Singer Nik Kershaw kicked off his Irish tour in Galway on Thursday night (5th October 2017), with an intimate set at the city’s Black Box theatre. Billed as ‘An Evening With…’, the event saw the song-writer play tracks from right across his career, interspersed with stories and a Q&A section.
Kershaw, who made his name in the mid-1980s with a string of Top 10 hits, entertained the packed arena in his own inimitable laid back style. Playing solo aided only by a guitar looping pedal and the odd keyboard enhancement, Nik proved a versatile and talented musician, as he made his way through his catalogue.
An engaging raconteur, his deadpan style meanwhile, proved hilarious as he recalled tales of “almost meeting David Bowie”, and the time Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s drummer berated him for “writing a song about a donkey” (‘Don Quixote’).
Ambling onto the stage to the calypso beat of ‘Can’t Get Arrested’, Nik joked; “Anybody come for a party? Well you've come to the wrong place”, before poking fun at the ‘Evening With’ format, saying; “What shall we do; get a curry in?”
Visiting tracks from all corners of his career, he explained that ‘Somebody Loves You’, from his 1999 release ’15 Minutes’ was; “My big come back single”, before adding; “I came back to find that all the doors were closed, and the locks had been changed.”
It was however, the hits that most had come to hear, and they weren’t disappointed, with Nik’s finger-picked rendition of ‘The Riddle’ garnering the biggest cheer of the first half. With the song’s decidedly dated video playing on a big screen behind the performer, it was for many, the first nostalgia-inducing moment of the evening.
Following a short intermission that gave the crowd their chance to prepare questions for Nik to answer which resulted in - more often than not - humorous answers provided, the singer Human Raced towards the end of the evening, with the quintessential ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’ and finale cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Wish’ closing what had been a fantastic evening of music and chat.
Nik’s Irish tour continues in Limerick on Friday night (6th October 2017), when the singer plays the city’s University Concert Hall. A full list of dates can be viewed below. For ticketing details, click here.
Click here for eonmusic's exclusive interview with Nik.
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Nik Kershaw ‘An Evening With…’ 2017 Irish Dates:
6th Oct – University Concert Hall, Limerick
7th Oct – TLT Theatre & Concert Hall, Drogheda
8th Oct – Theatre Royal, Waterford
9th Oct – Vicar Street, Dublin