Nik Kershaw - classic or dud

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as you know, I'm a bit of a jetsetter, so you will be unsurprised to hear that a few weeks back I was drinking in popular bar Sirkus (in Reykjavik). The DJ was playing some top tunes, mostly semi-ironic tracks from the past, which on re-hearing were actually quite good.

anyway, one track was Nik Kershaw's 'I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me', obviously not his best work. But DV-Sirkus focus group felt that Nik Kershaw did have at least some good songs - eg Wouldn't It Be Good & The Riddle.

What do you think of this bemulleted master of early '80s synthpop?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 29 May 2003 11:07 (twenty-two years ago)

He wore a snood. So deeply dud.
Also, he was only about 5 foot tall.
And also because he's writing songs for some Godawful pop band nowadays whose name I forget.

― russ t, Thursday, 29 May 2003 11:33 (twenty-two years ago)

classic - i think i wanted to be him at one point as a kid, probably for 'Don Quixote'...and in any case Jacques Lu Cont made him truly classic by idolising him enough to the point where he sung on 'Sometimes' which is possibly the best thing Kershaw's done

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 29 May 2003 11:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Guilty. I borrowed 3 albums on vinyl from the library when I was a kid. Fortunately, I was too young to perceive the effect that extended cocaine abuse has on the human psyche.

― Nat, Thursday, 29 May 2003 12:06 (twenty-two years ago)

wouldn't it be good = classic

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 29 May 2003 13:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Pointless fact: Apparently Chris Morris is a huge fan.

Personally I quite like "Wouldn't It Be Good", and for some reason I don't think I've ever heard "The Riddle".

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Friday, 30 May 2003 02:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Never heard o' him before this board. Is he a Brit?
"The Riddle" is the only song of his I've heard. Blatantly
duddish.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Friday, 30 May 2003 02:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd forgotten about "Wouldn't It Be Good." I always liked that one, too.

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Friday, 30 May 2003 05:02 (twenty-two years ago)

steve's otm: "sometimes" is gorgeous (great video as well!)

― willem (willem), Friday, 30 May 2003 06:23 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

I must say, that as an American I have never ever met anybody else who has ever even heard of Nik Kershaw. But somehow I had his record Human Racing as a youngster... and I recently downloaded "Wouldn't it be good" and it's holding up rather nicely.

"I got it bad, you don't know how bad I got it...." Classic.

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Sunday, 15 May 2005 01:48 (twenty years ago)

must say, that as an American I have never ever met anybody else who has ever even heard of Nik Kershaw.

Where in America do you live???

Classic, of course.......for a one hit wonder.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 15 May 2005 02:09 (twenty years ago)

"oaklandish" baby. He got airplay here?

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Sunday, 15 May 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

It occurred to me last year that "Dancing Girls" was possibly the first Electro-pop song I ever recorded off the radio onto cassette and listened to obsessively in my early teens.

Downloaded it, and I'm amazed how good it is. The tune seems pleasantly weird to me, with lots of key changes going on underneath. And it's surprisingly eletronic percussion-heavy and modern sounding to me.

― phil jones (interstar), Sunday, 15 May 2005 02:31 (twenty years ago)

I only have Human Racing, which I like just fine, but I think my favourite song by him is "The Riddle", and I wonder how he managed not to get sued by DC Comics for the video.

― Vic Funk, Sunday, 15 May 2005 13:05 (twenty years ago)

"What do you think of this bemulleted master of early '80s synthpop?"

i really fancied him - until i realized he was smaller than 12 year old me was. i still think the riddle and wouldn't it be good are classique.

― nathalie's baby (stevie nixed), Sunday, 15 May 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

He wrote "The One and Only" for Chesney Hawks, apparently. Wow.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 15 May 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

"oaklandish" baby. He got airplay here?

We talking Oakland, CA? I visited there recently and well, let's just say I'm not surprised if people don't know him there.

"The Riddle" sucked. "Wouldn't It Be Good" didn't. The Judge has already banged the gavel and the verdict is "Classic".

― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Sunday, 15 May 2005 13:34 (twenty years ago)

aw... he's taller than prince and prince gets the ladies. i used to listen to human racing while playing the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy infocom game. i found it delightfully strange with my main point of reference being duran duran.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Sunday, 15 May 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

Near a tree by a river, there's a hole in the ground.

― Good, But Not For Everyone, Sunday, 22 May 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

CHRISTIAN ALERT!!!

― rwillmsen (rwillmsen), Sunday, 22 May 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

i like him because he played on elton johns "ice and fire" then launched chesney hawkes.
"wide boy" is classic.

― kik nershaw, Sunday, 22 May 2005 05:19 (twenty years ago)

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