Nick Barker

Nick Barker
Nick Barker on stage in Queensland Australia after returning from his first tour of Brasil in 2003
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas Paul Barker
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Rock, blues, punk rock, power pop
Occupation(s)	singer-songwriter
Years active	1980–present
Labels	White, Mushroom, Festival, Air, MGM
Associated acts	The Curse, Beachouse, Reptile Smile, Freak Power, The Wreckery

Nicholas "Nick" Paul Barker is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who formed a Melbourne-based rock, power pop band Nick Barker & the Reptiles in March 1988. Their cover version of Cockney Rebel's "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart in November 1989. They provided two top 40 albums on the related ARIA Albums Chart, Goin' to Pieces (1989) and After the Show (1991). He formed Barker in 1993, their single, "Time Bomb" was voted No. 20 on Triple J Hottest 100 list for 1994. He then went solo from 1995.

Nicholas Paul Barker was the bass guitarist for a succession of Melbourne-based bands starting with The Curse during 1980–1981 and 1982–1983, during the summer of 1982–1983 he played and recorded with Beachouse. Also in The Curse's line-up were Adrian Chynoweth on guitar, Nique Needles, John Rowell and Graeme Scott. He moved to Reptile Smile with Chynoweth and Nick Cross, Rick Hawkins and Tony Hawkins during 1983–1984. Then Freak Power with Chynoweth, Needles and Scott before joining rock, blues group, The Wreckery in December 1985. The Wreckery had formed earlier in the year with Robin Casinader on drums, piano, Hammond organ, guitar and violin (ex-Plays with Marionettes, Horla), Edward Clayton-Jones on guitar, organ and vocals (ex-Fabulous Marquises, Plays with Marionettes, Horla, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), Tadeusz O'Biegly on bass guitar, Hugo Race on vocals and guitar (ex-Plays with Marionettes, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and Charles Todd on saxophone, organ (ex-Wild Dog Rodeo, Cattletruck). Barker performed on their releases Yeh My People (mini-album, 1986), Here at Pain's Insistence (1987), The Collection (compilation, 1988), and Laying Down Law (1988) but had left before the latter was released.