Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard are delighted to announce that Nick Harper will be back at the Back Room, Cottingham as part of his Back in the Room Tour this autumn on Friday 15 October.
Nick Harper is one the UK’s best-kept musical secrets. Those who have witnessed the spellbinding, one-man show will tell you this. A childhood growing up surrounded by the musical prowess of some of the 60s’ most revered songwriters and musicians, not to mention being son of Roy Harper, along with 20 years of crafting songs and touring the land has spawned a truly one-off, original guitarist and songwriter who stands alone as a UK great, to be cherished and revered.
For over two decades, he has been dazzling audiences, reviewers and fellow artists alike with his heady mix of virtuosity, boyish charm, showmanshipand sheer bravado. An imagination bursting with ideas has seen Nick release 11 solo albums to critical acclaim, earning a Number 1 spot in the charts with the seminal hit ‘Blue Sky Thinking’.
2018 also saw Nick Harper perform his first spoken word piece, A Wiltshire Tale, at some of UK’s most prestigious venues. It is a journey through the history, landscape and wildlife of Wiltshire, where Nick later grew up. Depicted through the voices of three characters, this one-man show bears witness to this most magical of counties in spoken word, poetry and live music.
In 2019, Nick embraced his legacy and extensively toured the UK with the award-winning show, 58
Fordwych Road. It centred around a living room in a small flat in Kilburn, London in the mid 1960s, then the abode of up-and-coming singer-songwriter Roy Harperand his wife Mocy.
The flat was an after hours hang-out for the legends who played at Les Cousins in Soho at the height of the acoustic explosion in swingin’ sixties London. People like Bert Jansch, Davy Graham, John Renbourn, Paul Simon, Marc Bolan, Sandy Dennyand others dropped in, to drop out, jamand try new tunes. But, all along, there was someone else there… a toddler, part of the family, inhaling the musicand absorbing the vibe; Roy’s young son, Nick Harper.
This heart-warming show saw Nick play renditions of the greats’ masterpieces and was a rare opportunity for fans to hear Nick perform his father’s material – needless to say, it was fiercely endorsed by his fans.
As 2020 got about its reckless mischief and with a year of gigs postponed, Nick retreated to the studio. The resulting album couldn’t have been more of a great escape in every way.
Phantastes inhabits an ethereal dream realm that explores the parallels of the seminal fantasy novel of the same name by George MacDonald and the beginnings of Nick’s own love story from 1982. Totally divorced from 2020 in time and space, the album has been enthusiastically supported by fans seeking a temporary refuge from the here and now.
Continuing his recent predilection for the spoken word, Nick cemented the bond between his music and the aforementioned book by recording an audiobook of Phantastes, with musical interpretations of George MacDonald’s poems and songs contained therein. The autumn 2020 tour was to have been focussed on the album, but events in the wider world have convinced Nick that now is not the time to drill deep into a particular fantasy, but to celebrate the sheer joy of being in a room again with friends and fans after such a long break.
The ‘Aaand.. We’re Back In The Room Tour’ for autumn 2021 will concentrate on the joy of Nick, an acoustic guitar and songs from all of his albums down the years. It promises to be a happy run of dates skipping across the UK with all the euphoria of a pack of puppies let off the leash for the first time in a long time.
Tickets are £15. Doors open at 7:30pm.
Advance tickets only available from Skiddle
For more info, please visit HARPERSPACE.