I was in a huge Britpop band signed to Nirvana’s record label – now I’m a kids podcaster and CBeebies star
ONCE upon a time, The Candyskins’ Nick Cope was a huge Britpop band signed to Nirvana’s record label.
But his career has since taken an unexpected turn.
A successful kids’ podcaster and CBeebies star, Nick presents his very own show on the channel with his grandson and dog, Norman.
Titled Nick Cope’s Popcast, the programme airs on Saturday mornings and sees him searching for song ideas from his caravan.
But back in the day, he was signed to Geffen Records as one sixth of The Candyskins – alongside his brother Mark Cope, Nick Burton, Brett Gordon, John Halliday and Karl Shale.
He recorded four studio albums with the rock band before splitting for the first time in 1998, later reuniting in 2009.
Reflecting on his heyday in an interview with journalist James McMahon, he quoted Charles Dickens, saying, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!”
The band’s lead singer said, “Signing was the best thing. We went from doing a few gigs in Oxford to flying to LA to meet the company and doing in-stores at Tower Records and touring round the US for three months.
“We really were living the dream. We sold a few records [of 1991’s Space I’m In] and the company seemed to like us. They committed to the second and third albums in the deal, but as the wheels left the tarmac at LAX, I couldn’t help thinking that it was going to be a lot harder second time around…”
Nick explained how things went south after The Candyskins “neglected” their British fans and changed management in a bid to build a fanbase in their home country.
He said, “It was s**t. We all had to find jobs washing up, working in restaurants, cleaning floors and the like, but the desire to be a band was still there so we soldiered on doggedly.”
Following futher moderate success in Blighty, Nick confessed the group “had a few artistic differences” and decided to call it a day.
While he didn’t touch on whether he keeps in touch with his former bandmades, the TV personality said he found their reunion “really stressful” and didn’t enjoy it.
Nowadays, he lives in Oxford with his partner Amanda and their three children.
Nick regularly performs in schools and theatres and festivals across the UK too.