Nik Kershaw / The Engine Shed / Lincoln

A relatively short trip along the A46 to Lincoln Brayford Pool, and a visit to the Engine Shed, in the stunning new Student Union Building.

Although the journey was short, it was a longer trip back in time for something very special, as Nik Kershaw, 80’s new wave heart-throb celebrated the 40th anniversary of his classic albums “The Riddle” and “Human Racing”.

Long before there was Oasis v Blur…… there was Kershaw v (Howard) Jones both taking the UK charts by storm in the mid-80’s with classic singles such as The Riddle and I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Kershaw) and What is Love and New Song (Jones).

And somehow, here we are – 40 years later ! I never saw Nik back in then, and was looking forward to what was ahead, as they played a two set show, running through both “Human Racing” & “The Riddle” in full.

When I arrived the queue was huge, stretching right down the side of the venue, and off down the street ! By when Nik and the band stepped out into the spotlight, the Engine Shed was packed. Unfortunately, we were hit with some technical issues with Nik’s mic not working. It took a couple of minutes for the band to notice as the crowd shouted and gesticulated in their direction, before they realised and left the stage. A 5-10 minute delay ensued as the crew sorted the issue out, tested the mics and got the stage ready again. The packed house was in high spirits and were laughing about it, and as the band came back out, Nik wore a huge smile as the crowd cheered.

With this light-hearted start, and throughout the night it was clear Nik has an exceptional engagement with his audience. Throughout the show Nik talked to the crowd about the songs, telling tales of when Level 42 were in the next studio when recording “The Riddle” and Bassist Mark King came in. They talked and Mark ended up recording the bass line for the track Easy.

With such popular albums, the hits flew out, including The Riddle, Wouldn’t It Be Good, I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me and Human Racing, and the audience eagerly helped singing along enthusiastically with Nik and you could just feel the energy and happy aura permeate the air. Another big hit with the crowd was Nik’s rendition of Wide Boy from “The Riddle”, with everyone shouting out the words and dancing in utter happiness.

But of course, along with the big hits, by playing the albums in their entirety, we also got everything else, as Nik humorously said, we’ll play “all the hits, your favourite album tracks and the ones you skipped through” lol. I really enjoyed some of the lesser known tracks such as Drum Talk and Bogart.

As you would expect, as he has got older, his voice has deepened in tone, and his take on the original hits has changed. The delivery is different now to how it was back in 1984, perhaps less overly electronic, and more focused on the guitar, and of course, as Nik has matured, his voice has deepened, which gives the lyrics a whole new feel. The songs were great anyway, but they’ve kept up with time and felt as good and relevant now as ever.

And what a show ! Right from the off, the musicianship was superb and the crowd lapped it all up. The energy level in the room was simply electric and the packed Engine Shed just couldn’t have been happier to be there, as they soaked up every note, every vocal, every moment moment.

This is a unique tour, not to be repeated, a delightful 40 year trip down memory lane to remember, to reflect on and enjoy two outstanding albums that left a huge impact on 80’s music, helping to spawn the influencing style for so many bands that followed. But it wasn’t just a trip down memory lane for the old school fans, what was wonderful, was the mix in the crowd, with so many young people and students present, experiencing a new sound.

A thoroughly exciting and fun night packed with great music, smiles and entertainment. The tour continues until the 16th October, check out the tour poster below… but beware many shows are sold out and tickets are limited for many others….. How better to show how good this show is !

The Riddle (1984)

Don Quixote

Know How

You Might

Wild Horses

Easy

The Riddle

City of Angels

Roses

Wide Boy

Save the Whale

Human Racing (1984)