Nick Drake

In 1968, the 19 year-old Nick Drake had everything to live for. The product of a loving, creative family and a privileged background, he was not only a handsome and popular Cambridge undergraduate, but also a new signing to the UK’s hippest record label, Island. Three years later, however – having made three well-reviewed but low-selling albums – he had been overwhelmed by a mysterious mental illness. Based back in his family home in rural Warwickshire as of 1971, he largely withdrew from life and died in obscurity and despair in 1974. In the decades since he has become the subject of ever-growing fascination and speculation. Combined sales of his records now stand in the millions, his songs are frequently heard on TV and in films, and it is no exaggeration to call him one of the most widely known and best loved singer-songwriters of his generation.