Nick Drake

Nicholas Rodney Drake was an English singer, songwriter, and musician.  Born on June 19th, 1948, in Rangoon, Burma, he came to England to live with his parents in the village of Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, in 1950.  His parents were Rodney, an engineer, and Molly, who recorded numerous songs of her own, which were not released until after her death; his sister was the actress Gabrielle Drake.  After prep school and Marlborough College, Nick won a scholarship to Cambridge University.  At Marlborough, he was a talented sprinter, and played for the house rugby team.  School friends described him as confident and "quietly authoritative", although aloof and difficult-to-get-to-know.  Before and during his time at Cambridge, he began smoking cannabis and probably took L.S.D., becoming involved in the local music scene.  Meeting record producer Joe Boyd, who offered him a recording contract, Drake dropped out of Cambridge in his third year, and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1968.  The album sold poorly.  Moving to London, he played a few poorly-received and -attended gigs, rarely engaging with his audience.  Friend Brian Wells suspected Drake may have been using heroin at this time.  His second album, Bryter Layter, released in 1971, was also a commercial failure, which increased his depression, a psychiatrist prescribing anti-depressants, which he was reluctant to take, and he was described as showing "the first signs of psychosis".  By this time, Nick Drake rarely left his flat, except to buy drugs.  In 1972, Drake's final album, Pink Moon, came out, selling even-less-well than its predecessors.  As with previous releases, he was reluctant to partake in any promotional interviews or concerts.  Suffering from depression and burnout, Drake returned to live with his parents, existing on a £20-a-week retainer from Island Records.  Early in 1972, he was hospitalised for five weeks; initially believed to be suffering from major depression, his former therapist thought he may have had schizophrenia.  In 1974, Drake began recording sessions for a mooted new album, although his performances were not at their former level, and he expressed bitterness that he wasn't rich and famous by now.  His weekly retainer had now ceased, and he had lost touch with most friends.  In November of 1974, Drake's closest female friend, Sophia Ryde, sought to end their relationship.  Nick Drake retired early to bed on the night of November 24th, 1974, but went downstairs around dawn to get some pills to help him to sleep.  About midday on November 25th, Molly Drake, Nick's mother, entered his room to wake him, but found his lifeless body lying across his bed.  There was no suicide note, although a note to Sophia Ryde was found nearby.  A coroner's inquest in November stated his cause of death as, "Acute amytriptyline poisoning - self-administered when suffering from a depressive illness", although several friends thought the overdose may have been accidental.  Nick Drake was just 26 years old.