THE NICE
The Nice formed in 1967 as a backing band for singer PP
Arnold. Keith Emerson and "Blinkey" Davison had
previously been playing in Gary Farr's T-Bones, and they teamed up
with Lee Jackson and Dave O'List.
At PP Arnold gigs the warm-up set by The Nice became an
attraction in its own right and soon the group were playing gigs
of their own, and being managed by Andrew
Loog Oldham.
Their live act included their own heavy psychedelic version of Bob
Dylan's She Belongs To Me and the old Dave Brubeck
number Rondo.
Their first album - The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack -
showed the beginnings of the classical tendency the group were to
follow after the departure of O'List on the Ars Longa Vitae
Brevis and Five Bridges albums.
The Nice were banned from the Albert Hall in 1968 after burning
the Stars and Stripes while playing their hit version of America
- which composer Leonard Bernstein barred them from
performing in the US.
The band announced their arrival on the newly formed Charisma
label by turning the bombast up way past 11 on Five Bridges (1970),
with Keith Emerson's synth-led concepts dwarfing even the complex
grandeur of their earlier albums. The "bridge" pieces
were an attempt to examine working-class life in Newcastle Upon
Tyne, and were commissioned for the city's arts festival, while
elsewhere on the album Sibelius and Tchaikovsky were put through
the hard rock mangle.
 They finally called it a day in 1970 with Keith Emerson forming
ELP and Jackson and Davison forming a group
called Refugee. In 1974 Refugee disbanded and Davison joined Gong.
After recovering from alcoholism, Davison relocated to Devon and
taught percussion at Bideford College, as well as playing with a
local blues band.
Emerson, Davison and Jackson reconvened as The Nice at London's
100 Club in 2002, playing together for the first time in 32 years.
A UK tour followed.
Brian Davison passed away on 15 April 2008, aged 65.
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