At birth I was named Nick-hole-arse, or Nicker-less which I quickly changed to Nick. As labels go, this lumped me in jail or marked me as a thief; considering I’m more curious than a thief I changed the letters around to C.Kin. I do appreciate, ultimately you’ll call me what you like…

At fourteen my school life remained somewhere outside my imagination, where I preferred to hang out, until one morning in assembly a musical compliment (Back to Reality); some fellow inmates turned up on stage playing their own tune; akin to Stiff Little Fingers. Revelation alert! That afternoon I declared to my Ma and Nan ‘I’m dedicating myself to music!’

45 years on, this is where I’m at; a haven’t been. Some may argue I’ve been unsuccessful and that’s financially true, yet I don’t consider myself a failure, regarding knowledge of how to bang a tune together; (whether it’s shite or not). Although, it’s fair to write, you’ll be the judge.

I play by ear and instinct. Obviously you’ll hear songs that have a commercial lilt because, at one point it felt a sensible thing to do, but over the past 30 years I’ve been learning how to improvise, which offers the opportunity to find some fresh ideas.

Having the pleasure of working with some incredibly talented haven’t beens; I thank you for your inspiration.

If music be the food of love… Shut up and hand me the menu…