Nicholas James Bates was born June 8, 1962 in his grandmother's home. He is the only child of Sylvia and Roger Bates (a building contractor) of Hollywood, Birmingham, England. Noone, not even Nick himself, is sure what time he was born! (Which makes it difficult to do his astrology chart--ed note)  He was raised as a Protestant, possibly in the Church of England to be precise.

Nick was a happy child, but he didn't enjoy attending school. Because he is very bright, perhaps it didn't challenge him enough. He has referred to his teacher as a "screaming dragon", and I'm sure that teacher didn't make things any easier. Nick did enjoy music class, and his picture is still displayed in the music room where he first learned to play.

When Nick was between 9-11 years old (according to different sources, it's hard to pin down the exact year), he met Nigel John Taylor through a mutual friend. John has noted that Nick impressed him with the size of his record collection, and the fact that Nick subscribed to every music weekly. Also, at this tender age, Nick already had a girlfriend! Lucky lass!

Nick and John decided to form a band together, after several years of chasing rock stars for autographs. They attended shows together to see Roxy Music, David Bowie, Mick Ronson and many more. This inspired them to continue in the glam tradition with their band, which of course, we know as Duran Duran. At age 16, Nick dropped out of school, after he completed his O levels, which are the minimum educational requirement in England. He did this so that he could concentrate more on Duran Duran.

Once Nick and John found fellow band mates in Simon le Bon, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor, they took over the world. Duran Duran became a huge success, as we all know, and has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.

click here for more photos of Silvia & Roger

Nick's personal life wasn't as successful. His marriage to the former Julie Anne Friedman on August 18, 1984 ended in divorce in 1992. Julie Anne's father headed up the Younkers Department Stores in the USA. They have a daughter named Tatjana Lee Orchid Rhodes who was born on August 23, 1986. Tatjana is an only child just like her dad. After the divorce, Julie Anne pursued an acting career in Los Angeles, CA but now devotes her time being a personal chef in the LA area. When Tatjana was not at boarding school, she split her time between living with Nick in England and Julie Anne in LA. Currently, she's a college student studying film making in London.

The next long-term relationship Nick had was with his girlfriend of 7 years, who lived with him in England. Her name is Madeleine Farley, and they had been together since the end of 1992. She is 32 years old, born June 17, 1968. She's a beautiful lady, with naturally blonde hair, blue eyes, and a peaches and cream complexion. She is said to be a cartoonist, but when you're an heiress as she is, does it really matter? The most popular story about how Nick met Maddy was that she met Nick at a Christmas party. She seems to be perfectly sweet and has a wicked sense of humor. Fans have noted how willing she was to take their pictures with him, and most believed that she was an excellent match for him (but they especially loved the fact that she doesn't believe in marriage!). They broke up in late 1999. Since then, she has gone on to be a contributing editor for Flaunt magazine, a VJ for stargig.com, writes for Horace Scope and reportedly has a clothing line debuting Autumn 2000.She also contributed several pages of material for the Pop Trash tourbook.

Nick rebounded with a 4 month fling with "It" girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, a 28 year old London socialite and sometime model whose parents are close friends of HRH the Prince of Wales. She and Nick have been friends for several years, and he reportedly helped Tara after her rehab stint in a US clinic for drug and alcohol problems. More recently, Tara was a columnist for the Sunday Times style section. They broke up in February 2000 but remain good friends. And occasionally, she reminisces about her relationship with him in her columns. Even more TPT trivia: she and Lady Vic (see below) are friends. You can find out more about her from her website.

Nick next briefly dated "It" girl Lady Victoria Hervey, 24, a co-owner of a Knightsbridge clothing boutique, Akademi, and a former Elite model. The Pop Trash tour schedule did not leave Nick much time to pursue this relationship.

The new lady in his life is Meredith Ostrom, an actress/model from New York, the daughter of a well-known interior designer mother (Barbara Ostrom) and engineer father. She and Nick met hopping into the same cab on their way to Mario Testino's book party celebrating the release of his book Alive July 19, 2001 in London. Meredith studied acting at the Stonestreet Film & Television Acting Workshop in New York City and has appeared in minor roles in the films R'Xmas; Love, Actually; When Will I Be Loved; The Great New Wonderful; Played; and Factory Girl. Currently you can see her in Feel the Noise, released in October 2007. (You can see her full list of work on IMDB.com). In 2003 Nick photographed her for Shoo magazine.

Have we forgotten something? Was something left out or incorrect? E-mail us at priestesses@templeofsaintnick.com

last updated 10/08/07