Nick Kamen
| Nick Kamen | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ivor Neville Kamen |
| Born |
15 April 1962 Harlow, Essex, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, model |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Associated acts | Madonna |
Ivor Neville "Nick" Kamen (born 15 April 1962 in Harlow, Essex, England) is an English male model, songwriter and musician, and brother of session guitarist Chester Kamen.
Kamen attended St Marks RC Comprehensive School in Harlow along with his brother Chester. Kamen was first brought to the public's attention in 1984 when Ray Petri featured him on the front cover of The Face. The cover showed him wearing a ski-hat, lipstick, orange roll-neck sweater and aviator sunglasses.
He is most remembered, in the UK, for his 1985 performance in Levi's "Launderette" television commercial, where he strips down to stone-wash his blue jeans in a 1950s style public laundromat while he waits clad only in his boxer shorts, which was one of a series of Bartle Bogle Hegarty advertisements that dramatically increased the popularity of Levi 501s. The commercial, directed by Roger Lyons, was selected for, and came fourth in, The 100 Greatest TV Ads in 2000.
His first single was the 1986 UK number five hit "Each Time You Break My Heart" from his eponymous début album. Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, it also cracked both the US dance chart (remix by Shep Pettibone) and the Top 50 in Canada. Madonna also sang the backing vocals. Her original demo remains one of many unreleased Madonna songs. Kamen also had a No. 16 follow-up in the UK with the second single, "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (a cover of the Four Tops' 1966 hit), although his later singles were less-commercially successful in the UK but more so in the rest of Europe, particularly Italy, France, Germany and Spain.
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