I'm just so lucky admits Nik Kershaw as he heads to Clitheroe

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of his debut single I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down. Within 18 months, he had become one of the hottest pop stars around featuring on TV, in magazines such as Smash Hits on a regular basis and notching up a string of hits including Wouldn’t It Be Good and The Riddle. He also was part of Live Aid.

By the end of the 80s Nik stepped away from the spotlight concentrating instead on writing and producing. He notably wrote Chesney Hawkes’ single The One and Only. After four albums in five years, it would be a further nine years before he released his fifth, 15 Minutes, in 1998. Since then four more studio albums have followed, the most recent being Oxymoron in 2020, released during the pandemic.

“The promotional opportunities surrounding that were somewhat limited,” he laughs. “But the album was all done and ready and I wanted to move on to whatever the next thing was going to be. It was originally due out in the spring of 2020 but it was clear that wasn’t a good idea but then there was so much uncertainty about how much longer this thing - Covid - was going to go on, I just decided to get it out there in October.

“I’m very proud of the album and one of the wonders of the ‘hinternet’ is that people were able to find it and connect with it.”

Nik is coming to Clitheroe as part of a UK tour.

“I’ve been doing quite a few shows with a band in front of my own crowd this year which is an unusual thing for me. I’ve done loads of festivals and one-off gigs, and tours of other countries but this is the first time I’m doing any significant shows in this country in front of my own people.”

Nik says that the enforced lockdown due to the pandemic has given him a new perspective on playing live.

“It is always fun,” he said, “but being able to do it was something I’d taken for granted. It was quite extraordinary having that taken away.

“Hopefully that is consigned to the past and it never happens again. It was horrible for everybody. I remember the first show I did coming back in the summer of 2021, getting out in front of that crowd. Everyone was so happy to be there and so ready for it. I hope I never take that for granted again; it is special.”

With as many big hits as he has, Nik is much in demand at festivals - and he has a few lined up this summer. But he’s particularly pleased to be out on his own tour.

“I’ve got no problem doing the hits,” he said. “I’ve grown even fonder of them over the years and it’s great having them because they are like little stepping stones through the set; points at which you can really connect with the audience.

“But it’s just nice to be able to play some other things. There have been nine studio albums so it’s nice to play songs from them; maybe songs that I’ve never played live or songs that we’ve dug up again that I used to play back in the day. It just means I can mix it up and maybe throw in a couple of cheeky covers just for fun too.”

At the height of his fame, Nik acknowledges that the pressure led to him feeling a little of the imposter syndrome.

“I’m very lucky to be here doing what I do now, I know that,” he said. “The pressure is off now really. Back then, it all seemed so desperately important all the time. You are wrapped up in this bubble, surrounded by people whose livelihoods depend on you and you just believe that the whole world is watching you all the time and that everything’s got to be spot on all the time.

“I realise now that it’s just a live gig and things can happen. The important thing is to enjoy it and I really do. It is all about that night and that moment. And OK, you might mess up occasionally, but does that really matter?”

Nik is very appreciative of the fans, some of whom have been with him since the start and others who have discovered his music along the way.

“There are the hardcore faces I remember from Hammersmith Odeon in 1984; we’ve grown up together – or not as the case may be,” he laughed. “Then they bring their kids along but you also see the ones in between and you wonder, how did they find out about my music? I suppose it’s down to YouTube or through internet. There are so many ways to discover music now and it is lovely to be able to play to a completely mixed audience.”

As well as the tour, Nik, as usual has other projects on the go including curating a box set from his MCA years as well as working on a new album.

So will he enjoy looking back at those early releases?

“There was a time when I wasn’t happy looking back,” he said. “When I started recording again in late 90s and bringing out an album I’d spent a huge amount of time on and put huge amount of love into all anybody wanted to talk about was Live Aid and 1984 or whatever - that was quite frustrating.

“Now I appreciate that those old songs have been incredibly good to me and people are interested in that time in my career and I don’t mind looking back. It all seems so far away, almost like it’s someone else I’m looking at.”

Nick certainly got that feeling when he was shown a interview he did on Belgian TV in the mid-80s.

“I watched it recently and I was such a cocky little Herbert,” he admits. “I don’t ever remember being like that but I really needed a good slap. I actually annoyed myself.

“Luckily over the years I’ve got that slap. That’s always good for the soul.”

Nik may be joking but it’s clear he’s as relaxed and happy making and playing music as he’s ever been.

“When you are young and in the thick of it, you do believe that it is all about you,” he said. “It is that intense. People that want a little piece of you. It’s difficult to get a sense of perspective shall we say.

“But now, I love doing it. I am incredibly lucky and never stop telling myself that. When you are lucky enough to be on the stage and you have got all that feedback coming from the audience, it’s just magical.”

Nik Kershaw, Clitheroe Grand, Thursday, May 11. Details from www.thegrandvenue.co.uk or www.thegigcaartel.com