hat goes around comes around, so the saying goes, and for Nottingham’s Neil “Nail” Tolliday—2013 was the year for come arounds. Whilst this side of the millennium was spent chiefly on Bent, his eight-year partnership with Simon Mills that headlined festivals and was a huge commercial success, prior that he was simply Nail, underground house producer and admired cult DJ—origins that some twenty years later are being exposed anew.

Nail’s love of music started with pirate radio and hip hop. Clubbing was never really Nail’s thing; his appreciation for house was born in the record shop and brewed over extensive home listening. His first job was at small rehearsal studios. Here a chance encounter brought him into the DiY fold, who would be responsible for Nail’s production debut: ‘The Beeston EP’, and first full-length record: ‘Big D's Lounge’. This was the same year Luke Solomon and Derrick Carter put out ‘Spines’ on Classic, the first of three EPs for the label. All the while Nail was working at Select A Disc, hallowed Nottingham vinyl haunt where he continued to feed his record obsession.

And then Bent happened. Simon and Nail ended up living next to each other. Simon was also a rec... More Biography