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Biography
Hailed as “the best songwriter of a generation” by none other than Elton John himself, Nik Kershaw is quite possibly the first great example of a teen idol becoming a respected artist in his own right, leading the way for others from Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio to Justin Timberlake. Born to a musical family where his mother was a singer and his father a flautist, he spent his early childhood teaching himself to play the guitar before forming a number of bands around Ispwich, where he spent his teenage years. After finding no success with bands, he went solo in 1982, and in 1983 he placed an advert in Melody Maker magazine for a manager which was answered by a man named Micky Modern, who secured the young Kershaw a record deal with MCA shortly after they met.
His first single “I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me” was a major hit in Scandinavia, Sweden and The Netherlands, but it wasn't until January 1984 that he released his breakthrough hit in the UK “Wouldn't It Be Good”. The song was a top five hit in the UK and also charted strongly all over the rest of Europe, his debut album “Human Racing” was a huge hit as well, providing Kershaw with three more Top 20 hits including, as if to make up for earlier, a hugely succesful re-release of “I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, which reached number two in the UK charts. His second album, November 1984's “The Riddle” was a similar success that secured Kershaw a slot at 1985's Live Aid festival at Wembley Stadium.
Kershaw's commercial clout waned towards the end of the 1980's, but since he was such an experienced songwriter, the 90's proved to be very kind to Kershaw all the same. He got off to a pretty cracking start by writing the only number one single of his career, Chesney Hawkes' “The One And Only”, and would continue in the vein for most of the decade. He didn't release an album of his own material until 1999's self-deprecatingly titled “15 Minutes”, which completely shed his teeny bopper image and let the world see him as an accomplished songwriter in his own right. Ever since then, he's remained one of the most respected artists of the 1980's, continuing to release some of the best material of his career and perform live shows that reflect his nearly 40 years worth of performing experience. For that, Nik Kershaw comes highly recommended.
Live reviews
Truly superb concert. Nik K, Howard J, Jimmy S, Carol D and Johnny Hates Jazz were all on excellent form, giving it their all and sounding amazing - no mean feat considering they had their “golden period” over three decades ago (although some people might disagree with me on that one!)
Nik K has always been a favourite live performer of mine - accomplished and professional with his guitar playing and still able to hit the high notes (not sure what his vocal range should be classed as? Quite high up though!) Moreover, the 60 piece orchestra accompanying all of the singers sounded incredible - powerful, majestic and adding so much richness to the vocals of the singers. Nik performed all of the favourites - Wouldn’t It Be Good, The Riddle and Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me - with aplomb. A real highlight was the ballad Human Racing, an already mellow and reflective song given new layers of elegance with the orchestral backing.
As mentioned the other singers were all equally worthy - Howard Jones giving a similarly moving version of his slowie Hide and Seek, the orchestra again taking things to magnificent levels - and Jimmy Somerville’s Smalltown Boy, an eternal classic, had the same impact. My partner was moved to tears. Mr Somerville was clearly having a blast and on other more uptempo numbers such as So Cold The Night danced round the stage like a naughty imp, clearly revelling in the proceedings.
Going back to the orchestra we got bonus numbers from them too, complimented by three talented backing singers - such as Huey Lewis’ The Power of Love, Toto’s Africa and the Jacksons’ Can You Feel It - all performed with dynamism and pizzazz. A totally knock-out night!!
retroboy1969
When Elton John described his good friend Nik Kershaw as one of the finest songwriters of his generation, it wasn’t simply a platitude offered up to a pal; John’s extensive history of collaboration with Kershaw, which ran throughout the latter’s eighties heyday, should be enough to prove that. One of British pop’s best-loved figures of that decade, Kershaw’s biggest hits included ‘The Riddle’, ‘I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’; he was so popular, in fact, that he spent the entirety of 1984 on the UK singles charts in one form or another, and would go on to achieve the ultimate accolade for a British pop star the following year, by making an appearance at Live Aid. In the years since, he’s maintained a significant cult fanbase, and has continued to write, record and tour; his most recent full-length, the clumsily-titled Ei8ht, was released in 2012. This coming September, he’ll be playing dates across the UK, with a marathon run taking him from the big cities to the provincial towns, and back again. Expect career-spanning sets and a full backing band, as Kershaw proves that he still has a sizable following all over the country.
Joeg_67
In my teenage years, I loved Nik Kershaw but never got the opportunity to see him live. This year I have seen him 3 times but this gig was the best. An intimate acoustic gig at the wonderful Union Chapel, where Nik's talent as a song writer which often overlooked and forgotten shone through. The songs are still as good as they were 30 years ago, mixed with Nik's ability to talk, laugh, share anecdotes and answer questions from the audience made the night the best I've had in a while! Better than Saturday night TV and as noted by Nik himself after 40 years of perfecting his craft, the acoustic gig was a steal compared to what you have to pay the baby sitter! There is an absolute art to strip your songs apart and do an acoustic gig, 'Dancing Girls' was the most notable and shows Nik Kershaw's talent and music withstand time and the beauty of how good his music really is... Funny, honest, a songwriter of our times, Nik Kershaw's tour 'Me, Myself & I' was well worth every penny, for the die hard fan or new fan alike do yourself a favour and take yourself to a Nik Kershaw gig near you and enjoy Britain's overlooked finest songwriter.
fanning2
What a fantastic night. An outstanding acoustic set from Nik who proved he's a natural showman.
The Lowry Theatre is a superb venue with a fabulous intimate feel, allowing Nik to engage fully with the whole audience.
We even got to meet with him after the show and he was kind enough to sign autographs, let us take photos and have a quick chat.
Brilliant night. Top bloke. Fantastic talent. Will be back for another show.
blackjaxx666
