Terry Bickers

English musician

Terence "Terry" Robert Arthur Bickers (born 6 September 1965 in Kensington, London) is an English musician and songwriter. A guitarist and singer, he is best known for his work as the original lead guitarist with The House of Love (from 1986 to 1989, and again from 2004 to 2020) and as the former frontman/guitarist for Levitation and Cradle. During the late 1980s and 1990s Bickers was hailed as one of Britain's leading young guitarists, as well as attracting plenty of press coverage due to his unconventional pronouncements. Bickers's most recent work has been with singer songwriter Pete Fijalkowski, with whom he released the album Broken Heart Surgery in July 2014. He is currently based in Brighton, England where he teaches music at the college Access To Music.

Terry Bickers was born in Kensington, London, and grew up in nearby Fulham into what he describes as "a family of big gamblers and card players. I learnt from them how to hold my hand back. They'd all be drinking and because I was only seven, I'd be straight, checking them out and learning from their behaviour." When he was twelve years old, his parents split up,

After leaving the band, Bickers sought greater stability, choosing to marry and have a daughter, Ella, in 1991. He has commented that part of his "difficult" reputation over the years (particularly in his House of Love days) came from his previous behaviour of "push(ing) love away. It was just fear, really. Fear of my own vulnerability. Fear of rejection maybe, being hurt. It was me doing battle with myself."

In 1990, Bickers formed the psychedelic rock band Levitation with drummer David Francolini, former Cardiacs guitarist Bic Hayes, multi instrumentalist Robert White (later of The Milk and Honey Band) and bass player Joe Allen (who went on to join Strangelove and was replaced by Laurence O'Keefe). As well as playing guitar, Bickers took on the role of lead singer in the band. The band quickly became known for their intense collective playing, and were hailed in both the underground and mainstream music press as new psychedelic heroes as well as potential rehabilitators of progressive rock. Levitation recorded a number of EPs (including the Coppelia EP, heralded by Melody Maker as "this generation's Marquee Moon,") much of this attention was focussed on the eminently quotable Bickers himself. In interviews with the music press, Bickers would provide career friendly quotes by, for example, citing an interest in the then current dance and rave music scenes as well as the indie rock and psychedelic music movements. plus a growing fanbase, the band's career was set back by Bickers's refusal to tour America following an incident on the band's first American tour in which the band was caught in crossfire during a gun battle between police and a criminal gang. This led to tension between Bickers and the other members, culminating in Bickers departing the band, acrimoniously, in 1993. Years later, Bickers would speak about his departure with regret and shame, but claim that his mounting depression had had much to do with the manner of his departure. In contrast to the reception afforded to Bickers' two previous bands, the press received Cradle with indifference or even contempt, with Caroline Tree being labelled as "the worst singer in the world" in a review in New Musical Express. Tree left the band shortly afterwards. Despite playing a few concerts with Bickers as lead vocalist, and more or less ditching the more conventional indie rock approaches in favour of dark psychedelia, Cradle did not last for much longer and quietly dissolved in 1996. Bickers went on to work in production, resurfacing briefly in 1999 with a new band called Monkey 7 (also featuring Sam Smith and Nik Webb). In contrast to the serious intent of Bickers' previous bands, Monkey 7 were described as "Tony Bennett steaming headfirst into the last working remnants of Shaun Ryder" and "a lo fi ska Blur playing for laffs." The band released one single, "The Snowy Peaks/It All Comes Back on You", on Anvil Recording Co. in 2001.

In 2003, Bickers (now much more able to cope with his depressive tendencies due to courses of therapy and the martial art shintaido) reconciled with Guy Chadwick (who himself had suffered severe depression following the collapse of The House of Love). The two bonded over a new mutual sympathy, which in turn led to a reformation of The House of Love at the end of 2004. After a Kickerstarter campaign at the end of 2013, the pair self released their debut album Broken Heart Surgery to critical acclaim in July 2014. They followed with a 2nd album, "We are Millionaires" in 2017 on Broadcast Records.

Bickers currently works with a country and western covers band called Montana Rain, which also features singer Nicola Rain, bass player John Rain and barn dance folk duo Pete and Mannie McClelland.

Bickers' guitar playing features on Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses, a recording of Corsican polyphonic singing, and on some Heidi Berry recordings.

The Snowy Peaks/It All Comes Back on You single, Anvil Recording Co., 2001