The chic Mr Nile Marr
by Margaret Chrystall
IT’S fair to say that Nile Marr has learned to be quite comfortable making music his chosen career, though he’s the son of The Smiths’ famous guitarist Johnny Marr.
Talking about life in his band Man Made which plays Mad Hatters on Sunday, Nile says: "The best thing about it is the people who are fans of my dad really want to like us because they are real fans of music, his music has meant a lot to them growing up and the fact he is now a legacy artist – and he is still doing it.
"These people have been able to spend their entire lives with his music, so when they come out to see us they want us to be good.
"It would be a drag if we were shi*t!"
But Nile wears lightly the pressure of being good enough.
And the five years the family spent in the Pacific Northwest, namely Portland, Oregon, has given him a DIY philosophy about hard work making a band work.
"It’s so DIY and I learned being around that some of the values you should have as an English musician.
"For us it wasn’t acceptable to just be a band, turn up, play and leave.
"It’s why we do a lot for ourselves.
"In our hometown now we only play charity shows – it doesn’t cost us anything to get there. It’s not like we get paid anyway. So why don’t we do something that benefits the community we are part of?"
Inspired by American punk rock and bands like Fugazi and Black Flag that you "get in the van and you do it, and you drive and just keep driving", Man Made are doing just that.
On the current tour they will also see the release of debut album TV Broke My Brain.
Nile, who has been writing songs since he was 14, met drummer Scott Griffiths via a mutual friend at a practice room and later the pair found their ideal bassist, Callum Rogers.
The three – who share a house – recorded the album there, updating the recordings as playing live altered the songs.
"For us, the record is the menu for the real experience.
"So the songs are ones that, over the years we have played and evolved, night after night – and I feel this first record is a really good representation of what we do."
A vegan, Nile likes to cook: "I’m very into cooking because it’s not like in America where everything is available to you, I had to learn to make these things – nut butters and milks, sauces and dips."
He laughs: "It’s the only other thing apart from music that I can do."
Anyone hoping to see Nile’s gold sequin jacket – as worn onstage when the band supported Johnny Marr at the Ironworks last year – is in for disappointment.
"I stole it from a friend studying fashion who’d planned to cut it up.
"It still had the price on it that she bought it for – 18p! I wore it for maybe four or five years for every show, but it has just been retired.
"You’ll see at the show, a friend of mine has made me a new bit of stagewear that has been pretty good fun to wear so far," Nile says.
Sticking to independent venues at the moment, Nile would love to have the clout later to open up their gigs to younger people.
"If there are places to play, we must do it – that is very much our attitude.
"My biggest problem is that someone else’s decision to drink should not be stopping someone else experiencing something in life that is very important to them.
"You don’t just suddenly start listening to music at 18.
"When it really means a lot to you are those sponge years, your early teens. ?"
Named after Nile Rodgers – dad Johnny is a huge fan – might lead to a future career for Nile.
"Nile is a great rock name and it’s a trip when me and Nile are in the same room together," laughs Nile.
"He’s really tickled by the fact I’m called Nile.
"A few times onstage in Manchester he’s said that when he dies I’ll take over from him so there is always a Nile in Chic! Which I’m very flattered by, but I’m not sure you could can quite get away with a white English guy taking over in Chic!"
But then you wouldn’t think Man Made would be big fans of the rather Scottish sport of curling ....
"We love coming back to Inverness because we take the opportunity to go curling at the ice centre.
"Me and our tour manager are very big curling fans and we just turn up at Inverness Ice Centre.
"I think the manager finds it very amusing that these skinny-jeaned, English boys come in every year and go ‘Can we go curling again?’."
And though Nile is very much his own man, he’s not above taking the odd bit of music advice from his musical dad, it seems.
So what’s the best thing he’s passed on?
"Turn your guitar up louder!"
Man Made play Mad Hatters on Sunday.
