Nick Harper 58 Fordwych Rd.
Nick Harper announces new tour and album '58 Fordwych Rd.', out September 26th.
It is nothing short of criminal, that 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 60’s most revered songwriters & musicians, not to mention being son of Roy Harper, along with 20 years of crafting songs & touring the land has spawned a truly one-off, original guitarist & songwriter who stands alone as a UK great, to be cherished & revered.
Following a prolific creative chapter that has seen three studio releases since 2020, Nick returns to the setting of his father's living room in a small flat in Kilburn, London in the mid 1960s '58 Fordwych Rd.'. 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 Denny & others dropped in, to drop out, jam & try new tunes. But, all along, there was someone else there... a toddler, part of the family, inhaling the music & absorbing the vibe; Roy’s young son, Nick Harper.
Many moons later, Nick invited these acoustic legends back into the room and toured this unique story to ecstatic receptions across the UK and Ireland. Wary to not just entertain as a tribute, the craftsmanship and care of the repertoire Nick was handling was beyond tribute, Nick applying his own twists and deft performance swagger that only those who’ve earned their stripes possess. During a week-long residency at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where the show picked up an EDFringe Award for best music, ‘58 Fordwych Rd.’ was recorded, capturing Nick at the height of performance prowess..
Fast forward to 2025 and Nick finds himself alongside Roy Harper headlining Glastonbury Festival and providing sideman duties at a trilogy of farewell concert hall shows. The narrative of ‘58 Fordwych Rd.’ continues to reverberate and so the live album of the same name had to see a release. The recording and show sees Nick delve into the deluge of songs he heard directly from the greats when growing up. Within, he plays tribute to the time, the place & to the music that became the centre of everything for him & the rest of this ‘family’.
‘58 Fordwych Rd.’ is released on September 26th, 2025 via Sangraal / Weatherbox supported by just five exclusive outings of the live show, including a performance at The Water Rats, London as part of London Roots Festival.
‘Hey, the boy is good!’ Robert Plant ‘That boy is too good.’ Bert Jansch
Line Up
"My musical discovery of 2016" - Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Music
From sell-out tours to a critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival run via numerous radio and TV appearances to a vinyl box-set of his career retrospective - and now on to a winter tour with a band for the first time in 10 years - 2016 has been a high point for Nick Harper. He enters his third decade as a performer with a vitality that could put younger musicians to shame.
Here is an artist worth far more than the sum of his parts. His impeccable musical pedigree means nothing without the skills to back it up and skills Nick has, in his virtuoso guitar playing, song-writing and signature vocal acrobatics. Over a solo career of 9 studio albums, 2 EPs and 2 live albums - as well as the recent vinyl career retrospective - the quality of his musical output has only improved. It is no surprise that artists and producers as diverse as Squeeze, Lana Del Rey, Newton Faulkner, Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), The Levellers, Jakko Jakszyk (Level 42, King Crimson) and legendary producer Tchad Blake have collaborated with him. This is not a man easily pigeonholed into existing musical genres; Nick is very much blazing his own trail.
Nick’s full range can be heard in his last two solo albums. He moved from 2013’s ‘Riven’, an epic and lush 75-minute recording split into light and dark halves - celebrating family while railing at the state of the modern world - to 2014’s ’Nix’, an unadulterated recording made in just nine days - 9 songs with acoustic guitar and vocals, which pleased longtime fans with its evocation of his live performances.
In addition to recording and touring with a vengeance, Nick is also known for devoting his energy to fundraising projects, particularly organising Wiltshire’s Avebury Rocks festival for the Prospect Hospice where his mother died. With the Love Hope Strength cancer charity, Nick helped set a new world record by performing at the highest gig on Earth at Everest Base Camp and trekked to Machu Picchu and Mount Kilimanjaro.
In 2017 Nick is only booking to perform at a few, select festivals in the UK. There is no UK solo tour, but there are plans afoot, many irons in the fire… watch this space… But whatever path he takes, rest assured that Nick Harper is, and will remain a musical force to be reckoned with.
Nick Harper Live Nick playing 'Purple Rain' at Henry Tudor House 2016 Listen to the full back catalogue here on Bandcamp: https://nickharper.bandcamp.com "Betjemen with a guitar... Dylan for the iPod generation." Guitarist Magazine
