in December 2007 were heavily criticized by fans on the Message Boards at www.ianmcnabb.com for their supposedly shambolic nature, especially with regards to McNabb's performance. Perhaps by way of an apology, The Icicle Works played 2 free shows in January 2008. Thereafter, The Icicle Works name was retired once again, and McNabb resumed playing exclusively as a solo artist.
's new 'This Way Up' Label.
The album's first proper single "If Love Was Like Guitars" became a minor UK hit in 1993. Following this, the 1991 single "Great Dreams of Heaven" was re-released, but failed to gain much airplay, possibly due to lyrical references such as "babies being born H.I.V."
The next single pulled from the album ("I'm Game") failed to chart, so This Way Up went for a different strategy. "(I Go) My Own Way" was re-recorded with The Stone Roses
producer John Leckie
at the helm, but it too failed to significantly impact on the UK charts. Still, This Way Up stuck with McNabb and vice versa.
Post-Truth and Beauty, McNabb was allegedly inspired to a rockier sound by the engineer who mastered that record, telling him "Aye, Ian, your rocking days are behind you." Legend has it that McNabb went back to his home in Liverpool, and recorded a demo of what would become the coruscating opener of Head Like a Rock, "Fire Inside My Soul".
Label boss Andrew Lauder then suggested that McNabb go to record in America, which McNabb was skeptical about. He facetiously suggested to Lauder that his new material sounded like Neil Young
and Crazy Horse
, and if Lauder could get Crazy Horse to play on the record, he would go to America. A few phone calls later, McNabb found himself in a Los Angeles
studio with Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina
and bassist Billy Talbot
. This cast-iron rhythm section appeared on four of the ten tracks on Head Like a Rock, including the #54 UK hit "You Must Be Prepared To Dream". The album's other single, "Go Into The Light", did not feature Crazy Horse and peaked at UK #66.
Head Like a Rock was subsequently nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize, and although M People
would end up taking the award home, the attendant publicity surrounding the award-nominated album propelled Head Like A Rock into the UK album charts, where it peaked at #29.
Molina and Talbot toured with McNabb in 1994, featuring on the short live bonus CD which accompanied his next album, Merseybeast. This performance also featured Noel Gallagher
of Oasis on uncredited rhythm guitar as the group covered The Seeds
' "Pushin' Too Hard
". Gallagher's refusal to be credited reportedly inspired the later McNabb composition "Don't Patronise Me", although McNabb has always denied this accusation.
The 1996 album Merseybeast saw McNabb with a new backing band called “The Afterlife”. But despite high expectations for the new CD, the album's first single, the fierce "Don't Put Your Spell On Me" only hit UK #72. The second single, the album's title track (which saw McNabb exploring his scouse roots and merging them with West Coast Americana) fared even worse, hitting UK #74.
Although generally well-received by critics and fans, in the end Merseybeast failed to capitalize on the commercial success of its predecessor. This led to a two-year hiatus on McNabb’s part from both touring under his own name, and recording full studio albums.
In 1997, This Way Up parted company with McNabb, and released a 'best-of' collection entitled My Own Way: The Words & Music of Ian McNabb.
club of Ronnie Scott
. The material arising out of this became the low-key drummerless album A Party Political Broadcast On Behalf of The Emotional Party, released by McNabb on his own Fairfield label in 1998. Aside from McNabb, the only other musicians on the album were Waterboys Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite
, and legendary bassist Danny Thompson
.
McNabb followed APPBOBOTEP with a live acoustic album, Live at Life (2000), compiled from a pair of Christmas gigs in 1999. The album included one newly-written track, "Why Are the Beautiful So Sad", which continued to chronicle McNabb’s dislike of celebrity culture
as noted earlier in "Don’t Patronise Me".
Ian McNabb (2001) marked McNabb’s full-band return, and was issued by Sanctuary Records. The album's opening track, “Livin’ Proof [Miracles Can Happen]”, was written for the Go-Go's
reunion which had recently taken place, but was declined by that band. McNabb's version was pressed as a promo single.
The album was moderately received critically, with reviewers complaining of a lack of variety in the rock bombast of the record as compared to its two predecessors. 2001 also saw the issuance of a demos and outtakes collection, Waifs and Strays, which included previously unreleased material and alternate versions of familiar McNabb chestnuts.
McNabb returned to his own Fairfield label in 2002, and issued the low-key The Gentleman Adventurer. Best described as a semi-acoustic album, it is similar in spirit to his first solo album, Truth and Beauty, with occasional use of the drum machine to accompany more upbeat numbers such as "Ain’t No Way to Behave". Almost entirely performed by McNabb (with help from his long-time collaborator and bassist in the latter-day Icicle Works Roy Corkill), the album takes in a variety of styles from rock, through ballad
s, a touch of funk
, and acoustic storytelling.
Another “bits and pieces” collection, Boots followed in 2003, the title being both McNabb’s nickname (after his penchant for wearing Beatles-style boots in the mid-80s while with The Icicle Works), and a reference to the ‘official bootleg’ nature of the release. The double disc set includes some very hard to find items, demos, and alternative versions.
2004 saw McNabb issuing a second 'Best Of' album, Potency. This covered his whole solo oeuvre, showcasing his eclectic musical taste and output.
In 2005, McNabb successfully pushed a single, "Let The Young Girl Do What She Wants To" to #38 on the UK charts. This was McNabb's highest-ever chart placing as a solo artist, and his biggest hit since The Icicle Works' "Love Is a Wonderful Colour" reached #15 in early 1984, a span of over 21 years. This unexpected chart success was assisted considerably by his loyal fanbase buying several different formats of the single in an attempt to gain greater publicity and recognition for his then-current album, Before All of This. But despite support from a number of prominent DJs such as Jeremy Vine
and Janice Long
on BBC Radio 2
, further widespread success continued to elude McNabb.
Later in 2005, McNabb released People Don't Stop Believin, an album of b-sides and outtakes from Before All of This.
In December 2007, McNabb's second live album (How We Live - At The Philharmonic) was issued. The album was culled from two June 2007 shows at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall.
In January and February 2008, McNabb was involved with "The Number One Project", a concert and compilation album celebrating Liverpool's fifty-six #1 singles on the UK charts. McNabb played at the January concert, and subsequently appeared on the album, released in February, with his studio cover of John Lennon
's "Woman".
In late 2008, McNabb participated in a concert reunion of City Lights, an early pre-Icicle Works band of which he had been a member as a teen. At the end of the year, McNabb released his autobiography, entitled Merseybeast.
McNabb's latest studio album, Great Things, was first made available at gigs in September, 2009. As of November, it was made available for sale on McNabb's website.
member of The Wild Swans
, playing guitar and singing back-up vocals on their second and final studio album, 1990's Space Flower.
As well, he worked with Ian Broudie
on Broudie's studio project The Lightning Seeds, providing backing vocals on the band's first three albums, released between 1990 and 1994. McNabb also co-wrote a total of two songs with Broudie that wound up on The Lightning Seeds' second and third albums, 1992's Sense and 1994's Jollification.
1998 saw McNabb as part of a touring band for Mike Scott
and The Waterboys
, playing bass and sometimes keyboards. He also had occasion to serve as a touring bassist for one of his heroes, Ringo Starr
, whose son Zak Starkey
had had an early music industry break in 1988 when McNabb hired him to be a member of a late-running version of The Icicle Works.
McNabb has also contributed guitar on Amsterdam
's album The Journey (2005) and Gary Cooke's debut album Songs for Everyday Use (2006).
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He is known both for his work as leader and songwriter-in-chief of The Icicle Works in the 1980s, and his critically acclaimed solo career throughout from the early 1990s to date. He has also played with musicians as diverse as Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
, Mike Scott
Mike Scott (musician)
Michael 'Mike' Scott is the founding member, lead singer and chief songwriter of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'em All In and Still Burning...
(of The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
), and Danny Thompson
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
of folk legends Pentangle
Pentangle (band)
Pentangle are a British folk rock band with some folk jazz influences. The original band were active in the late 1960s and early 1970s and a later version has been active since the early 1980s...
.
McNabb's first book, an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
entitled Merseybeast, was released in October 2008.
The Icicle Works
After playing in Liverpool bands in his teens, McNabb first came to prominence as the lead vocalist and songwiter for The Icicle Works. This rock band that was founded in 1980 and had success in the UK with the top 20 single "Love Is A Wonderful Colour" in 1983. They also hit the top 40 in North America with the single "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" in 1984.The Icicle Works continued recording through the 1980s with limited success. In the UK, several of the band's follow-up singles charted, although none reached higher than #52. In the US, they briefly made the Modern Rock charts in 1988, but achieved no further mainstream recognition and were regarded in North America as a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
.
The original line-up of The Icicle Works broke up in 1988. McNabb put together a new "second generation" Icicle Works line-up in 1989, which released one album in 1990. However, the album was commercially unsuccessful and the band broke up the following year.
In October 2006, after 15 years as a solo artist, McNabb unexpectedly revived the name "The Icicle Works" for a series of UK concerts. However, this new version of McNabb's old band did not feature any original Icicle Works
Icicle Works
The Icicle Works were an English alternative rock band of the 1980s. Named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl, The Icicle Works joined Liverpool's early 1980s 'neo-psychedelia' wave, which also propelled Echo & the Bunnymen and The...
members other than McNabb himself. In essence, McNabb seemed to be re-branding himself, using a somewhat more successful trade name in order to give his work increased exposure. Throughout 2007 and into early 2008, McNabb played dates as both a solo artist and with The Icicle Works.
A series of Icicle Works gigs in December 2007 were heavily criticized by fans on the Message Boards at www.ianmcnabb.com for their supposedly shambolic nature, especially with regards to McNabb's performance. Perhaps by way of an apology, The Icicle Works played 2 free shows in January 2008. Thereafter, The Icicle Works name was retired once again, and McNabb resumed playing exclusively as a solo artist.
1991–1997: This Way Up era
Following the split of the Icicle Works in 1990, and the subsequent dissolution of The Wild Swans, McNabb issued two singles in 1991 to little notice. He then resurfaced in 1993 with a collection of demos which would form the basis of his first solo album, Truth and Beauty. Recorded on a shoestring, it won him a record deal with Andrew LauderAndrew Lauder (music executive)
Andrew Lauder is a record company executive and former A&R manager. Initially noted for his adventurous signings of bands as diverse as Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Can, Hawkwind and Brinsley Schwarz to Liberty Records and United Artists Records in the 1960s and 70s, he went on to form numerous...
's new 'This Way Up' Label.
The album's first proper single "If Love Was Like Guitars" became a minor UK hit in 1993. Following this, the 1991 single "Great Dreams of Heaven" was re-released, but failed to gain much airplay, possibly due to lyrical references such as "babies being born H.I.V."
The next single pulled from the album ("I'm Game") failed to chart, so This Way Up went for a different strategy. "(I Go) My Own Way" was re-recorded with The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
producer John Leckie
John Leckie
John Leckie is a British music producer, notable for producing many high-profile albums such as The Stone Roses's debut and Radiohead's The Bends...
at the helm, but it too failed to significantly impact on the UK charts. Still, This Way Up stuck with McNabb and vice versa.
Post-Truth and Beauty, McNabb was allegedly inspired to a rockier sound by the engineer who mastered that record, telling him "Aye, Ian, your rocking days are behind you." Legend has it that McNabb went back to his home in Liverpool, and recorded a demo of what would become the coruscating opener of Head Like a Rock, "Fire Inside My Soul".
Label boss Andrew Lauder then suggested that McNabb go to record in America, which McNabb was skeptical about. He facetiously suggested to Lauder that his new material sounded like Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
, and if Lauder could get Crazy Horse to play on the record, he would go to America. A few phone calls later, McNabb found himself in a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
studio with Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina
Ralph Molina
Ralph Molina is an American musician, best known as the drummer for Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse.Born in Puerto Rico, Molina has been a member of Crazy Horse since they were formed in 1962 as Danny & the Memories. He has remained throughout the band's many personnel changes, and has...
and bassist Billy Talbot
Billy Talbot
Billy Talbot is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of Crazy Horse.-Music career:Born in New York City, Talbot started his musical career singing on street corners at the age of 14. He moved to New Jersey with his family the next year, and by 17 he had moved to...
. This cast-iron rhythm section appeared on four of the ten tracks on Head Like a Rock, including the #54 UK hit "You Must Be Prepared To Dream". The album's other single, "Go Into The Light", did not feature Crazy Horse and peaked at UK #66.
Head Like a Rock was subsequently nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize, and although M People
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
would end up taking the award home, the attendant publicity surrounding the award-nominated album propelled Head Like A Rock into the UK album charts, where it peaked at #29.
Molina and Talbot toured with McNabb in 1994, featuring on the short live bonus CD which accompanied his next album, Merseybeast. This performance also featured Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
of Oasis on uncredited rhythm guitar as the group covered The Seeds
The Seeds
The Seeds were an American rock band. The group, whose repertoire spread between garage rock and acid rock, are considered one of the pioneers of punk rock.-History:...
' "Pushin' Too Hard
Pushin' Too Hard
"Pushin' Too Hard", originally titled " Pushin' Too Hard", is a song by American rock group The Seeds, written by vocalist Sky Saxon and produced by Saxon with Marcus Tybalt. It was released as a single in 1965, re-issued the following year, and peaked at number 36 on the U.S...
". Gallagher's refusal to be credited reportedly inspired the later McNabb composition "Don't Patronise Me", although McNabb has always denied this accusation.
The 1996 album Merseybeast saw McNabb with a new backing band called “The Afterlife”. But despite high expectations for the new CD, the album's first single, the fierce "Don't Put Your Spell On Me" only hit UK #72. The second single, the album's title track (which saw McNabb exploring his scouse roots and merging them with West Coast Americana) fared even worse, hitting UK #74.
Although generally well-received by critics and fans, in the end Merseybeast failed to capitalize on the commercial success of its predecessor. This led to a two-year hiatus on McNabb’s part from both touring under his own name, and recording full studio albums.
In 1997, This Way Up parted company with McNabb, and released a 'best-of' collection entitled My Own Way: The Words & Music of Ian McNabb.
1998–present: Fairfield Records era
On returning to performing his own material, McNabb focused on acoustic music, leading to a residency at the BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
club of Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
. The material arising out of this became the low-key drummerless album A Party Political Broadcast On Behalf of The Emotional Party, released by McNabb on his own Fairfield label in 1998. Aside from McNabb, the only other musicians on the album were Waterboys Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite
Anthony Thistlethwaite
Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founder member of the folk-rock group The Waterboys and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band The Saw Doctors.After a year busking in Paris, playing tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin...
, and legendary bassist Danny Thompson
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
.
McNabb followed APPBOBOTEP with a live acoustic album, Live at Life (2000), compiled from a pair of Christmas gigs in 1999. The album included one newly-written track, "Why Are the Beautiful So Sad", which continued to chronicle McNabb’s dislike of celebrity culture
Celebrity culture
A celebrity culture is the structure that influences those deemed to be celebrities.-Brief history of celebrity culture:Any medium can be viewed as a vehicle for creating a celebrity culture. The famous religious books of the world's faiths are replete with examples of individuals who are well...
as noted earlier in "Don’t Patronise Me".
Ian McNabb (2001) marked McNabb’s full-band return, and was issued by Sanctuary Records. The album's opening track, “Livin’ Proof [Miracles Can Happen]”, was written for the Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
reunion which had recently taken place, but was declined by that band. McNabb's version was pressed as a promo single.
The album was moderately received critically, with reviewers complaining of a lack of variety in the rock bombast of the record as compared to its two predecessors. 2001 also saw the issuance of a demos and outtakes collection, Waifs and Strays, which included previously unreleased material and alternate versions of familiar McNabb chestnuts.
McNabb returned to his own Fairfield label in 2002, and issued the low-key The Gentleman Adventurer. Best described as a semi-acoustic album, it is similar in spirit to his first solo album, Truth and Beauty, with occasional use of the drum machine to accompany more upbeat numbers such as "Ain’t No Way to Behave". Almost entirely performed by McNabb (with help from his long-time collaborator and bassist in the latter-day Icicle Works Roy Corkill), the album takes in a variety of styles from rock, through ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s, a touch of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, and acoustic storytelling.
Another “bits and pieces” collection, Boots followed in 2003, the title being both McNabb’s nickname (after his penchant for wearing Beatles-style boots in the mid-80s while with The Icicle Works), and a reference to the ‘official bootleg’ nature of the release. The double disc set includes some very hard to find items, demos, and alternative versions.
2004 saw McNabb issuing a second 'Best Of' album, Potency. This covered his whole solo oeuvre, showcasing his eclectic musical taste and output.
In 2005, McNabb successfully pushed a single, "Let The Young Girl Do What She Wants To" to #38 on the UK charts. This was McNabb's highest-ever chart placing as a solo artist, and his biggest hit since The Icicle Works' "Love Is a Wonderful Colour" reached #15 in early 1984, a span of over 21 years. This unexpected chart success was assisted considerably by his loyal fanbase buying several different formats of the single in an attempt to gain greater publicity and recognition for his then-current album, Before All of This. But despite support from a number of prominent DJs such as Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Guy Vine is a British author, journalist and news presenter for the BBC. He is known for his direct interview style and exclusive reporting from war-torn areas throughout Africa...
and Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, further widespread success continued to elude McNabb.
Later in 2005, McNabb released People Don't Stop Believin, an album of b-sides and outtakes from Before All of This.
In December 2007, McNabb's second live album (How We Live - At The Philharmonic) was issued. The album was culled from two June 2007 shows at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall.
In January and February 2008, McNabb was involved with "The Number One Project", a concert and compilation album celebrating Liverpool's fifty-six #1 singles on the UK charts. McNabb played at the January concert, and subsequently appeared on the album, released in February, with his studio cover of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Woman".
In late 2008, McNabb participated in a concert reunion of City Lights, an early pre-Icicle Works band of which he had been a member as a teen. At the end of the year, McNabb released his autobiography, entitled Merseybeast.
McNabb's latest studio album, Great Things, was first made available at gigs in September, 2009. As of November, it was made available for sale on McNabb's website.
Collaborations with other artists
Around the time the "second generation" Icicle Works were winding down, McNabb became a de factoDe facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
member of The Wild Swans
The Wild Swans (band)
The Wild Swans are a post-punk band from Liverpool, England, which originally formed in 1980 shortly after Paul Simpson left The Teardrop Explodes and teamed up with Jeremy Kelly , Ged Quinn , James Weston and Justin Stavely...
, playing guitar and singing back-up vocals on their second and final studio album, 1990's Space Flower.
As well, he worked with Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
on Broudie's studio project The Lightning Seeds, providing backing vocals on the band's first three albums, released between 1990 and 1994. McNabb also co-wrote a total of two songs with Broudie that wound up on The Lightning Seeds' second and third albums, 1992's Sense and 1994's Jollification.
1998 saw McNabb as part of a touring band for Mike Scott
Mike Scott (musician)
Michael 'Mike' Scott is the founding member, lead singer and chief songwriter of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'em All In and Still Burning...
and The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
, playing bass and sometimes keyboards. He also had occasion to serve as a touring bassist for one of his heroes, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, whose son Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey is an English rock drummer. He is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Starr's first wife Maureen Starkey Tigrett. He is also well known for his unofficial membership in the English rock band The Who, with whom he has performed and recorded since 1996. He is also the third...
had had an early music industry break in 1988 when McNabb hired him to be a member of a late-running version of The Icicle Works.
McNabb has also contributed guitar on Amsterdam
Amsterdam (band)
Amsterdam are a pop/rock group from Liverpool, England. Formed in 1999, they had their first UK Top 40 single with "The Journey" in February 2005...
's album The Journey (2005) and Gary Cooke's debut album Songs for Everyday Use (2006).
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| 1993 | Truth and Beauty
|
51 |
| 1994 | Head Like a Rock
|
29 |
| 1996 | Merseybeast Merseybeast Merseybeast is the title of Ian McNabb's third solo album after disbanding The Icicle Works. It is also the title of the first song on the album. The name is a play on the idea of the "Mersey Beat", a 1960s musical genre and movement. Merseybeast is also the title of Ian McNabb's autobiography,... |
30 |
| 1998 | A Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Emotional Party
|
162 |
| 2001 | Ian McNabb
|
185 |
| 2002 | The Gentleman Adventurer
|
– |
| 2005 | Before All of This
|
– |
| 2009 | Great Things
|
– |
Compilation albums
- My Own Way: The Words & Music of Ian McNabb (1997)
- Waifs and Strays (2001)
- Boots (2003)
- Potency: The Best of Ian McNabb (2004)
- People Don't Stop Believin (2005)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 1991 | "Great Dreams of Heaven" | – | Truth and Beauty |
| "These Are the Days" | – | ||
| 1992 | "If Love Was Like Guitars" | 67 | |
| 1993 | "I'm Game" | – | |
| "(I Go) My Own Way" | – | ||
| "Still Got the Fever" | – | Head Like a Rock | |
| 1994 | "You Must Be Prepared to Dream" | 54 | |
| "Go into the Light" | 66 | ||
| 1996 | "Don't Put Your Spell on Me" | 72 | Merseybeast |
| "Merseybeast" | 74 | ||
| 1999 | "Little Princess" | – | A Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Emotional Party |
| 2001 | "Livin' Proof (Miracles Can Happen)" | – | Ian McNabb |
| 2005 | "Let the Young Girl Do What She Wants To" | 38 | Before All of This |
| 2010 | "New Light" | – | Great Things |
External links
- Official Ian McNabb website
- Unofficial Ian McNabb website, with discussion board
- Ian McNabb and The Icicle Works Detailed Discography
- Ian McNabb on BBC Radio 2's Sold on Song
- Ian McNabb and The Icicle Works Guitar Tab and Chord website
- Video interview with Ian McNabb and Ian McNabb acoustic session from BBC Liverpool08