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Nick Drake biography
NICK DRAKE BIOGRAPHY
Singer songwriter Nick Drake's painful sensitivity makes Morrissey seem like a marauding Hun. Not only was Drake's wistful, acoustic music infused by a melancholic resonance but he was crippled by shyness his whole life which made him largely unable to promote his music. The quintessential cult artist, Drake's music has gradually built a steady following since his death at the tender age of 26 in 1974. REM guitarist Peter Buck and artists as diverse as Paul Weller, Lucinda Williams and Elton John have been admirers of his work.
Nick Drake was born in Burma on 19 June, 1948. He moved to Britain in the mid 50's, first to Tamworth-in-Ardon near Birmingham and then to Stratford. He was already a budding singer-songwriter by the time he reached Cambridge University. He was discovered playing a gig by Fairport Covnention's Ashley Hutchings who in turn introduced him to the band's producer Joe Boyd who helped him secure a deal with Island Records. A series of demos were then completed before Drake began work on his debut album.
Drake released his debut album, Five Leaves Left in 1969. Although he was just 20 and still a student at Cambridge, the album was a collection of understated, intense, mature songs displaying a melancholic resonance and crystalline guitar playing. Standout track River Man was typical of the album's atmospheric sweep. (Ex-Duran Duran member Stephen Duffy called his band The Lilac Time after a line in the song).
Drake moved to London in 1970 and recorded the classic Bryter Layter with a cast of musicians including Richard Thompson and John Cale. The album boasted a jazzier tinge and saw Nick in a slightly more positive frame of mind. The set contained one of Drake's best known songs, Northern Sky. However the album failed to sell in any great quantity, plunging Drake into depression once again. His friend and producer Joe Boyd also decided to leave for America helping to accentuate Drake's black mood. Due to his shyness, Drake found live performances too difficult and found himself in a spiral of depression.
He moved to Europe briefly and on his return to Britain recorded his tortured masterpiece, Pink Moon in 1972. Recorded in just two nights, its spare, haunting songs (Drake is accompanied solely by his acoustic guitar) are cloaked in disappointment and regret. Place To Be is a tender plea for acceptance and Parasite is a stark portrayal of urban alienation while the final track, From The Morning, is a promise of hope. The song's lyrics are engraved on Drake's tombstone.
Once again the album failed to sell serving only to further blacken Drake's mood although he did begin work on a new album in 1973. Four tracks were completed, one of which, Black Eyed Dog, seemed like a metaphor for his impending death.
After the commercial failure of Pink Moon, once again Drake escaped to Europe, this time to France, together with his friend, the singer Francoise Hardy. His bouts of depression were said to have diminished after he decided to live there permanently.
However his upbeat mood didn't last long and he overdosed on anti-depressants on 25 November, 1974. It was a tragic end to a troubled but briefly brilliant career. The coroner's verdict was suicide but relatives and acquaintances have always felt that his overdose of prescription drugs was accidental.
Drake's music continues to captivate listeners with each passing year. He is now seen as a hugely influential artist and is constantly the subject of documentaries, reappraisal box sets and most recently a Radio 2 documentary in 2004 narrated by fan, HOllywood actor Brad Pitt.
Elton John recorded a fabled acetate of Drake songs in 1969 as publishing demos shortly before he found fame in his own right. Original copies are extremely rare and when Elton sold his mammoth record collection for charity in the 80's, the copy of him singing Drake's songs is the only record he kept.
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