{{Short description|British musician (1955–2022)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Nick Tesco | image = | caption = | image_size = | background = composer, singer, actor | birth_name = Nicholas Guy Lightowlers | alias = Nick Lightowlers | birth_date = 3 October 1954 | death_date = 26 February 2022 | origin = Belfast | instrument = Vocals | genre = {{hlist|Rock|pop|punk}} | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|producer|actor}} | years_active = 1976–2009 | label = | website = }} '''Nick Lightowlers''' (1955 – 26 February 2022) was a British performer, lyricist, producer, and music industry professional better known to many by his stage name '''Nick Tesco''', the lead singer of the Members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-28 |title=Nicky Tesco of UK punks The Members has died aged 66 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nicky-tesco-of-uk-punks-the-members-has-died-aged-66-3171273 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref>
== Career == As a founding member and co-songwriter of the Members, Tesco fronted the band from 1976 until his departure and the subsequent split of the band in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-12 |title=The Members: how we made Sound of the Suburbs |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/12/the-members-how-we-made-sound-of-the-suburbs |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The Members, from Camberley, Surrey, signed with Virgin Records at the tail-end of punk in 1978 and had a No. 12 hit with the single "The Sound of the Suburbs". Co-written by Tesco and Jean-Marie Carroll, the single reportedly sold 250,000 copies and went on to become a staple of punk compilations.{{citation needed|date=February 2026}}
After leaving the band, Tesco co-performed and released the 1983 single "Cost of Living" for UK based independent label Albion Records with J. Walter Negro.<ref>{{Citation |title=J.Walter Negro / Nicky Tesco - Cost Of Living |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/925172-JWalter-Negro-Nicky-Tesco-Cost-Of-Living |language=en |access-date=2022-02-27}}</ref>
Albion Records was a label he had previously worked for as a producer (the 1981 Outpatients single "New Japanese Hairstyles") and it was as a producer that he continued to work for the remainder of the decade – extensively for CBS, but also East West, WEA and Ariola.{{citation needed|date=February 2026}}
In 1989, he appeared in ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America'', written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, a film about a fictional Russian rock band touring the US. This fictional band then toured and recorded in real life from 1990 until 1994.{{citation needed|date=February 2026}} ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America'' was followed five years later by a sequel, ''Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses'' (1994) and a concert film ''Total Balalaika Show'' (1994).{{citation needed|date=February 2026}}
In 1998, he joined ''Music Week'' and produced the ''Music Week Directory'' from 1999 until 2009<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tributes to Nick Tesco, punk icon and Music Week journalist: 'A genuinely great human being' |url=https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/tributes-to-nick-tesco-punk-icon-and-music-week-journalist-a-genuinely-great-human-being/085310 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=www.musicweek.com |language=en}}</ref> He appeared on BBC 6's ''Roundtable''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-20 |title=Blank Generation 19 - The Sound Of Nicky Tesco |url=https://www.phoenixfm.com/2020/06/20/blank-generation-19-sound-nicky-tesco/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Phoenix FM}}</ref> He also appeared in other films such as ''Iron Horsemen'' and ''I Hired a Contract Killer''.{{citation needed|date=February 2026}}
In 2007, the Members reformed and toured the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-04 |title=The Sound of the Suburbs – north of Brighton |url=https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2018/02/04/the-sound-of-the-suburbs-north-of-brighton/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Brighton and Hove News |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Death == Lightowlers died aged 67 on 26 February 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-26 |title=Mort de Nick Tesco, le chanteur punk des Members |url=https://www.telerama.fr/musique/mort-de-nick-tesco-le-chanteur-punk-des-members-7009010.php |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Télérama |language=fr}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7pPhSKiCfU&feature=PlayList&p=B4D7A9337F540488&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1 Nick (Nicky) Tesco biographical videos.] *[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0856254/ Nicky Tesco filmography] *[http://www.musicgoulash.blogspot.com Nick Tesco music review blog.]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesco, Nick}} Category:1955 births Category:2022 deaths Category:20th-century British male singers Category:21st-century British male singers Category:20th-century British male actors Category:20th-century British songwriters Category:British record producers