{"id":275918,"date":"2025-07-19T23:12:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T23:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/275918\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T23:12:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T23:12:46","slug":"city-views-rob-nicholson-i-couldnt-think-of-a-better-place-to-do-what-i-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/275918\/","title":{"rendered":"City Views: Rob Nicholson – “I couldn\u2019t think of a better place to do what I do”"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 November 2023<\/p>\n

Exposed Magazine<\/p>\n

I was born in Sheffield but spent some of my early years in America. A few of my earliest memories are of bright days and white terracotta buildings in Santa Barbara. Me, my mum and brother moved back to Sheffield when I was about five years old, where we lived in a few places \u2013 Manor Park, Norfolk Park and Deepcar \u2013 before settling in Hillsborough. You could say it was a change of scenery from California! \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I went to school at Myrtle Springs, so most of my mates lived in Gleadless or Manor Top. After moving house, I\u2019d get the bus from Deepcar or the tram from Hillsborough to meet friends at the other end of town. It was a fair trek, and I\u2019ve lost track of the number of times I\u2019d fall asleep on the 57 and wake up in Stocksbridge. I spent a lot of time on public transport, crossing over the city repeatedly, and this was before the days of smartphones to keep you occupied in those situations. It meant you spent a lot of time people-watching and watching life go by through the windows. I don\u2019t know if that helped ignite a creative spark in me or perhaps an eye for a picture, but I\u2019d spend a lot of time observing what was around me on those journeys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say I was pretty good at secondary school until about halfway through. I reconnected with an old friend, and we were probably bad influences on each other; we wanted to be like Vic and Bob, always joking and not taking things seriously. In a very Sheffield fashion, a lot of time in our teens was spent hanging around parks and fields, dicking about and playing football. I think there was a creative streak buried in there, for both me and my brother, but I\u2019m not sure we had the means to express it back then.<\/p>\n

That opportunity came a little later for my brother, Andy, who started playing bass and getting into music with some mates. They formed a band, Arctic Monkeys, and it wasn\u2019t until I saw their debut gig at The Grapes that I thought to myself, \u2018I could do that.\u2019 Thanks to my mum\u2019s music influence, I found Oasis in the 90s, which led me to bands like The Stone Roses, The Jam, The Clash, and The Beatles. I bought myself a beautiful Les Paul guitar, which Alex Turner came around to tune, but I basically just made a load of noise on it and threw it around a bit. It wasn\u2019t until after watching that gig at The Grapes that I picked up the guitar and started learning properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI spent a lot of time on public transport, crossing over the city repeatedly, and this was before the days of smartphones \u2026 It meant you spent a lot of time people-watching and watching life go by through the windows. I don\u2019t know if that helped start a creative spark in me or perhaps an eye for a picture, but I\u2019d spend a lot of time observing what was around me.\u201d \u00a9 Pedalo<\/p>\n

The first band I played in was called The Wanted. We were unashamedly Britpop. The highlight for us was probably a gig at The Leadmill supporting The Complete Stone Roses! But before that, we\u2019d play places like The Deep End in Hillsborough, The Grapes and I even remember a dicey gig in a heavy metal pub on Eccy Road. We also played The Boardwalk and The Leadmill, which made you feel like you\u2019d hit the big time. We\u2019d rehearse at Attic Studios in Neepsend, us playing in one room, [Arctic] Monkeys in the other, and we\u2019d often meet in the middle for a game of pool. It was a pretty crazy time for the music scene in the city, and I don\u2019t mind admitting that seeing my brother\u2019s success really made me want to achieve something in a band. \u00a0<\/p>\n

After my time in The Wanted came to an end, I joined another band called Dead World Leaders. We did pretty well, played around the country and even won \u2018Best Band\u2019 at the Exposed Awards! My mum still has the award on show in her downstairs loo. It was a slog at times, though. There were nights we\u2019d hire a van, drive all the way to London to play a gig in the hope there\u2019d be A&R people watching, and then you\u2019d drive back with nothing but a free crate of lager. We played some fairly big shows with bands like Milburn and The Enemy, but eventually, it ran its course. We had a meeting in The Washy where we decided to call it a day. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Around that time, I was also playing with Steve Edwards in a band called Lords of Flatbush, which was a great experience and brilliant to work with a big personality and singer like Steve. We rehearsed at Yellow Arch Studios, and I\u2019ll never forget coming in and seeing Don Letts in one of the rooms. He came to watch us play a couple of songs and complimented me on one of the basslines, which I\u2019m pretty sure he knew was pinched from a Clash song!\u00a0<\/p>\n

After getting out of music, there was a ten-year period of wondering what I was going to do. It felt like all of my mates were doing creative stuff and I struggled to find or understand my place. I think a lot of people who came out of that noughties Sheffield music scene without much to show for it kind of muddled along for a bit. I worked at the Threads club night, tried a bit of DJing, did jobs in retail, and basically saw where things took me for a while. It wasn\u2019t until I found photography that I managed to find a new sense of direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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It felt like all of my mates were doing creative stuff and I struggled to find or understand my place. I think a lot of people who came out of that noughties Sheffield music scene without much to show for it kind of muddled along for a bit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cameras and photography have been in the background of my life for a long time. My uncle was a photographer for The Star, and I remember admiring his cameras as a youngster. My brother, too, picked up photography later and I recall feeling inspired by what he was creating. But it wasn\u2019t until the start of the first lockdown that I thought to myself, \u2018I\u2019m going to get a camera.\u2019 I was furloughed from work and looking for something to try out. I bought a second-hand camera from Harrisons, some cheap lenses, and went out to take photos, sharing bits on social media.<\/p>\n

My friend, James, owns a number of bars in Sheffield. He\u2019d seen some of the pictures I\u2019d been sharing, and he asked me if I\u2019d be interested in doing some promotional stuff for his bars at some point down the line. We\u2019d started spending a lot of time cycling in the Peaks, where we talked about this idea further, and he came up with the idea of starting a photography business together. Since we\u2019d spent a lot of time discussing this when out on the bikes, the name Pedalo was suggested.<\/p>\n

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Rob is now one half of Pedalo Photography, a creative venture that was initially conceived during bike rides through the scenic Peak District. \u00a9 Pedalo<\/p>\n

Pedalo started off doing photography for bars and restaurants in Sheffield. Initially, it was for free, as these places were feeling the pinch of the pandemic, and it also allowed us the chance to experiment and hone our photography skills. It grew quickly: I branched out from hospitality shoots to working on a wide range of projects. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to shoot everything from a Sheffield FC kit launch to a Pete McKee exhibition. Recently, I took photos of former chancellors George Osborne and Ed Balls for their podcast launch. It feels like I\u2019ve found my lane, and in terms of clients, to this day I\u2019ve never had to approach one, which is partly down to being a place like Sheffield \u2013 everyone seems to know everyone and mutual friends can get in touch!<\/p>\n

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\u201cI branched out from hospitality shoots to working on a wide range of projects. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to shoot everything from a Sheffield FC kit launch to a Pete McKee exhibition.\u201d \u00a9 Pedalo<\/p>\n

For me, Sheffield\u2019s an ideal city to be a photographer in. We recently scouted some locations for a shoot and within half an hour had found the perfect mix of brutalist and modern, urban and nature. Not many places have that. You look at some of the artists who\u2019ve come from here, right across a wide range of disciplines and genres, and it\u2019s genuinely impressive for a city this size. It\u2019s just an inspiring place, a fantastic canvas to get creative on. I couldn\u2019t think of a better place to do what I do. Everything I need is here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u25a0 As told to Joseph Food<\/p>\n

@p_e_d_a_l_o<\/a> \/\/ @robnicholson<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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