We received news of Mark Nevin's new album 'While The Kingdom Crumbles' which is set to be released on April 22nd, you'll probably remember him from his time in Fairground Attraction and also his work with Morrissey, Kirsty MacColl and Sandie Shaw.

I’ll hand over to Mark now to guide you through the album and tell you what he’s been up to over the years….

If you know anything about me is it probably that back in the day (1988) I wrote the number 1 song ‘Perfect' for my band Fairground Attraction. Our album sold a million in the UK and we were the first to win both Best Single and Best Album awards at the Brits. Shortly after I broke up the band and went on to write songs with Morrissey and Kirsty MacColl. My songs have also been covered by David Bowie, Joe Cocker and Ringo Starr, among many others. 

I made my first solo album in 1999 ‘Insensitive Songwriter’. My publisher told me I was committing ‘carrier suicide’ by deciding to sing my own songs and from a commercial point of view, he was completely right. However I didn’t care and have since released 6 more solo albums.

The Mighty Dove, Stand Beside Me In The Sun, Beautiful Guitars, My Unfashionable Opinion, Strike Up The Sally Ann and my new record, number 7… ‘While The Kingdom Crumbles’. The thirteen songs have been written in the period just before and during the lockdown.

In September 2019 I went to Lubbock, Texas, it was the year of my 60th birthday and my visit coincided with the 60th anniversary of Lubbock’s most famous son, Buddy Holly. The first song I ever learned to play on the guitar as a lad was Holly’s hit ‘Rave On’ and on my visit I was thrilled to meet the composer of that song Sonny West, we even wrote a song together. 

Another one of the songs written in Lubbock (with local songwriters Amy Ferris and Colin Gilmore) was ‘SOMEONE I CAN HOLD’. I tried to capture the spirit of Buddy Holly’s simple three chord pop and asked the question ‘If I could live forever (in legend like Holly) or have my three score years and ten with someone I can hold, which would I choose? It is one of 7 co-written songs on the album, including ‘DEEP LONG LOVE’ composed with the great BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN from Nashville and LOUISE GOFFIN (daughter of Carole King and Gerry Goffin), Beth also supplies some brilliant BV’s. I was delighted to write ‘A SIMPLE PRAYER’ with the incredible Louisiana country artist MARY GAUTHIER and SHOW ME WHO YOU ARE is a collaboration with Ashville (not Nashville) songwriter DAVID WILCOX. The orchestration is by fabulous Welsh pianist and arranger NIGEL HOPKINS. In September 2021 I spent 5 nights in hospital on oxygen getting my covid badge. So when I came out and sang the vocal on this song I had really lived the line ‘what more to ask for than just this spectacular cardiovascular beep on a screen’. OLD SOULS is another Lubbock collaboration, with Santa Fe’s SEAN HEALEN and Nasvhille’s BROOKE MALOUF. We got a chance to perform this song on the evening of writing it at Lubbock High School, Buddy’s school, this was on the very stage that he gave his first ever performance! 

Usually when I record an album I rehearse the songs with the musicians and then go into the studio and play them together. During these last two years, under lock down conditions I had to do things differently. It has been an interesting process. By sending audio files back and forth between musicians here in the UK and America the tracks gradually took shape.

I am joined by the great JAMES HALLAWELL on Hammond organ, MELVIN DUFFY on pedal steel guitar, JON THORNE on double bass and drummers ALEXANDER YOUNG (Los Angeles) and CAMERON CURRAN (Texas). 

‘While The Kingdom Crumbles’ will be available to stream from April 22nd, and pre-saved via the below link

https://presave.to/mRARESODB4