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Nick Harper: A Biography
Despite being destined to be forever known as the son of the legendary folk/blues singer-songwriter Roy Harper, Nick Harper has forged his own way ahead to have become recognised as one of Britain's finest acoustic singer/guitarists. Having played the guitar from the age of 10 (he is completely self-taught) and surrounded by the likes of Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Dave Gilmour as he grew up, it was no surprise when Nick made his recording debut on his father's Whatever Happened to Jugula? in 1985.
Nick's talent and energy entranced Roy's fans and it was inevitable that he would begin touring and recording in his own right. The 1994 EP Light at the End of the Kennel was swiftly followed by his powerful 1995 debut album Seed, prompting The Independent to describe him as">
A meeting with Squeeze frontman and songwriter Glenn Tilbrook in 1996 led to his offering Nick a job playing with and supporting Squeeze; he also promptly signed Nick to his own label, Quixotic Records. Following tours in the UK, USA and Japan, Nick recorded the 1998 album Smithereens with Tilbrook as producer. This album and subsequent 40 date solo tour, including dates in New York and at Glastonbury, confirmed Nick as a formidable talent in his own right. He teamed up with Tilbrook again on 2000's highly acclaimed album Harperspace.
To call him a superlative singer/songwriter could put his highly lauded guitar talent in the shade, and to call him a guitarist's guitarist might slight his distinctive, soulful voice and passionate songs. Not forgetting the wild ride that is one of his live shows - from personal introspection to biting political satire via a charmingly caustic wit that would make Groucho Marx proud. To see Nick Harper live (with a style that combines a multitude of musical influences from folk to rock, classical to flamenco) is an unforgettable experience. This is where his own material is frequently accompanied by segued offerings from Jeff Buckley, Blur, Led Zeppelin, Prodigy; a little Zappa here, a touch of Monty Python there - and even a few bars of Kylie at times - all are liable to be thrown into the mix of a two-hour set- that's when he's not walking across glass-littered bartops or never dropping so much as a single note as he re-strings his guitar, mid-song. This is all part and parcel of what an audience now comes to expect from this inveterate showman.
"There are some gigs I've done where I know something special has happened," Nick reveals. "That I have got to the heart of the song and brought it out with the same feeling as when I wrote it. Those occasions when the conscious person leaves and you are left with just the song, well, that's special."
With 4 studio albums, a double live CD and 2 EPs (including Instrumental, a stunning display of his guitar talents) under his belt, Nick's work is still as fresh and as vital as that of his first solo release in 1994. His 2006 album Treasure Island attests to his being quite rightly recognised as one of Britain's finest acoustic singer/guitarists and to his ability to craft songs that take in, absorb and spit out coruscating political scorn (as on the tracks Knuckledraggers and Sleeper Cell), social history comment (the title track, inspired by an obscure Liverpudlian philanthropist who employed men returning from the Napoleonic Wars to dig tunnels), the seven ages of man (in the infectious melody of By My Rocket Comes Fire), pride in his country (A Wiltshire Tale is an epic poem to his beloved home county), and turn them into catchy, robust tunes that grab the ear and remain in the memory long after the last track has ended. But as with his highly personal 2004 "family album" Blood Songs, he still has time to sing about the most important things in his world - family, friends, love, life.
"I never set out to write songs about something. All I can ever do is write from the heart. I try to write songs that mean something to people," he says.
During the spring and summer of 2006, Nick played a series of festivals around the country, in between working on material for his next album. These included acclaimed sets at the Moseley Folk Festival (Birmingham), JerseyLive (Channel Islands) and Beautiful Days (Devon). Between September-November 2006, he played to appreciative audiences in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, culminating with an appearance at the Wirral's 18th International Guitar Festival of Great Britain (where he received a standing ovation). He was also heard in a stunning session on Janice Long's Radio 2 show, prompting her to describe him as "absolutely astonishing".
Plan 9 from Harperspace was the spring tour of 2007 promoting the new DVD Love Is Music, a 'rockumentary' style film with a selection of Nick's best loved songs recorded in 5.1 sound. Also released that spring was Nick's first single for download on iTunes. Taken from the new CD Miracles For Beginners and called Blue Sky Thinking, it quickly went to no.1 in iTunes downloads. All proceeds from the single were donated to the Love Hope Strength Foundation, a charitable cancer group co-founded by Mike Peters of the Alarm.
In October 2007, Nick was part of a team of musicians - including Glenn Tilbrook, and Mike Peters - who, on 21 October 21 entered the Guinness Book of World Records by performing the highest ever gig in the world - 18,500 ft at Base Camp, Mt Everest. Over £200,000 was raised by the trek (organised by Love Hope Strength), which will go to the only charitable cancer hospital in Nepal, situated at Bhaktapur. He then went on to play as part of the Love Hope Strength all-star band to approximately 20,000 people in Kathmandu. Says Nick: "The experiences I had in Nepal will stay with me for the rest of my life. The trek for me personally was all about mum [his mother Monica succumbed to breast cancer in 2000] and paying tribute to her. The trek was hard, I was weary at the end of it, but I was glad I chose to go. I have been lucky enough to have had quite a few unforgettable moments on a stage, and standing singing Imaginary Friend at the second concert we did in Kathmandu has to be right up there. It was an incredible moment - indescribable feelings welled up in me, mostly sheer joy. The achievement, and the fulfillment of standing there in honour of my mum... it won't ever get better than that, will it?"
One of Nick's personal highlights from early 2008's Dig On Down tour of the UK was fulfilling a long-held wish to play in the Williamson Tunnels at Edge Hill, Liverpool. Inspired by the story of the obscure 18th-century philanthropist Joseph Williamson, who hired men returning from the Napoleonic wars to dig under Edge Hill, Nick subsequently utilised the theme in the title track of his 2006 album Treasure Island.
But there were greater heights to climb in 2008, both literally and figuratively. October 2008 sees Nick again working with Love Hope Strength - this time in a trek to Machu Picchu, Peru, to raise further funds for local cancer hospitals. But first he was able to fulfill a long-held dream in September 2008 when he played the Royal Albert Hall supporting the Levellers, and brought his daughter Lily on stage to sing Crosby Stills and Nash's classic Our House with him... just as his father did for him 3 decades earlier. Perhaps the third generation of Harpers will make the mark the first and second did... watch this space.
Tracks on this page, and further sample tracks, are available for download from Nick's website.
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