Willis began her professional career in London in 1984, singing and writing with the
Washington Week In Review alongside members of
The Brand New Heavies.
Nicole returned to New York the following year to work with
Blue Period and the
Hello Strangers, meeting up with
Super DJ Dmitry Brill. Soon after, she sang alongside
Lady Miss Kier Kirby and Dmitry in the earliest line-up of
Deee-lite.
In 1989, Nicole sang back-ups on
The The's '
Mind Bomb ' tour. Back in NYC later the same year, she joined
Repercussions, an uptown-based soul-hip-hop live ensemble, releasing the club hit "
Promise" on
Mo Wax in 1992 and subsequently collaborating with
Curtis Mayfield on "
Let's Do It Again".
After two albums as
Repercussions and one as
Crown Of Brahma, Nicole returned to London in 1998 to record the track "
Swords" with
Leftfield. 1999 sees Nicole recording with
Jimi Tenor and
Maurice Fulton in Barcelona and developing a solo project with producer/composer
Dougie Bowne. Mostly collaborating with her husband
Jimi Tenor, she released the albums "
Soul Makeover" (2000) and "
Be It" (2004).
In 2005-6, she has worked with
The Soul Investigators (recording as
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators), and some more solo work too.