Songs From The Shelf - Parts 1&2
Nik Kershaw has written many songs for other artists between 1989 and 1998.
Some were recorded and released by these artists.
Some ended up on a shelf of demo tapes...
SONGS FROM THE SHELF - PART 1 & 2 are collections of previously unreleased songs.
Nik Kershaw selected some of the unfinished demos and completed the work on these songs.
SONGS FROM THE SHELF - PART 1 was released on May 6th 2022.
SONGS FROM THE SHELF - PART 2 was released on April 14th 2023.
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about SONGS FROM THE SHELF - PART 1:
“In 1989, I took a step back to focus on writing and production for other artists. After all, I’d done it quite successfully for myself for the previous few years, how difficult could it be?
Spectacularly difficult, as it turned out.
I equipped my home studio with highest tech known to mankind (later to be thrown in a skip), grabbed a rhyming dictionary and set off on my new adventure. Such was my ardour, it soon became apparent that I was going to need a bigger shelf for my rapidly expanding collection of DATs (Digital Audio Tapes – a nineties thing – you had to be there).
DATs full of songs. Some completed, some not.
Some I’d written on my own, some I’d written with others; Some with established artists, some with the next big thing; Some for major label projects, some just for the Hell of it; Some good, some not so good (some shockingly bad).
A few made it into the public domain in some form or other. Most did not.
By 1998, the shelf was heaving.
And so, tired of attending endless (and, in the most part, pointless) A&R meetings; bored of trying to please everybody (me, the artist, the artist’s manager, the artist’s mum, the record label, the record label’s mum); frustrated at 90% of my creative endeavours never seeing the light of day and finding it increasingly difficult to force my words into other people’s mouths, I decided to draw a veil over the whole songwriter/producer thing and start making my own records again.
I have never looked back (until now).
Fast forward to 2020 (and 3 house moves later), the smell was so bad, I was sure a medium sized mammal had died. It turned out to be an abandoned pot noodle a youth had left in the attic. Fortuitously, on searching for the source of the troubling stench, I stumbled across two cardboard boxes with words “studio/shelf” scrawled upon them. Therein languished the afore mentioned DATs from the previously touched upon shelf.
I managed to locate a functioning DAT player and, armed with a bottle of Malbec, settled down to re-acquaint myself with the contents of the tapes. Halfway through the second bottle, I decided I was a genius and the world couldn’t possibly survive another day without hearing every one of these lost masterpieces.
On more sober reflection, a few days later, I concluded that maybe some of the songs were pretty good and might, at some point in the future, be worth recording properly and maybe made available to those members of the general public possessed of any interest, if I could be arsed.
Thus was born “Songs From The Shelf”.
Just me trying to validate nine years spent banging my head against a wall.
This is “Part 1”.
I’m thinking of calling the next one “Part 2”.
Do you see where I’m going with this?”
B10.01 Come On Down
Album version (4:46)
Available on the 2022 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 1" EP only available on online music platforms.
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about this song:
“I see on the PRS database that this song was registered on the 5th of November 1992.
I would have still been basking in the reflected glory of “The One and Only” at this point, but have no idea why I wrote it or who I wrote it for.
There was a song I wrote in February 1991 called “Life Is A Gameshow” and “Come On Down” clearly explores the same theme.
I’m guessing it was consigned to the shelf due to it sounding a bit ‘big hair 80s rock’ which was most unacceptable at the beginning of the 90s (so last decade!).”
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.02 Hope And Glory
Album version (3:21)
Available on the 2022 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 1" EP only available on online music platforms.
Though it was not released as a single, this song was used to promote this online EP.
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about this song:
"Strangely, this was never registered at the time but, judging from its placement amongst my other demos, this would have been from around 1996.
I seem to remember an original working title of “All This Useless Beauty”.
On discovering someone had been there before me (the splendid Elvis Costello), I came up with “Hope & Glory”.
It was considered for the “15 Minutes” album but didn’t make it, was rudely ignored when I put “To be Frank” together and was then forgotten about completely.”
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.03 The Devil And The Deep
Album version (3:44)
Available on the 2022 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 1" EP only available on online music platforms.
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about this song:
“This was written in the very late 90s.
So late, in fact it was March 2001 and technically doesn’t satisfy the criteria for “songs from the shelf”
(It’s my game and I’ll cheat if I want to).
“To Be Frank” was already in the can by this point and no other bugger was likely to record it so straight off to the shelf it went with its tail between its legs.
‘The Devil And The Deep’ was always considered a bit downbeat for other projects so it didn’t get dusted off until now.”
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.04 I Can't Wait
Album version (4:04)
Available on the 2022 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 1" EP only available on online music platforms
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about this song:
“Around 98/99, armed with renewed confidence from touring “15 minutes”, I frequented the Kashmir Klub which was an acoustic get together for all manner of songwriters in the basement of a wine bar just off the Marylebone.
It was run by keyboard player/songwriter and radio presenter Tony Moore, who now does a similar thing from The Bedford in Balham.
There, I would often bump into Dan Gillespie and Richard Jones who were in a band called Horn.
They later went on to form a band called The Feeling. You may have heard of them.
Anyway, the singer in Horn was an exotic and talented young lady called Fahan Hassan, who I ended up writing a few songs with.
I can’t remember if there was a record company involved at this stage but, sadly, the songs never saw the light of day (until now).
I tried to contact Fahan when I recorded these but can’t seem to find any trace of her.
If anyone knows where she is, please let me know.”
Co-written by Nik Kershaw and Fahan Hassan.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.05 To Hurt The One You Love
Album version (4:14)
Available on the 2022 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 1" EP only available on online music platforms.
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about this song:
“Around 98/99, armed with renewed confidence from touring “15 minutes”, I frequented the Kashmir Klub which was an acoustic get together for all manner of songwriters in the basement of a wine bar just off the Marylebone.
It was run by keyboard player/songwriter and radio presenter Tony Moore, who now does a similar thing from The Bedford in Balham.
There, I would often bump into Dan Gillespie and Richard Jones who were in a band called Horn.
They later went on to form a band called The Feeling. You may have heard of them.
Anyway, the singer in Horn was an exotic and talented young lady called Fahan Hassan, who I ended up writing a few songs with.
I can’t remember if there was a record company involved at this stage but, sadly, the songs never saw the light of day (until now).
I tried to contact Fahan when I recorded these but can’t seem to find any trace of her.
If anyone knows where she is, please let me know.”
Co-written by Nik Kershaw and Fahan Hassan around 2001.
Work title is rumored to be "You Love To Hurt the One You Love".
Rumor has it the Fahan Hassan's version was recorded but never released.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.06 The Greatest Put Down
Album version (4:24)
Available on the 2022 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 1" EP only available on online music platforms.
On his official website ( https://www.nikkershaw.net/category/albums/ ), Nik Kershaw gives details about this song :
“In the late summer of 1997, I was invited by Chris Difford to attend one of his legendary song writing retreats in a big old house in Huntsham, Devon.
I’d finished recording “15 minutes” but was yet to unleash it (or even tell anyone it existed) and was pretty nervous about writing songs with random strangers.
There were some in attendance who weren’t such strangers (although still pretty random), Rick Astley, Marty Pellow, Brian Kennedy and Mark Nevin (Fairground Attraction) to name a few.
So Mr Difford’s retreats go something like this.
You come down to breakfast in the morning and there, on the wall of the dining room is a list of who is writing with who that day (by order of Chris).
Off you go to your appointed room with your appointed writing partners and just get on with it.
In the evening, after dinner, you all gather to perform the fruits of the day to each other.
On one particular day, I found myself in a room with Chris and Graeme Duffin, guitarist with Wet Wet Wet.
I’d tried writing with someone else’s lyrics before but failed miserably.
I didn’t know Chris well at the time and was somewhat in awe of him.
I was unsure how things would progress. As it turns out, things progressed very quickly and easily.
Chris opened his laptop and showed us some lyrics he’d already finished.
They just leapt off the screen.
The words were so musical, they almost sung themselves.
It was like the song had already been born and we just had to smack its arse and make it draw its first breath.
We wrote three songs that day,
“The Greatest Put Down” being the first.”
Co-written by Nik Kershaw, Chris Difford and Graeme Duffin.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.07 What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me
Album version (3:49)
Available on the 2023 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 2" EP only available on online music platforms.
Written by Nik Kershaw around 1994.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.08 Time and Emotion
Album version (3:09)
Available on the 2023 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 2" EP only available on online music platforms.
Co-written by Nik Kershaw, Julian Peake and Ben Macklin around 2016.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.09 Let Him Have It
Album version (3:45)
Available on the 2023 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 2" EP only available on online music platforms.
Written by Nik Kershaw around 1992.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.10 Big Feather Bed
Album version (4:13)
Available on the 2023 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 2" EP only available on online music platforms.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
Darius Danesh - Extra track on "Live Twice" single version (2:49)
The song was released as a collaboration with Darius Campbell Danesh on the artist's 2004 "Live Twice" 3-track CD single.
The record inlay notes that the track was co-written by Nik Kershaw, Darius Danesh and John O'Kane.
The song is rumored to be written around 1995.
Darius Campbell Danesh passed away on August 11th 2022.
Listen to it HERE.
B10.11 How High?
Album version (3:58)
Available on the 2023 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 2" EP only available on online music platforms.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.
B10.12 Shade Of Grey
Album version (4:03)
Available on the 2023 "Songs From The Shelf - Part 2" EP only available on online music platforms.
NOT AVAILABLE on any official CD.