John Murray Press lands Morton Jack’s biography of Nick Drake

John Murray Press has signed Nick Drake: The Life by Richard Morton Jack, described as “a detailed biography of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the 20th century".

Nick Davies, managing director at John Murray Press, acquired world rights from Matthew Hamilton at the Hamilton Agency. It will be published in June to mark what would have been Drake’s 75th birthday on the 19th June and comes with a foreword by his sister, Gabrielle Drake.

Nick Drake: The Life is the only biography of Drake to be written with the blessing and involvement of his sister and estate. The publisher says: “Drawing on copious original research and new interviews with his family, friends and musical collaborators, as well as deeply personal archive material unavailable to previous writers – including his father’s diaries, his essays and private correspondence – this is the most comprehensive and authoritative account possible of Nick’s short and enigmatic life.”

Joe Boyd, Drake’s long-time manager and producer, said: “This is the book we’ve been waiting for – the one Nick’s legacy deserves and so badly needs. Richard Morton Jack has reconstructed Nick’s life with great sensitivity and care, and in remarkable detail. It is a biography to be treasured.”

Gabrielle Drake said it was not an authorised biography as the term “implies to me a straitjacketed affair, tailored by the estate, family, or subject themselves, to fit a desired image of the protagonist". She added: "This has not been the case with Richard Morton Jack’s biography of my brother. But it is true that this is the only biography of Nick Drake that has been written with my blessing. Richard has a rare ability to combine a copious knowledge of the history of music with a forensic facility to sort out fact from fiction. He has sifted through all the evidence, culled everything of importance, and produced a book of great interest. I find I have learned many facts about my brother’s life that I never knew.”

Davies said: "I was fortunate enough to work with Gabrielle Drake and Cally Callomon on Remembered for a While – a beautifully illustrated Nick Drake companion, which was first published in 2014 and has gone on to sell over 20,000 hardbacks. Richard’s outstanding biography of Nick feels like a companion piece to that volume. It is a hugely important, detailed and clear-sighted reassessment of Nick’s life and work which, in my opinion, will never be bettered.”

Morton Jack, whose previous books include Galactic Ramble and Endless Trip (Foxcote Books), commented: “It has been a great privilege to research Nick’s life and work, with the full support of his sister and estate. The task has been painstaking, involving speaking to almost 200 people who knew him in different ways, as well as combing through masses of papers, and I feel confident that the result comes as close as possible to understanding this most enigmatic of artists.”