ALAN Nimmo is a man whose livelihood has been built on words, so it’s little surprise he doesn’t mince them. No more so than when talk turns to support – or lack thereof – for musicians during the pandemic. 

“The arts community – not just musicians – has been ignored by the government,” Nimmo says. 

Let's picture a scene with the King King frontman: we’ve got Marti Pellow as Prime Minister; Amy Macdonald leading today’s daily briefing; and Lulu giving her take on the Middle East on Radio 4.

Some might argue the new world would be an improvement on the madness of 2020, but wait until you hear who’d be reopening the Hydro. 

Glasgow Times: Marti PellowMarti Pellow

“When you hear certain politicians telling you to just go and get a new job and retrain, you just think: ‘if this is the attitude of the people in a position who can help us, then there’s little hope left’," he says. 

“People like us who have spent 30 years learning a craft and the skills we have, we are now considered unskilled when it comes to finding work. 

“Let’s do a role reversal and get you [Chancellor Rishi Sunak, for instance] in six months’ time to stand on a stage with an instrument round your neck and entertain people for two hours. If you say that, it sounds ridiculous. 

“A world without music would be a terrible place.” 

It’s testament to Nimmo and the band they’ve been able to release their latest album Maverick in the circumstances, finding a way to record the final three songs at Morsecode Studios, in Hillington, when the first lockdown hit in the spring. 

“Lucky enough by the time this happened and they let me in, I was extremely prepared,” he says. “I think I was in and out in two hours.

“Thankfully the guys were good enough to open the studio or otherwise we’d be sitting here with an unfinished album.

“It really was an interesting project to do. It was a lot of fun. We broke some of the songs down, like an unplugged version, and it was really interesting to hear.

“I think when you do that and it still sounds good then you know you are on the right track.” 

Joining the Dumbarton rocker, Jonny Dyke, Zander Greenshields, and Andrew Scott for the latest release – the band’s fifth studio album – is Stevie Nimmo, Alan’s brother. The two have found their own success performing as the Nimmo Brothers and they are already hitting all the right notes now they are together again. 

Glasgow Times: Stevie NimmoStevie Nimmo

“The music we got out of this is some of the best I have ever done,” Nimmo says. 

“I couldn’t ask for better from what the guys have done.

“We’ve got a band of brothers here and that’s something that is amazing.” 

  • Maverick is out now and can be bought on King King’s website.