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Nick Harper is a highly accomplished guitarist to whom the term virtuoso truly belongs. Yet his guitar playing is only a part of his skill. As well as a distinctive and soulful voice, Nick is a rare kind of artist, one who reaffirms faith in the art of original songwriting.
Nick’s debut recording was first heard in 1983 when he appeared on his father’s ‘Whatever Happened To Jugula’ album, a collaboration between Roy Harper and Jimmy Page. Nick went on tour with his father and recorded regularly with him thereafter. Nick’s energy and talent entranced Roy’s fans and it was no surprise when he began touring and recording in his own right. Nick’s first solo release was released in 1994; an E.P entitled ‘Light At The End of The Kennel’. It captured Nick at a raw and youthful stage yet contains songs mature enough to still be mainstays of the live set. Then followed ‘Seed’ in 1995 - his first album, and The Independent described him as ‘Hugely talented’.
The next stage of his career began when Nick supported Squeeze front man and songwriter Glenn Tilbrook. Tilbrook was so impressed that he offered Nick a job playing with Squeeze and promptly signed Nick to his own label, Quixotic Records. Following tours in the UK, USA and Japan, Nick recorded his second album ‘Smithereens’ with Tilbrook as producer.
His third album, ‘Harperspace’, was released to great critical acclaim: passionate, energetic and positively inspired. This is the album that confirmed his position at the forefront of a new generation of British Acoustic Performers. ‘Double Life’, which came out in May 2002, was Nick’s first live album and as well as outstanding performances of songs from all his previous releases, also includes a few brand new as yet unrecorded tracks.
Nick's 2006 album ‘Treasure Island’ is typically eclectic and features infectious melodic tunes such as 'By My Rocket Comes Fire' which he describes as, "The seven ages of man in four and a half minutes" ; Harperesque acoustic songs like 'Real Life'; the rock nastiness of 'Sleeper Cell'; a George W. Bush speech and a poem about Wiltshire.
This was followed by 2007’s ‘Miracles For Beginners’, which spawned the single ‘Blue Sky Thinking’, which went straight to number 1 in the iTunes folk downloads, with all proceeds doing to the Love Hope Strength Foundation. Nick has also raised money for the charity by playing a gig at Base Camp, Everest – officially the highest gig ever in the world, and he also trekked to Machu Picchu to raise funds for them.
Nick has developed a reputation for creating great audience rapport. While his songs can be intense and emotionally charged, in concert Nick is relaxed, spontaneous and always enthralling.
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