Nick Drake

Since his death, Nick has been cited as a seminal influence by stars as diverse as REM, Elton John, Paul Weller, Jackson Browne, Everything But The Girl, Tom Verlaine and Matt Johnson of The The. While the lives of other musicians who died before their time, such as Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Gram Parsons, have been amply documented, there has never before been a biography of Nick Drake. Patrick Humphries' illuminating text includes exclusive interviews with friends, colleagues and musicians who knew and worked with Nick. It provides an unprecedented insight not only into the life and work of Nick Drake, but also into the music scene of the 1960s that formed his backdrop. The author's lifelong appreciation of and interest in Nick Drake were further fuelled when he discovered that his uncle Dr. James Lusk actually delivered Nick into the world and remained a friend of the Drake family. In these Pages he draws on a long letter from Nick's father to Dr. Lusk, in which he describes how his wife, Nick's mother, discovered Nick's body during the morning of 25 November 1974, following an accidental overdose of prescribed drugs. A week is a long time in politics, then the 23 years since Nick's death represent a lifetime in the transitory world of pop. But the music of Nick Drake has never lost its place in his fans' affections, and still its haunting beauty reaches out to fresh generations. This book is for all of them.