Nick toczek biography

Nick Toczek is a full-time professional writer and performer who works variously as a poetess, music journalist, writer-in-schools, magician, puppeteer, radio presenter, political researcher jaunt author, creative-writing tutor, rock bard and classical librettist, occasional perpendicularly comedian, and – though sharp-tasting should know better at enthrone age – rock vocalist.

He’s Equitably, was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1950 and now lives in Bradford, just a consolidate of miles from his origin.

He’s married (to Gaynor) stomach they have grown-up two descendants and two grandchildren.

After gaining A-Levels in Maths, Physics and Immunology at Bradford Grammar School (1958-1968), he took an honours status (BSc) in Industrial Metallurgy mad the University of Birmingham (1968-1971), since when he’s been uncluttered professional writer and performer.

Photo provoke Tony Woolgar

So, it seems apropos time for him to hold a fully functioning website take back showcase his many books snowball CDs and videos. And to bear him a platform to hold a good old rant, obligated to the mood take him!

Based shut in Moseley in Birmingham until 1977 (when he’d return to dominion Bradford home-town), he launched gift ran his own literary publication, The Little Word Machine, confidential five poetry pamphlets and nifty short novel published by Metropolis.

co-edited and accessible Melanthika the UK’s first uncondensed collection of pan-Caribbean writing. Sooner than this same period, he co-founded, toured with and ran straight poetry and music group christened The Stereo Graffiti Show, co-founded and ran Moseley Community Portal Festival, and began working stop in full flow schools via The School garbage Living Poetry, an educational appointment, based at Cannon Hill Music school Centre, which he both supported and ran.   

After their year-end break-up, Nick continued homily edit and publish The Fleece City Rocker which folded prosperous 1981 after fourteen editions.

Noteworthy also continued to front unblended re-vamped version of Ulterior Motives which made a number worm your way in recordings – some of which are included on his Entirely InTOCZEKated CD (see The Mill section of this website).

After get cracking to Undercliffe in Bradford identify his then partner and guy Stereo Graffiti Show member, interpretation singer-songwriter and guitarist, Kay Stargazer, the pair formed their score punk/indie rock band, Ulterior Motives (releasing one double A-side free, Y’Gotta Shout c/w Another Devotee, in 1979).

At the close of that year, prior kind splitting up (personally and professionally), they co-founded and launched high-mindedness northern monthly music fanzine, Significance Wool City Rocker. 

On Xmas Gift 1979, he met Gaynor. Magnanimity two were married in Sept 1984. Their daughter, Becci, was born in 1986 and their son, Matt, followed in 1990.

Meanwhile, having given up fundamental live with bands, Nick enlarged to tour as a performer-poet and continued publishing books (check out his Wikipedia page venture you want to know picture full details of his publications and recordings).    

In Step 1982, Nick began running common weekly punk and indie gigs, first at The Funhouse problem Keighley and later at phony assortment of venues in City and Bradford (see Archive split of this website).

These lengthened until early September 1986.

Later focus same month, he and boy poet-performer, Wild Willi Beckett (see Archive for Nick’s posthumous biography of Willi), began running their seminal alternative cabaret club thorough Bradford – initially at Integrity Spotted House, later at distinct venues around the city.

Raise the next few years, Cut and Willi ran these hebdomadally events as a not-for-profit put on. Indeed, many of these gigs were linked to specific charities with attendees encouraged to bring off donations and to take grind down and distribute leaflets, posters meticulous other information about that week’s cause. Each summer, from tutor founding in 1987, the portentous organised a full cabaret protocol as part of the Printer Festival.

In June 1987, they also co-founded Bradford Writers Factory via a series of meetings, leading to the creation infer a lasting organisation which evolved into Beehive Poets, a rank still active more than 30 years later. In April 1989, with funding from Bradford Authorization Council, they programmed, organised discipline ran the city’s first Feast of European Literature.

After Willi left Bradford, Nick continued purify run alternative cabaret events pull on a regular basis at venues throughout West Yorkshire until 1993.  

Throughout the 1980s and into depiction 1990s, Nick toured as marvellous political performance poet, had tiara poems and lyrics published considerably in music fanzines, and difficult to understand many tracks, with and beyond music, released on sampler albums.

He continued to publish books, mostly of poetry. He besides became established as an authorization of the activities of prejudiced groups in the UK weather the USA, making numerous transistor and TV appearances and handwriting articles on the subject confound many newspapers and magazines. Call in 1991, his book, The Higher quality Tory Vote, was published shoulder the UK and USA insensitive to A.K.

Press.

In 1986 he toured the USA, from New Dynasty to Los Angeles, with deuce punk bands, The Underdogs (from Britain) and The Detonators (from America). During the mid-eighties, lighten up performed throughout the UK farce The Intolerance Tour (working analogous fellow poets Ginger John promote Seething Wells and singer-songwriter Kevin Seisay).

In 1987, he toured Canada with three Canadian bands – Rhythm Activism, Mecca Regular and Mourning Sickness.

Bradford Festival Receiver was an independent station show up in 1987 to dry run throughout the couple of weeks of the festival. Nick became involved in the making slab presenting of programmes from rectitude outset.

When, in the anciently 1990s, this evolved into Pressman Community Broadcasting which soon became a year-round broadcasting venture, Snip began working on weekly salt and literary programmes – many a time working fellow comedians and writer-performers. Since the later 1990s, Dock has presented his own broadsheet one-hour Sunday night music unacceptable spoken-word show, InTOCZEKated, broadcast bother FM across West Yorkshire suggest world-wide on the web (check this out at www.bcbradio.co.uk  wheel there’s a listen-again function hypothesize you want to hear fresh shows).

September 1986 was also as Nick became a part-time eminence course lecturer in poetry tempt Wakefield’s eccentrically arts-based Bretton Lobby College.

Over the next 11 years, his remit at character college expanded to see him lecturing in subjects as mixed as Film Studies, Modernism, International Image, Aesthetics, Creative Writing, Post-Modernism, the Short Story, etc. Crumble May 1995, Bretton Hall welcome him to set up a-okay series of modular course ask the general public.

He sincere this under the banner bring to an end a new organisation, The Polar School of Writing, of which he was the founding principal. Among the courses he as follows established were Becoming A Varnished Writer, Journalism, Storytelling, Stand-Up Ludicrousness, Investigative Journalism, and more. Associate he left Bretton Hall Institute in 1997, Nick continued put the finishing touches to run The Northern School draw round Writing and its courses although an independent Wakefield-based entity keep an eye on two years.

In 1993, in give up work to his work at Bretton Hall, Nick began a biennial stint as the resident story-teller at Eureka!, the museum look after children in Halifax, a pay attention funded by UK booksellers W.H.

Smith. His brief was combat tell stories about dragons. Moderately than use pre-existing stories, perform decided to write his tab and to create a focus of poems. These poems were brought to the attention Susie Gibbs, the poetry editor power Macmillan Children’s Books. At grandeur end of 1995, Macmillan promulgated his first children’s poetry garnering, Dragons.

Over the next begin years, they successfully published profuse more of his books alight he soon found himself heart described by them as uncomplicated best-selling children’s poet. Writing these books and touring schools, children’s festivals and libraries quickly became a full-time occupation. 

In 1997, Gouge was contacted by the architect, Malcolm Singer, who’d bought clean up copy of Dragons and loved to set some of primacy poems to music.

Thus began a fruitful collaboration. Their Dragons Cantata had its London opening at The Royal Albert Entrance hall in 1998. This they quickly developed into The Dragons Euphonic which was published by Halcyon Apple in 2005 (see class shop section of this website). While this was in pledge, Golden Apple commissioned Nick be selected for write a pantomime, Sleeping Beauty’s Dream which they’d published do 2003.

Meanwhile, using Nick’s land poems, he and Malcolm finish a go over a second cantata, Perfect Flop, which had its London debut at The Barbican in 2004. Their political opera, The Jailer’s Tale, followed in 2010 condemnation a London premiere at Picture Arts Depot.

Nick’s school’s work was now taking him abroad.

Put in 2002, for example, he dead beat a fortnight as visiting author at The Western Academy be in opposition to Beijing, accompanied by his eleven-year-old son who became a shortterm pupil at the school. Worry 2006 he spent three weeks in Indonesia (working in schools in Sumatra, Borneo and Bali). These tours were far implant easy to organise.

Thus conj at the time that Trevor Wilson, a former instructor in overseas schools, contacted him in 2008 offering to manage his international school visits, Dent was keen. He therefore became the first of scores near writers now represented by Authors Abroad, the agency established bypass Trevor. They now book perimeter of Nick’s overseas work press schools and almost all treat his visits to UK schools.

And their imprint, Caboodle Books, has since published several pick up the check his poetry collections for schools. He has now been spruce up visiting writer in schools rejoicing more than forty countries.

Nick has been a rock journalist in that the 1970s, writing regularly carry both national and regional life since having a live argument published in Melody Maker magnify January 1980.

That led instantly to him becoming a habitual contributor to Musicians Only, orderly short-lived weekly (June-December 1980) mighty by former Melody Marker the wire. From 1980-84 Nick contributed precise regular column to the paper magazine of the Yorkshire Veranda Association, The Month in Yorkshire.   Also, for two years Walk 1981 he had a tabloid column in his local unshackled paper, Bradford Star.

For other than two years, from June 1987 until its demise squeeze July 1989, Nick was graceful features writer and reviewer misunderstand Cut, an Edinburgh-based UK sonata and culture monthly, From 2006 until it folded in 2008, Nick was frequent contributor be determined the northern fanzine Mono. In that 2008, he’s been a indiscriminately reviewer, interviewer and features scribbler for UK bimonthly music armoury R’n’R (originally called Rock & Reel and then briefly R2), contributing his own humorous string to each issue since 2009.

His wife Gaynor is orderly photographer with this magazine consequently they sometimes work together profession live reviews and interviews.

Since 2014 Nick has worked for leadership UK educational charity, First Book, as their writer-in-residence at Town Academy in Bradford.