Nik Kershaw facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nik Kershaw
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Kershaw at Night of the Proms, 2022
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nicholas David Kershaw |
| Born | 1 March 1958 Bristol, England |
| Origin | Ipswich, Suffolk, England |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
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Nicholas David Kershaw (born March 1, 1958) is a talented English singer, songwriter, and musician. He became very famous in 1984 as a solo artist. During the 1980s, he had eight songs that made it into the top 40 in the UK. Some of his biggest hits include "Wouldn't It Be Good", "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", and "The Riddle".
In 1984 and 1985, he spent 62 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. This was more than any other solo artist at the time. Kershaw also performed at the huge Live Aid concert in 1985. He has written many popular songs for other artists. One of these was "The One and Only", which became a UK No. 1 hit for Chesney Hawkes in 1991.
Contents
Early Years
Nicholas "Nik" Kershaw was born in Bristol, England. He grew up in Ipswich, Suffolk. His father was a flautist, and his mother was an opera singer. Nik learned to play the guitar by himself. He went to Northgate Grammar School for Boys.
After leaving school, he worked at an unemployment office. He also sang in local bands in Ipswich. His last band, Fusion, broke up in 1982. After that, he decided to focus on being a full-time solo musician and songwriter.
Music Career
Becoming a Star in the 1980s
After his band Fusion ended, Nik Kershaw was unemployed for a year. During this time, he found a manager named Mickey Modern. Mickey helped Nik get a record deal with MCA. In September 1983, Nik released his first song, "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". It reached No. 47 in the UK. The song became a big hit in countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands.
In early 1984, Kershaw released his breakthrough song, "Wouldn't It Be Good". This song reached No. 4 in the UK. It was also very popular in Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The music video for the song showed Kershaw as an alien. It was played a lot on MTV. This helped the song reach No. 46 in the United States.
He had three more top 20 hits from his first album, Human Racing. This included the song "Human Racing". His song "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was re-released and became his biggest hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK.
Kershaw's second album was The Riddle. The song "The Riddle" came out in November 1984. It was his third international hit. It reached No. 3 in the UK and Ireland. The album also had two more UK top 10 hits: "Wide Boy" and "Don Quixote". The album sold many copies. During this time, Kershaw toured a lot with his band, the Krew.
In July 1985, Kershaw performed at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium. He said the experience was "absolutely terrifying". Live Aid was a high point in his career. After this, his fame started to slow down. He had only one more UK top 40 hit, "When a Heart Beats". He continued to make music and work with other artists. He played guitar on Elton John's hit song, "Nikita".
A cover version of "Wouldn't It Be Good" was used in the 1986 film Pretty in Pink. Later that year, Kershaw released his third album, Radio Musicola. Critics liked it, but it did not sell well. His album The Works was released in 1989. It also had little success.
Songwriting in the 1990s
Nik Kershaw showed his great songwriting skills in 1991. His song "The One and Only" was in the British film Buddy's Song. It was also in the American movie Doc Hollywood. "The One and Only" became a UK No. 1 hit for Chesney Hawkes, who starred in Buddy's Song.
In 1991, he worked with Tony Banks. Tony is the keyboard player from the band Genesis. Kershaw sang on two songs he co-wrote with Banks. He also sang on another Banks song.
In 1993, the Hollies had a small hit with another of Kershaw's songs, "The Woman I Love". In the mid-1990s, he wrote and produced songs for the boy band Let Loose. Two of their songs, "Seventeen" and "Everybody Say Everybody Do", were quite successful. Kershaw also worked on Elton John's 1993 album Duets. Kershaw wrote the song "Old Friend" and played all the instruments on it.
In 1999, he released his fifth album, 15 Minutes. Kershaw decided to record the songs himself. He felt other artists would not record them. The album had two songs released as singles. One was "Somebody Loves You". The other was "What Do You Think of It So Far?". This song was described as a beautiful song about time passing.
2000 to Today
His next album, To Be Frank, came out in 2001. Over the years, Kershaw has worked with many artists. These include Elton John, Bonnie Tyler, Sia, and Gary Barlow.
In 2005, Kershaw released Then and Now. This album was a collection of his older songs with four new ones. In 2006, he finished another album, You've Got to Laugh. You could only buy this album from his website or digitally. This album had twelve songs. His older albums from the 1980s were also released digitally.
In August 2009, Kershaw performed at Fairport's Cropredy Convention. He also played at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
On May 13, 2010, Kershaw performed at a concert called "Our Friends Acoustic". This concert helped raise money for Mencap. He sang some of his famous songs. Other artists from the 1980s also performed their hits.
Kershaw wrote and sang songs for the 2010 film Round Ireland with a Fridge. He wrote the main theme song, "If It Gets Much Better Than This". He also appeared briefly in the movie.
In 2012, his eighth album, Ei8ht, was released. It was his first album to reach the UK Albums Chart since 1986. Kershaw then went on a small tour in the UK and Europe. During each show, he played all the songs from his first album.
In 2012, Kershaw sang on a new version of "The Lamia". This song was originally by Genesis. He sang it with Steve Hackett for Hackett's album Genesis Revisited II. He also appeared on the live CD and DVD for this project.
Kershaw performed a solo acoustic set in August 2013. He toured the UK and Ireland in Autumn 2014. He still performs at 1980s music events and festivals every year. In late 2015, he toured the UK with Go West.
In June 2020, Kershaw released an extended play (EP) called These Little Things. It had six new songs. Oxymoron is his most recent full album. It was released in October 2020. It has 16 songs and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
In 2024, Kershaw toured Australia with Go West.
Personal Life
Nik Kershaw's first wife was Sheri Pogmore. She was also a musician and sang on some of his early albums. They married in July 1983 and had three children. They divorced in 2003. Their second son was born with Down syndrome. Kershaw married Sarah in 2009 and they also have a child together.
In 2019, Kershaw received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Suffolk. This was for his important work in the music industry.
