Nik Kershaw

Born in Bristol in 1958 and raised in Ipswich, Nik Kershaw played in several local bands before launching a solo career in the early 1980s. His songwriting fits within British pop informed by synth-pop and new wave, with tracks built around keyboards, clean guitars and tightly crafted melodies. Kershaw broke through in 1984 with Human Racing, propelled by “Wouldn’t It Be Good”, “I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and the title track “Human Racing”, and later that year released The Riddle, which established a denser, more sophisticated sound. After Radio Musicola (1986) and The Works (1989) he continued his solo output while also writing for other artists — notably penning “The One and Only” for Chesney Hawkes in 1991 — and collaborating with Elton John and Tony Banks. His subsequent albums include 15 Minutes (1999), To Be Frank (2001), You’ve Got to Laugh (2006), Ei8ht (2012) and Oxymoron (2020). Active on stage since the 1980s, Kershaw alternates between tours, acoustic formats and festivals celebrating British pop of that era.