Jimmy Nail

**James Michael Aloysius Bradford** (born 16 March 1954), known as **Jimmy Nail**, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He is known for his role as Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the hit television show _Auf Wiedersehen, Pet_, his title role in _Spender_, and his 1992 number one single, "Ain't No Doubt".

## Early life

James Michael Aloysius Bradford was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. His father is called Jimmy and his mother is Laura. His father was a shipyard worker, an amateur boxer, and professional footballer. His sister, Shelagh, died aged 20 when he was 13. He later spent time drinking and fighting. He was involved in a fight after a football match and was sent to prison. After being released he worked in a glass factory. While opening a crate of glass he stood on a six-inch spike that went through his foot. After this he was called "Nail". He later used "Nail' as his professional surname. At that time he played guitar in a rock band called the King Crabs. His sister, Val McLane, was a successful actress and later became Head of Drama at Sunderland University.

### Television

Nail's partner, Miriam, encouraged him to audition for a television show even though he had no experience as an actor. He won the role of Leonard Jeffrey "Oz" Osborne in _Auf Wiedersehen, Pet_, an ITV comedy drama about construction workers working abroad in Germany. The show made him famous.

After the first two series of _Auf Wiedersehen, Pet_, Nail created the detective series _Spender_. He co-wrote it with Ian La Frenais. The show ran for three series from 1990 to 1993.

In 1994, Nail created, wrote and starred as songwriter Jed Shepherd in the TV series _Crocodile Shoes_.

In 2000 he began work on reviving the _Auf Wiedersehen, Pet_ series, this time for the BBC. It was filmed in Middlesbrough and Arizona in 2001. It was shown on TV in 2002 and had 13 million viewers. Another series saw the brickies in Cuba. The final two-hour instalment was set in Laos. It was shown on Christmas 2004 snd had seven million viewers.

In 2008, Nail created and starred as Phil Parker in _Parents of the Band_. The series was shown on BBC1. It revolves around a group of teenagers who form a band just for their own fun, but their parents expect them to be the next Led Zeppelin. Ratings were disappointing, around three million, and there was no second series.

### Music

Nail had pop hits with
- "Ain't No Doubt", co-written written by Nail, Danny Schogger, Guy Pratt and Charlie Dore.
- "Crocodile Shoes"
- "Love Don't Live Here Anymore".

His 1992 album _Growing Up in Public_ featured Gary Moore, David Gilmour, Elliot Randall and George Harrison.

His 1994 album _Crocodile Shoes_ was based on the BBC television series of the same name. The album sold more than one million copies in the UK.

His 2001 album _Big River_ featured guitarist Mark Knopfler. It included cover versions of "Walking on the Moon" by the Police, "Something" by the Beatles, and "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder.

Nail sang on the film soundtracks for _Evita_ and _Still Crazy_.

With Tim Healy, Nail created the Sammy Johnson Memorial Fund, in memory of their friend and colleague, established to help young talent in North East England. To aid this, he participated in the _Sunday for Sammy_ benefit concerts, until workload forced him to resign from the board. In 2020 it will be the concerts’ 20th anniversary.

### Theatre and film

In 2005, Nail played gamekeeper "Rabbetts" in _Danny, the Champion of the World_, based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.

In 2014, Nail came out of retirement to act and sing in _The Last Ship_, a musical by Sting about the shipbuilders of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the hometown of both Nail and Sting. Sting grew up in Wallsend, down the street from the shipyards. Nail worked in the shipyards and is the son of a shipyard foreman. The show opened in Chicago. On Broadway, when ticket sales began to drop, Sting replaced Nail to try to save the musical, but it ended after a short run. Nail sang on the Original Broadway Cast Recording and on Sting's album, _The Last Ship_.

In 2016, Nail played Parson Nathaniel in _War of the Worlds_ alongside David Essex at the Dominion Theatre, London.

In 2018, Nail had been due to reprise his role in The Last Ship in the UK. The show's producer Karl Sydow stated: "After protracted negotiations carried out in good faith, we regret to announce the production's offer of employment to Jimmy Nail has been withdrawn. Joe McGann replaced him. Nail said "I was very much looking forward to appearing in Sting's The Last Ship, particularly here in my home city, Sadly that's not to be."

## Lawsuit

In 2004, Nail successfully sued News Group Newspapers and Harper Collins Publishers. The lawsuit concerned false and defamatory allegations made two years before in an article in the _News of the World_ and _Nailed_, a biography which was the newspaper's source for the claims. He described reading the article as one of the worst experiences of his life. He received damages of £30,000.

## Awards and honours

Nail has received five BAFTA nominations. Three for _Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', one for _Spender_, and one for _Crocodile Shoes_. He has received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song – "Still Crazy". He has had an Ivor Novello nomination for "Ain't No Doubt".

## Personal life

Nail married Miriam Jones. They have two boys, Tommy and Freddie, and live in London.

### Television

- _Auf Wiedersehen, Pet_ (1983–'84, 1986, 2002, 2004)... as Leonard Jeffrey "Oz" Osborne
- _Spyship_ (1983) ... as Metcalfe
- _Minder_ (1984)... as Nathan Loveridge in the episode "The Car Lot Baggers"
- _Blott on the Landscape_ (1985)... as Edwards
- _Master of the Game_ (1985)... as Schmidt
- _Raoul Wallenberg_ (1986)... as Vilmos Langfelder
- _Nicking Kids_ (1986)...as Criminal 1
- _Lenny Henry Tonite_ (1986) as Guest Star
- _Shoot for the Sun_ (1986)... as Geordie
- _Spender_ (1991–93)... as Freddie Spender
- _Crocodile Shoes_ (1994, 1996)... as Jed Shepperd
- _Parents of the Band_ (2008) ... as Phil Parker

### Movies

- _Morons from Outer Space_ (1985)... as Desmond
- _Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf_ (1985)...as "Punk"
- _Dream Demon_ (1987)... as Paul
- _Just Ask for Diamond_ (1988)... as Boyle
- _Crusoe_ (1989)... as Tarik
- _Danny, the Champion of the World_ (1990)... as Rabbets
- _Evita_ (1996)... as Agustín Magaldi
- _Still Crazy_ (1998)... as Les Wickes
- _The 10th Kingdom_ (2000)... as Clayface the Goblin alongside Al Hunter Ashton

## Own projects

- _Spender_ (1991–93) – actor, writer, producer, creator
- _Crocodile Shoes_ (1994) – actor, writer, executive producer, creator
- _Crocodile Shoes II_ (1996) – actor, writer, executive producer, title music composer, creator
- _Parents of the Band_ (2008–09) – actor, creator, executive producer, title music composer

## Sources

- Larkin, Colin. _The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', 3rd edition, Macmillan, 1998.

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **genre**: Pop music, Pop, rock music, rock, Soul music, soul, country music, country
- **background**: solo_singer
- **instrument**: Vocals, guitar
- **label**: Virgin Records, Virgin, East West Records, East West, Papillon Records, Papillon
- **associated acts**: Gary Holton, Mark Knopfler, Sting (musician), Sting, Guy Pratt


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Jimmy Nail
- **image**: Jimmy Nail.jpg
- **birth name**: James Michael Aloysius Bradford
- **birth place**: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
- **nationality**: English
- **occupation**: Musician, singer-songwriter, actor
- **yearsactive**: 1982–2023
- **spouse**: Miriam Jones
- **children**: 2 sons