| Nik Kershaw |
Nik
Kershaw pictured wearing his famous snood
on The Essential Nik Kershaw (2000).
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Nicholas David Kershaw |
| Born |
March 01, 1958 (1958-03-01) (age 49) |
| Origin |
 Bristol, England |
| Genre(s) |
Synth Pop, Pop rock |
| Occupation(s) |
Musician, vocalist, songwriter, record
producer |
| Instrument(s) |
Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar |
| Years active |
1983–present |
| Label(s) |
MCA |
| Website |
www.nikkershaw.co.uk |
Nik Kershaw (born Nicholas David
Kershaw on March 1, 1958) is an English singer-songwriter,
popular during the 1980s.
|
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Discography
- 3 Collaborations
- 4 External
links
|
History
Nik Kershaw was born Nicholas David Kershaw in Bristol, England on March 1, 1958. After leaving
school in 1976
he worked as a shop assistant and in the Department of Employment for
several years, during which time he played guitar and sang in
a number of underground Ipswich bands. However, when the last of
these - "Fusion" - split up in 1982, he embarked on a full time career as a songwriter
and performer. In 1983
he signed a contract with MCA Records, a deal
which spawned his debut single, "I Won't Let the
Sun Go Down on Me". At the beginning of 1984, Kershaw released his breakthrough song "Wouldn't
It Be Good", featuring a video of Kershaw as a chroma
key-suited alien. The song reached Number 4 in the UK charts and earned
Kershaw world wide attention. He enjoyed three more Top 20 hits from
his debut album Human Racing,
including the title track and a successful re-issue of his debut single
"I Won't Let the
Sun Go Down on Me". This track ultimately proved his biggest hit as a
performer when it reached Number 2 in the UK.
Despite winning awards, attracting admirers such as Elton
John for his writing and gaining a huge teenage fanbase,
Kershaw was not without his critics. Some complained that he did too
much on stage when he had a competent backing band called the Krew to
play all the required guitar and keyboard
parts of his songs. Others derided his fashion sense. Kershaw made the snood
and fingerless gloves into vital
sartorial requirements in 1984. Some claimed he was, vocally, trying to
sound like Stevie Wonder.
Kershaw's second album The
Riddle came quickly on the heels of his debut
release. The title track, released as a single, would send fans, journalists
and linguists
into overdrive, as each tried to establish what the meaning was behind
the strange set of circumstances and clues which Kershaw wove into the verses
and chorus.
"The Riddle" proved to be another major hit, and the album also spawned
two more UK Top 10 hits, "Wide Boy" and "Don Quixote", as it went platinum. During
this time, Kershaw toured extensively with his backing band The Krew,
consisting of Keith Airey, Tim Moore, Mark Price, Sheri Kershaw (Nik's
then wife), and Dennis Smith.
In July 1985
Kershaw was among performers at Live Aid, held at Wembley Stadium. His star
began to wane soon afterwards and he enjoyed only one more UK Top 40
hit. He continued to make and release records, and collaborate with
others. His 1986 album Radio Musicola
was released to critical acclaim but to little commercial success and
it seemed that he had outgrown his original audience with increasingly
mature releases; The Works, his
final album of the 1980s, was released in 1989 to little critical or commercial success.
His prowess as a songwriter served him well in 1991 when his song
"The One And Only", appeared on the soundtrack to the British film Buddy's
Song and in the American movie Doc
Hollywood. "The One and Only" proved to be a UK
Number 1 single for the star of Buddy's Song, Chesney
Hawkes (son of the Tremeloes' Chip Hawkes). In 1993 The
Hollies had a minor hit with another of Kershaw's songs, "The Woman I
Love". During the mid-nineties he also wrote and produced material for
the boy band Let Loose, with three of the tracks ("Seventeen", "Crazy"
and "Everybody Say, Everybody Do") achieving reasonable success.
1999
saw the release of 15 Minutes,
a collection of songs that Kershaw considered more personal and mature.
Kershaw revealed that he decided to record these tracks himself when he
could not envisage them being recorded by other artists.[1] Both 15 Minutes
and the more commercial To Be Frank (2001) were
stylistically different from his earlier work, being underpinned by
acoustic guitar rather than synthesiser.
In the 2000s,
the onset of 1980s
nostalgia
brought Kershaw back into the public eye to discuss the heights of his
career. It was at this point that he revealed that "The Riddle" meant,
in fact, nothing. He added that he could not say anything at the time
because he was receiving thousands of essays and theses on the song, analysing what
"The Riddle" meant and stood for, and what the answer was, and he did
not want to disappoint people. [2]
Over the years, Nik Kershaw has collaborated on albums with
artists such as Elton John, Bonnie
Tyler, Tony Banks, Les
Rythmes Digitales, Michael W. Smith and Imogen
Heap.
Kershaw and his wife Sheri, who is credited with backing
vocals on several of his albums, separated in November 2003 after 20
years of marriage [3]. They have three sons, Rudi,
Ryan, and Dylan. Kershaw currently lives in Dunmow, Essex.
In 2005,
he released Then And Now,
a collection of earlier material with four new tracks. In 2006, he completed
another solo album, You've Got
To Laugh, available only through his website or
digitally through iTunes.
This new album contains 12 tracks and was released on his own label, Shorthouse
Records. This year also saw the digital re-release of his 80s back-catalogue
including The Riddle, Radio Musicola
and The Works. Neither Then And Now
or You've Got
To Laugh was promoted with a tour.
Discography
- 1984
Human Racing UK
#5 US #70
- 1984 The Riddle
UK #8 US #113
- 1986
Radio Musicola
UK #47
- 1989
The Works
- 1991
The Collection
- 1991 Wouldn't It Be Good
- 1993
The Best of Nik Kershaw
- 1999
15 Minutes
UK #194
- 2000
The Essential
- 2001
To Be Frank
- 2005
Then and Now
UK #182
- 2006
You've Got
To Laugh
Collaborations
- 1992
Still
by Tony Banks - Nik
Kershaw on lead vocals "Red Day on Blue Street", "I Wanna Change the
Score" and "The Final Curtain". "Red Day on Blue Street" and "I Wanna
Change the Score" co-written by Tony Banks and Nik Kershaw.
- 1993
Duets
by Elton
John - "Old Friend" written by Nik Kershaw. All instruments
by Nik Kershaw. Vocals by Nik Kershaw and Elton John.
- 1996
"Walls of Sound" (single) by Strictly
Inc - B-side "Back to you" co written by Tony Banks and Nik Kershaw in
1991.
- 1998
Live
The Life by Michael W. Smith - "Let
Me Show You The Way" co-written by Kershaw, Smith and producer Stephen
Lipson. Also features Smith & Kershaw on guitar.
- 1999
"Darkdancer" by Les
Rythmes Digitales - "Sometimes" co-written by Jacques Lu Cont and Nik
Kershaw. Leads vocals by Nik Kershaw.
- 1999
This
Is Your Time by Michael W. Smith - "Hey
You It's Me" - co-written by Kershaw & Smith. Backing vocals by
Kershaw.
External links
