A Wide Boy Poses A Riddle

Kershaw wasted no time in re-entering the recording studio to lay down some tracks for his sophomore album. The album’s title track ‘The Riddle’, hit stores in late ‘84 and soon hit the British charts. The catchy, quirky pop song (with a bit of Celtic influence) offered up some intriguing lyrics, which Kershaw later said were originally only intended to service as a vocal guide until he wrote some proper lyrics - but they stuck, and although according to Kershaw didn’t actually mean anything, provided listeners with a bit of fun on the side trying to assign meaning to them. ‘The Riddle’ proved anything but a puzzle in terms of its commercial appeal, and shot to #3 on the U.K. charts, soon after winding its way to #6 in Australia. The promotional video only serviced to add to the song’s playful, enigmatic lyrics, and reminded me a bit of a Terry Gilliam fantasy world - well Kershaw is apparently a bit of Monty Python fan, so maybe he had some influence in that. By the end of 1984 Kershaw had notched up three top five singles and a two top ten albums in Britain. ‘The Riddle’ album peaked at #8 in the U.K. (OZ#39/US#113), and was produced once again by Peter Collins. It also featured backing vocals on a number of tracks from Kershaw’s wife Sheri.

The follow up single ‘Wide Boy’ became Kershaw’s second song to reach both British and Australian top tens (UK#9/OZ#7) in early 1985. The next single ‘Don Quixote’ (UK#10/OZ#83) was probably my personal favourite from Kershaw’s work of this period. It hit the British charts soon after Kershaw had appeared on the London bill of the Live Aid concert with his backing band The Krew (where apparently he fluffed the lyrics on one of his songs) - not bad for someone who eighteen months earlier would have prompted the question “Nik who?”. Some guitar work on Elton John’s ‘Ice On Fire’ album, and another hit single ‘When A Heart Beats’ (UK#27/OZ#92) rounded out a stellar couple of years for Nik Kershaw - question was could he maintain such a consistency of commercial returns.

The answer to that question didn’t take long to reveal itself as a firm “no”, at least in respect of Nik Kershaw the performer. His 1986 album ‘Radio Musicola’ (UK#47/OZ#92) proved a relative disappointment in terms of sales, but attracted favourable reviews from critics. It spawned two minor hit singles in ‘Nobody Knows’ (UK#44/OZ#73) and the title track (UK#43). Both songs boasted backing vocals from one Iva Davies (see Oct Icehouse posts). Still, within a two year period Kershaw had racked up album sales of over 8 million - most artists would be happy to sell a tenth of that.

Kershaw then took his time working on his next album, and by the time that 1989’s ‘The Works’ was released his profile had faded considerably - well let’s face it the music industry, and most record buyers, are a fickle and transient lot with tragically short attention spans when it comes to who’s ‘hot’ and who’s ‘not’. The first single ‘One Step Ahead’ crawled to #55 on the British charts in February ‘89, but the follow up ‘Elisabeth’s Eyes’ missed the mark. Kershaw parted ways with his record label MCA, or they parted ways with him, and opted to focus on his work as a songwriter. In 1991 he scored his first #1 hit, albeit as a writer, when Chesney Hawkes hit the top spot in Britain with ‘The One And Only’. The same year Kershaw collaborated for the first time (but not the last) with Genesis keyboard maestro Tony Banks on the song ‘I Wanna Change The Score’. Over the course of the 90s Kershaw penned songs for Cliff Richard, Bonnie Tyler, The Hollies and boy band Let Loose. In 1993 he wrote and recorded the song ‘Old Friend’ with Elton John, from John’s ‘Duets’ album.

In 1999 an older and wiser Kershaw decided it was time to give the formulaic song writing assignments a rest and record some of his own work again. He signed a new deal with Eagle Records and released the album ‘15 Minutes’, a collection of more personal, acoustic guitar based tracks including the UK#70 hit ‘Somebody Love You’. Later in ‘99 Kershaw co-wrote and provided vocals for the UK#56 hit ‘Sometimes’ by Les Rythmes Digitales. Free of the constraints and demands of being a ‘pop star’ Kershaw followed up with 2001’s ‘To Be Frank’. The big sales and smash hits were a thing of the past, but still present was an accomplished singer/songwriter and musician firmly in command of his craft. Kershaw also continued to write for other artists, including penning songs for Imogen Heap and Ronan Keating.

2005 saw Kershaw contribute four new tracks to a ‘best of’ collection titled ‘Then And Now’, and then released the 2006 album ‘You’ve Got To Laugh’ on his own Shorthouse Records label through his website. Kershaw has continued to perform on irregular occasions but has maintained a strong core fan base around the world. It’s almost 25 years since the breakthrough hit that was ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’, and though a handful of catchy pop melodies tend to spring to mind most readily when most people hear the name Nik Kershaw, there’s no doubting that the singer himself has created a body of work that extends well beyond the stifling parameters of a mere ‘80s pop icon’.

Wouldn't It Be Good To Go Human Racing

Nik Kershaw’s recording career has extended well beyond the 1980s (post and pre), but given the phenomenal profile he gained at the time, twenty years on this ‘wide boy’ still remains most strongly associated with that era upon which the sun will never truly set.

English born Kershaw grew up in the working class city of Bristol and took to music by his teen years, learning to play guitar at age 14 (you could probably cut and paste that fact for most pop-rock musicians). His personal playlist included the music of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Genesis, T-Rex and even Deep Purple. It more than likely prompted Kershaw to think “wouldn’t it be good to be a pop star”, and thus he started up a high school band called Half Pint Hogg (originally known as ‘Thor’). After leaving school the ‘Half Pint’ was dropped and Kershaw continued to front the newly dubbed Hogg on the odd occasion when they could score a gig. Music clearly wasn’t going to pay the bills, so the enterprising young Kershaw took a gig as a clerical assistant with the British Department of Employment. But square pegs don’t like being confined to round holes, and Kershaw kept the flame burning on his music dreams on the side. After a few years with his nose to the civil service grindstone, Kershaw jumped at a chance to join a jazz-funk band called Fusion as their guitarist in late ‘78. He contributed several songs to Fusion’s only album release in 1979 titled ‘Till I Hear From You’. The album was apparently credited to The Reg Webb Band in some European markets, with an alternative track listing. Either way, aside from the most hardcore Nik Kershaw fans, you could be forgiven for being unaware of his pre-solo work.

In early 1982 Fusion split (who’d have thunk it), and Nik Kershaw spent the ensuing six months or so focussed on writing a cache of songs, with a view to luring interest from a record company, or even two. Via an ad he placed in Melody Maker, Kershaw hooked up with manager Mickey Modern, the very model of a modern musicians manager (who had managed the cult South London band Nine Below Zero - I can recall them from a guest appearance on the British sitcom ‘The Young Ones’). After several agonising months of too-ing, fro-ing and in between-ing, the diminutive singer/songwriter had been signed up to MCA Records.

After a brief period under the studio guidance of Rupert Hine (see earlier post), by mid ‘83 Kershaw was working with established producer Peter Collins toward recording a debut album. In September ‘83 the advance single ‘I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’ signalled the dawning of Nik Kershaw’s solo career. The song didn’t exactly shine with excessive radiance on the charts, at least not first time around, peaking at #47 late in the year. But the British public, well those interested in popular music, now knew the name Nik Kershaw, and Kershaw had just the song in waiting to propel him to international success.

‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’ hit the British charts in January ‘84, and the clever promotional video, which featured Kershaw playing the role of a fugitive alien, was soon a regular on music video television (you have to love cutting edge 80s chroma-key technology). By February ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’ had surged to #4 in the U.K. (as well as several European countries), and soon after Australia followed suit by pushing the song to #5. The U.S. offered up a luke-warm appreciation for ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’, but #46 Stateside is nothing to be sneezed at. Nik Kershaw’s debut album ‘Human Racing’ received a green flag in March ‘84, and showed good pace to soon be challenging for a top five position on the British charts (OZ#35/US#70). In April ‘84 Kershaw unleashed ‘Dancing Girls’ (#13) upon the British charts, and when the outcry had subsided the record label MCA thought they’d try to pre-empt global warming by relaunching ‘I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’. The song’s second orbit was duly rewarded with a landing at #2 on the U.K. charts in mid ‘84 (OZ#17). ‘Human Racing’ also yielded a UK#19 hit with its title track.