My friend Nick “Ringo” Southall, who has died aged 44 of lung cancer, left a large legacy across the worlds he moved in – as a rock drummer, band manager and public relations entrepreneur. He lived his life both fearlessly and with tireless enthusiasm.
Nick was born in Wordsley, West Midlands, the son of Ted, who ran a pattern-making business, and Maureen (nee Nolan), who worked with Ted. Nick went to Summerhill school in Kingswinford, where his talent for music was immediately evident; he became an accomplished French horn player, although his real passion was for his drum kit and for rock music. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in his teens, he typically tackled the condition head on by getting involved with the British Diabetic Association. Injections became a daily routine and his diabetes helped give him insight into the sometimes unorthodox lives of others.
At the University of East London, where we met and where he studied animal biology, he quickly became the student union social secretary and learned the business of event management. He also formed a popular rock circuit band called Waterbratz, for whom he was the drummer, touring with them throughout his student days. By his graduation in 1994 Nick was established in a large and infamous flat next to the gas holders in Kennington, south London, where a generation of rock performers and fans could find a place to crash in London. As Nick had been politically engaged from his early days, they often found themselves sharing the sofas with Young Labour activists visiting the capital for conferences or working at festivals. By the late 1990s Nick had set up another band, DrugdealerCheerleader, who had a top 100 single, I Don’t Wanna Go to School, and released the critically acclaimed album Enjoy the Time You Waste.
He sustained his early music career though jobs in Soho as a cycle courier and as an assistant in Ann Summers (handy for the old Marquee venue), and loved taking live shows on the road across the UK and Europe, including with other bands such as Glitterbug and High Octane Junkies. He then diversified into the world of managing bands and artists, including Patchwork Grace, It Bites and John Mitchell. He would only work on something he believed in, and if he believed in it then he made sure that it worked.
Later Nick developed a highly successful career in public relations, which started at NCDL (now the Dogs’ Trust) exposing illegal puppy farms in conjunction with the Sunday tabloids. He also worked for the Nickelodeon and Discovery television channels before setting up the ENPR agency, which, on one memorable occasion, handled the PR for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert in Hyde Park.
A vocal supporter of what he saw as Labour values, Nick was an early adopter of social media, and tweeted political observations right up to his death, which was just before the recent general election.
He is survived by his wife, Nibs (Naomi, nee Dearsley), whom he met at Nickelodeon, by their two daughters, Chantelle and Freya, and by his mother and father.
