NIGEL OLSSON WANTS TO BE AS BIG AS RINGO STARR

Next to Karen Carpenter, he's probably the cutest drummer in the world. He's reliable, economical, loves his work and is willing to travel. Tatum O'Neal had a crush on him and he used to be the Troggs' road manager. He can, he'll have you know, sing, write, arrange and produce as well as play. Is it any wonder then that Nigel "I Hardly Ever Break A Stick" Olsson may be located at the very top of the rock heap as a mainstay of the EJ phenomenon?

And now it seems that Nigel has his own album to do, a fact which, he affirms over and over, certainly does not signal any sort of rift in the organization.

"We're so close it's like a family thing," he says. "We don't really feel that we're under his shadow, because of the family thing ... And now people know that there's more people than Elton John. Kids go to see Elton, but they know the other guys as well. We have our own separate part of the audience, and it's great."

This little pixie, with his choirboy appeal and unmistakable teen-idol potential, appears to be the best-known and most avidly pursued of the sidemen, right down to the fan mail. "I have about 20 letters from the same two girls," he confesses, blushing just a little. "Saying, 'We hope you get these letters. We sent them to the Elton John office, but they're not for Elton, they're for you.' "

Nigel's single, released in January, is "Only One Woman," an old Bee Gee's tune which he recorded during the Brown Dirt Cowboy sessions. Taking advantage of the recent reduction of EJ commitments, he went into Ringo's studio outside London in February to cut the album. "I want to get away from the whole Elton John sound," he says. "I'd like to do a few tracks with a big orchestra, and play at the same time as the orchestra and not do overdubbing."

Nigel assertively rules out the possibility of a solo tour (though he says he might do a couple of gigs), but there is a chance that the EJ band, who have three tracks in the can, might take to the road when they finish their album. "I know that Davey and I are really interested in doing it, but Dee wants to get himself together," says Nigel.

Despite those familial bonds, Nigel lets himself do a bit of speculating on what could have been. "I think if it had been promoted the right way in the beginning," he says, "we could have now been in the same class with the Beatles - I mean everybody knows who Ringo is." The gnawing desire for that level of fame is a primary motivation in Nigel Olsson's solo endeavors:

"I'd really like to have a hit, to be recognized as a separate artist." He doesn't even flinch when it comes to the grueling schedule of appearances and interviews required to push a record. "It's tiring, especially if you have to get up at 8:30 in the morning," says a tired-looking Nigel. "I want to make it... The time I'll know that I have is when an old granny on the street stops me and says, 'You're Nigel Olsson!' But I've got a long way to go."