IT’S more than 40 years since Nik Kershaw first exploded onto the UK pop scene as a chart-topping solo artist.

Nik has had many global hits including: ‘Wouldn’t it be good,’ ‘The Riddle’ and ‘I won’t let the sun go down on me’ saw him spend an astonishing 62 weeks on the UK singles chart through 1984 and 1985.

Nik has also performed a memorable set at the iconic Live Aid concert at Wembley in front of an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.

But it’s not just as a solo artist that Nik has enjoyed global success, he has written and produced best-selling songs for many top artists including: Elton John, Sya, Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating, Lulu, Bonnie Tyler, and many more.

He wrote the Chesney Hawkes smash ‘The One and Only’, which spent five weeks at number one in 1991 and cracked the top 10 in the USA.

“The royalties from that single put my kids through university and private school, nik jokes.”

In Autumn 2025 he will be going on a theatre tour. Musings and Lyrics run from September 17 to November 23 and coincides with the launch of his new book which tells the stories behind every song from his nine studio albums.

The book- ‘Musings and Lyrics (The Inane Ramblings of a Grateful Idiot)’ also includes a first-ever vinyl release of his celebrated Songs From the Shelf series, which has been gaining a growing fanbase online.

The vinyl is exclusively available on the Superluxe format, which also includes a photobook with never-before-seen pictures. A luxe version of the book is also available with a limited –edition CD instead.

“I’m very much looking forward to these solo shows, which are in some brillinatly intimate venues- giving me a chance to share songs, stories and have a Q&A session with the audience too.

“I do get some funny questions from time to time. A few years ago I had one which said: Nik, can you sing Fantastic Day for us please? I had to break the news to them that I wasn’t Nick Heyward, and that they’d booked tickets for the wrong show.

“I get asked a lot about Live Aid too, which was unlike anything else I’ve ever done. It was an incredible experience, and I feel very privileged to have been part of it. When you realise just how many people were involved behind the scenes in making that even happen, it’s amazing.”

Reflecting on the chart-topping days of the mid 1980s, he said: “My feet didn’t touch the ground for about two years. It was like my life on rails and I couldn’t get off the train

By the end of the 1980s, Nik says he had become disillusioned with being a performer, and after four albums for MCA Records he took a step back from being a ‘popstar’ to focus on writing and production for other artists.

The show and the book, focuses on the lyrics and creative processes behind the many songs Nik has created during his career.

“There’s not always a long and complicated story behind the writing of a song. Sometimes I talk about the recording process, sometimes it’s about the song itself and how I created the lyrics, and some are reflecting on what was going on in my life, and the world, at the time.

“There will be another album at some point. At the moment I’m just not sure what it will be, and when.”

Tickets to Nik’s show are available here: www.awaywithmedia.com/tours/nik-kershaw

Order Nik’s new book here: www.awaywithmedia.com/tours/nik-kershaw