When listening back to Nizlopi’s 2005 hit ‘The JCB Song’, it’s easy to understand how the song reached number one. Detailing the stolen moments of a young child with his idolised dad, it instantly had a dual demographic. Both love-starved children and overtly sentimental types rushed out to purchase the single, although the weepy latter may have burst apart at the seams on the way to Woolworths.
A primary school disco was not complete without hearing Nizlopi listing various toys, or the cringey “rhyming” couplet ‘My dad’s B.A. Baracus,/Only with a JCB, and Bruce Lee’s numchuckers’. It was cheesy, but endearing.
The band had the makings of greatness. Listening back, they sound like that sickly-sweet cherub Ed Sheeran who’s made bags of cash since being their one-time roadie.
So why haven’t Nizlopi? Despite producing two further albums and touring incessantly to often sold-out venues (and supporting Christina Aguilera), for
some reason, they just haven’t managed to compete with the big boys.
Maybe all they need is their old friend Ed to put in a good word.
