Top: Nik Kershaw. Bottom: Nik with Howard Jones.
Well, I am on my way to Toronto to see Theo Tams performing tomorrow night, but I still want to bring some good music your way. It would not be surprising that Nik Kershaw will be part of the playlist for the trip. Aside from the dashing good looks, the music was great fun. I was a big fan of Nik's in the 1980s, starting with Wouldn't It Be Good, released in 1984. The song was originally on the Human Racing album, although it was also included on the US version of his second album, The Riddle.
One of my favorite of his songs is The Riddle, which screams of 80s quirkiness. The video has this Alice In Wonderland meets Batman feel, with great costumes. But it is the song, with the interesting phrasing employed by Kershaw, as well as his musical choices, never taking the easy pop-route, almost using a jazz structure in his vocals.
I also love the vocals on Don Quixote, his 1985 release from The Riddle album. While employing traditional pop instrumentation, again Kershaw plays with the vocals, never taking the expected route. And I had a similar haircut at one point in the mid-80s, so don't make fun!
For more about Nik Kershaw, check out his official website here. I still believe his album The Riddle is under-valued, and should be listened to more often.
Would it surprise you to know that I have "The Riddle" in my collection?? :) I loved Nik in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteI remember some dance band covering the song too. Can't remember who, but I remember I didn't like it and the video was very green and had some cartoon figures walking around the whole time.
Sue
Sue, I would suspect we have several albums/artists overlapping in our collection. Can't say I remember the cover of it, though.
ReplyDeleteI have some of his songs, he is a good artist
ReplyDeleteWonder Man, I totally agree!
ReplyDeleteIt seemed that Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones and Paul Young all brought out albums at the same time - at least for the first three albums or so. I remember in 1984 with Nik and Howard launching into the new wave arena - that was such a good time.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't It be Good has survived the ages and still sounds good today - it's a classic being played on several movies, TV shows and even radio today!
That first album was a fave of my sister - I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me; Wide Boy - loved him!
SteveA, yes, and I really loved all three artists, but HoJo was my fave. Saw him often in concert.
ReplyDeleteNik Kershaw is in general under rated. I follow him and Sarah on twitter. They always post such lovely things!
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