Nick Harper
| Nick Harper | |
|---|---|
Nick Harper performing at the De Montfort Hall Summer Sundae
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| Background information | |
| Born |
22 June 1965 London, England |
| Genres | Folk, Rock, folk rock, alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | 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 and guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper and a past member of the English New Wave band Squeeze.
Harper was born in London to the 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, 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.
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