A LONG-OVERDUE BOXSET FOR THE SINGER-SONGWRITER WHO BROUGHT A PROGGY FLOURISH TO THE 80S CHARTS
JE
CHERRY POP
In the 40 years since Nik Kershaw burst out of Ipswich with the hit albums Human Racing and The Riddle, both released in 1984, it’s bizarre that there hasn’t been a proper overview of his career until now.
Not only is this 10CD+1DVD collection the first Kershaw boxset, none of his multiple compilations have charted, all are seemingly cheap and cheerful affairs rather than giving his work due diligence. So The MCA Years – running from Human Racing to fourth album The Works in 1989 – is finally chance to assess how Kershaw managed to straddle both synth-pop’s prime era and coping in the more earnest post-Live Aid years, having been on the bill above the likes of Adam Ant, Ultravox and The Style Council at Wembley Stadium.
Overseen by Kershaw, the boxset is thorough on what you’d expect, with discs devoted to his B-sides, remixes and edits. The highlight is the first full release of a 20-song 1984 live show captured at Hammersmith Odeon around The Riddle across the final two CDs.
Twelve of that show’s songs are also on the DVD, additionally housing the videos for the era’s 13 singles. That’s excellent but, Hammersmith apart, there aren’t any surprises of unreleased songs or demos. Considering each album is left in its original unexpanded form on CDs one to four and there are just eight songs on the B-sides CD, there was certainly room for a handful of work-in-progress tracks.
What The MCA Years proves is that Kershaw never quite fitted in, even while Wouldn’t It Be G
