Nick of Time: My Life and Career, All on the Record

NICK OF TIME: MY LIFE AND CAREER, ALL ON THE RECORD, the new memoir from one of the most respected figures in the Australian music industry, has been acclaimed by the movers and shakers who knew the popular author – Nick Hampton.

Hampton charts his stellar career in the glory days of rock ’n’ roll with giant labels like EMI and CBS that took him from London in the Swinging Sixties through Europe and the USA to Sydney, where he was the managing director of EMI Australia.

On the cover of the book, Icehouse founder Iva Davies says: “This memoir tells us just how he became the charismatic and hugely effective person we all know in Australia.”

NICK OF TIME: MY LIFE AND CAREER, ALL ON THE RECORD is a fascinating walk down music memory lane as Hampton recalls the times he spent with great artists such as Petula Clark, Elton John, The Kinks, Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent, Donovan, Sandie Shaw, Johnny Cash, Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Vera Lynn, Slim Dusty, Joy McKean, Glenn Shorrock, Jimmy Barnes, Iva Davies, Neil Finn, Richard Clapton, Jenny Morris and Smoky Dawson.

He also takes readers deep inside the global pop/rock music business, what he describes as “mostly the good, occasionally the bad, and sometimes the downright ugly”, remembering leviathans like Lew Grade, Dick James, Clive Davis and the late Ted Albert, his visionary friend behind The Easybeats and AC/DC’s climb to the top.

After his time with EMI, Nick, an Englishman, remained in Australia for another twenty-two years, during which he became a highly regarded executive at APRA as well as a founding father for some of the music industry’s most important charities.

Here is a selection of the swag of endorsements for NICK OF TIME from industry leaders who knew Nick Hampton.

‘I could not put it down!’ Peter Rix (Manager of Marcia Hines and Jon English)

‘Remembers where the bodies were buried. A real page-turner.’ Norm Lurie (Former managing director of Music Sales Australia)

‘I had no idea of the breadth of his experiences and the more than colourful characters he worked with.’ Ian James (Former managing director of Mushroom Music)

‘Trust is rarer than diamonds in this industry but Nick is a trust billionaire.’ Les Gock (Founding member of Hush)

‘Nick Hampton – charming and honourable. A gentleman but with a steely core. Not someone to be trifled with!’ Jeremy Fabinyi (Manager/music industry executive)