Richard Morton Jack talks in-depth on Nick Drake: the Five Leaves Left and Pink Moon singer-songwriter, his lyrics, Cambridge University, Island Records, expectations, fear, disappointment, and depression.
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Description
Nick Drake was supposed to be a star. A Cambridge-educated, prodigiously talented songwriter, he released three critically acclaimed albums—Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, and Pink Moon—yet never saw commercial success in his lifetime. At just 26, he tragically took his own life.
Music biographer and El vinyl boss Richard Morton Jack joins host Jeremy Thomas to dive deep into Drake’s lyrics, mental health, and the unanswered questions that linger decades after his passing. Was he struggling with severe depression or schizophrenia? Did he have romantic prospects we never knew about? And in today’s world, would his story have ended differently?
With unprecedented access to private letters, recordings, and firsthand accounts from friends, family, and those closest to him, this episode sets the record straight on the mystery, music, and mind of Nick Drake.
Life Jackets
Lifejackets in this podcast refer to the personal tools and rituals that keep us afloat in the waves of life. Whether it’s a film, tv show, music, a favourite book, a crossword puzzle, or the steady presence of a dog, these are the things that keep us afloat. Everyone needs their own lifejackets—small but essential things that help us stay sane in an insane world.
- Books – The Diary of a Nobody by George & Weedon Grossmith – ‘I can remember laughing until I cried with my older brother about it, and I still think it’s incredibly funny’. On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin ‘Nick would have known Bruce Chatwin… it’s an intriguing thought that two very wonderful, very distinctive and rather puzzling young men both emanated from the same little part of the English map at the same time.’
- Poems – A.E Housman, Philip Larkin ‘I feel quite comfortable in his company… and I like that he was a big jazz fan, because so am I’.
- Films –Colonel Blimp (Powell), Frenzy (Hitchcock), Nuts In May (Mike Leigh), The Orphanage (J. A. Bayona).
- TV – Nathan For You, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
- Music – Too many to pick favourites. Here’s what I’ve listened to today: Various classic rock numbers (Led Zep, Neil Young, Free etc), The Viagra Boys – Girls & Boys, John Fahey – Requiem For Mississippi John Hurt, Dungen – Haxan, Change-Is by the Rendell-Carr Quintet, Miguel Abuelo & Nada.
- Pets – I keep an eye on the badgers in my garden but have yet to pet one.
- Hobbies – Reading, word games, collecting books and records.
- Exercise – Running, tennis, walking.
- Gardening – I take more pleasure in hacking away at nettles than looking after plants
- Nick Drake Discography – Five Leaves Left (1969), Bryter Layter (1971), Pink Moon (1972).