| Nick Harper | |
|---|---|
Nick Harper performing at the De Montfort Hall Summer Sundae |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 22 June 1965 |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Folk, Rock, Folk rock, Alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Singer, Guitar |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | Sangraal |
| Website | www.harperspace.com |
Nick Harper (born 22 June 1965) is an English singer-songwriter/guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper.
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Nick Harper was born in London in 1965 to the famous folk singer-songwriter Roy Harper. Influenced both by his father and the continual procession through the Harper household of his dad's famous friends; Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and David Gilmour amongst others,[1] he started playing guitar at the age of 10. He made his recording debut on his father's 1985 Whatever Happened to Jugula? and subsequently toured with him for a few years before beginning a career of his own.
His first solo release was the 1994 EP Light at the End of the Kennel which he quickly succeeded with his 1995 album Seed. In 1996, after this release, he had a chance meeting with Squeeze frontman and songwriter Glenn Tilbrook, which led to Harper being given the support slot for the forthcoming Squeeze tour and his being signed up to Tilbrook's own Quixotic label.
Following tours in the UK, US and Japan, Harper recorded both the 1998 album Smithereens and 2000's Harperspace with Tilbrook as producer. After moving to the Sangraal label in the early 2000s, a further EP (2001's Instrumental), live double album (2002's Double Life) and studio album (Blood Songs in 2004) were released.
His 2006 album Treasure Island was a change of direction, seeing both a concerted shift to more overtly political themes (songs such as Knuckledraggers, Sleeper Cell and Intelligent Design - spliced together from audio clips of George W. Bush's speeches on the war on terror - were all highly critical of the Bush regime) and to more historical perspectives. The album's title track is inspired by an obscure Liverpudlian philanthropist who employed destitute men returning from the Napoleonic Wars to dig tunnels for no other reason than to give them something to do.
May 2007 saw a special iTunes download release of his first single "Blue Sky Thinking", taken from his sixth studio album Miracles for Beginners on behalf of the Love Hope Strength Foundation, a cancer charity founded to provide a global support network for cancer survivors. It reached no. 1 in the iTunes folk chart and received favourable reviews and radio airplay across the UK and Europe. All proceeds from the single went to the Foundation. Miracles for Beginners itself was released in June 2007.
After taking a three year hiatus from recording to focus on touring and charity work, he announced that in February 2010 he would embark on a UK tour to promote his forthcoming album, The Last Guitar. The album was released the following month and features his 13 year old daughter taking a guest vocal slot on one of the songs.
The tour and album are a prelude to his return to the Glastonbury Festival Avalon stage on June 26, 2010.
Nick frequently plays solo acoustic tours of the UK. In addition, each summer he covers the European festival circuit. In 2003, he was awarded a Herald Fringe Angel award for performance excellence at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he has played many residencies in recent years. He performed at the 2004 Cropredy Festival and Leicester's Summer Sundae. Harper has also played sets at the Glastonbury and Beautiful Days festivals in summer 2005. He also played shows in Thailand to raise money for Indian Ocean tsunami relief.
In summer 2006, he again played a multitude of festivals, including the Moseley Folk Festival, Jersey Live, Beautiful Days and Clonakilty's second annual Guitar Festival, along with appearances at festivals in France and Catalonia. In November 2007, he performed at the International Guitar Festival of Great Britain for the fourth time.
In 2008 he performed at Trowbridge Village Pump Festival, Beautiful Days, Newquay's Rip Curl Beach Sessions and Tenby Folk Festival and appeared at London's Royal Albert Hall on 27 September 2008, where he brought his 12-year-old daughter Lily on stage at the end of the set to accompany him on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s "Our House."[2] This was of some historical note as he had done the same with his own father Roy Harper some 35 years before on the same stage.
During 2009, Nick played at Celtic Connections in Glasgow in January before starting ‘The 38’ tour, covering 38 dates across the UK. During the summer of that year he performed in Norway, France and Italy before a series of dates on America's East Coast in September, returning to the US in November for a coast-to-coast tour with Cy Curnin of The Fixx.
In October 2007, Harper climbed up Mt. Snowdon for a concert near the summit.
He also joined a 38-strong team of musicians including Glenn Tilbrook, Mike Peters and Cy Curnin, mountaineers and cancer survivors who, in aid of the Love Hope Strength Foundation, took part in a 14-day trek to 18,500 ft Mt Everest base camp where they performed an acoustic concert. The Everest Rocks trek culminated with a grand finale concert in Kathmandu on October 29 and raised more than US$250,000 for the only charitable cancer hospital in Nepal, situated at Bhaktapur (approx. 10 miles east of Kathmandu). Alex Coletti (producer of MTV's Unplugged series) filmed the trek for a documentary, Everest Rocks, which premiered on the Palladia channel on September 7, 2008 and was also released on DVD.
On 27 September 2009, he joined fellow Love Hope Strength trekkers to undertake another charity trek called Kilimanjaro Rocks. Once again, musicians, supporters and cancer survivors scaled the 19,341 feet (5,895 m) peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The trek raised funds for bone marrow drives and the main cancer centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
While never having reached the levels of popularity as his father did, Harper has forged a reputation as an excellent live performer and a virtuosic acoustic guitarist. His unique style of playing has been called "nothing short of genius",[3] the Times states that he "does things to his [guitar] that would have had Segovia weeping into his Rioja"[4] and some comedians have stated that they could count "at least eight fingers on the neck of his guitar".[5]
Widely regarded as a much better live performer than he is on record, his albums have nevertheless come in for some significant critical acclaim.
Speaking of his album Miracles for Beginners, Mojo called it "his most focused, warm and triumphant album to date" (4 stars), the Herald (Glasgow) said the album is "borne on masterful acoustic guitar patterns...ten minor miracles." (4 stars) and The Sun stated that "Like his dad, he's a fine folk troubadour and a great guitarist...this is a witty, vibrant affair...a rewarding listen." (3.5 stars).
BBC online took a less enthusiastic viewpoint, saying that "this Harper set is a little patchy, especially if compared alongside 1995’s Seed and 2004’s Blood Songs which updated brilliantly the folk confessional",[6] but the author still admits that "Harper though must be applauded for trying be a politically inclined sort of modern troubadour"
Nick's first recordings and major live exposure were with his father Roy Harper. He still works and tours with Roy occasionally.
Nick was a touring member of British pop/rock band Squeeze from 1996–97 and played on one track on their 1998 Domino album. Glenn Tilbrook of the band produced Nick's Smithereens and Harperspace albums, which were released on Glenn's Quixotic label. The pair often work together, with Nick most recently appearing on Glenn's 2004 solo album Transatlantic Ping-Pong.
Nick has written and played with Brighton-based political indie group The Levellers. He guested on the band's Top 40 UK single 'Make U Happy' - he co-wrote, played and sang on B-side 'Not In My Name'.