William Morris "Billy" Nicholls Jr (born 15 February 1949, White City, Hammersmith, London) into a musical family. His father: Billy Nicholls (Senior) played double bass and sang in Big Bands like The Squadronairs. Billy's career as singer, songwriter, record producer and musical director, first gained fame in the 1960s while still a teenager with his Pet Sounds-influenced album, Would You Believe, originally released on Immediate Records.

Nicholls' compositions have been covered by many artists; his first success came in 1977 when Leo Sayer covered "I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)"; it rose to No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart. Nicholls wrote several of the tracks for the film, McVicar, starring Roger Daltrey, including "Without Your Love" which was a success in the United States.