Nicky Chinn: Fifty Hit Records, Battles with Bipolar Buying Two Rolls-Royces on the same Day

50+ hit records. Three Ivor Novello awards. Bipolar disorder. Electroconvulsive therapy at 16.

Nicky Chinn co-wrote some of the biggest songs of the '70s and '80s, writing smash hits like Tiger Feet, Blockbuster, Devil Gate Drive, Hey Mickey, Living Next Door to Alice—all while battling severe bipolar disorder. Alongside his songwriting partner Mike Chapman, he helped shape the sound of Sweet, Mud, Racey, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Toni Basil, Tina Turner, and Huey Lewis. But behind the music, there was another story.
Nicky opens up about the brutal psychiatric treatments he endured as a teenager, multiple hospitalizations, and his lifelong search for stability. He shares insights into fame, fortune, and friendships, including his close bond with pop mogul Mickie Most. There’s also plenty of rock ‘n’ roll madness—from turning his bathroom into a discotheque to buying two Rolls-Royces in one day and snapping up Paul Newman's Hollywood mansion.

At the heart of it all? A childhood shaped by abandonment, a search for belonging, and a 1995 turning point that changed everything, meeting his now wife.