Whatever happened to 'I Won't Let the Sun Go Down On Me' singer Nik Kershaw

Nik Kershaw was one of the most successful acts of the 1980s with hits such as Wouldn’t It Be Good and I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. He’s also written songs for other artists including Chesney Hawkes’ 1991 number one single The One And Only. He has five children – three by his first wife, Sheri. Now 56, he lives in Little Dunmow, Essex, with his second wife, Sarah, her 11-year-old daughter and their four-year-old son. 

“I was born in Bristol and grew up in Ipswich. My parents were musical – my mum harboured ambitions to be an opera singer and my dad was a flautist in the Ipswich Light Orchestra.

“My first band was called Fusion. They were real jazz-rock musos, but they actually earned a living playing hits like The Birdie Song at weddings and bar mitzvahs. 

“The band split up in 1982 and I started writing songs. I got a record deal and in September 1983 I put out my debut single, 

I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. It reached number 47, which was a good start. 

“The second single, Wouldn’t It Be Good, came out in January 1984, and it got to number 4. I remember being on Top Of The Pops with Madonna and The Smiths. I said hello to Madonna, but The Smiths were there begrudgingly, thinking it was a bit populist. 

“I was from out of town, not part of any scene. I was living in a little one-up, one-down house in Wethersfield, Essex, with my now ex-wife, Sheri. We got married in 1983, so I wasn’t in it for the groupies!

“In 1984, I spent more weeks in the charts than any other solo act. I got to number 2 with a reissue of I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. In 1985 I toured the world. I performed at Live Aid. It wasn’t the best gig I ever played, but it was an astonishing day. 

“Elton John asked me to play on some tracks, which was great fun. He called me one of the greatest songwriters of my generation, which isn’t a bad compliment. At the end of the 80s I made the decision not to record my own songs any more, so I began writing for other people. I had my first number one in 1991 when Chesney Hawkes sang my song The One And Only. 

“I wrote for Bonnie Tyler, Cliff Richard, Lulu and Gary Barlow. I went to Gary’s house in Cheshire to write a song with him, but it wasn’t his, or my, finest hour. 

“I started recording my own albums again in 1999 – I got fed up writing for other people. These days I perform at folk festivals and 80s nostalgia concerts where you get to play in front of massive audiences. It’s a real buzz. 

“I had three children with Sheri. My eldest, Rudi, is 26 and a computer programmer, Ryan is 24 and has Down’s syndrome. My daughter, Izzy, is 21 and she’s studying composition at the Birmingham Conservatory. I also have an 11-year-old stepdaughter and a son, who is four, from my marriage to Sarah who I married in 2009. I was a dad again at 52 – you appreciate it more the second time around, although he is a handful!

“I put out my eighth solo album recently and I’ve just started a 30th anniversary acoustic tour called Me, Myself & I. I think musicians have respect for my body of work, but most people know me from the 80s. Taxi drivers say, ‘You’re that Don’t Let The Sun Go Down fella, the one with the dodgy hair!’ But I’m happy with the way things have gone. I’m still making music and enjoying it. I’m very lucky.” 

Nik Kershaw is currently on tour. For more details, see nikkershaw.net/gigs2.html.