Nigel Burch with instrument of choice--banjolele

Nigel Burch (born 25 January 1954) is an

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

-based songwriter, musician, poet, and

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

now based in the London Borough of Hackney. Musically covering the

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, rock,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes spelled antifolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in New York City, founded by the musician, author and comedian Lach, as a reaction to the commercialization of folk music. It is characterized by its DIY ethos, ...

, Burch has

collaborated Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The f ...

with

Kevin Coyne Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. He was critically acclaimed for his unorthodox style of blues-influenced guitar composition, the ...

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums and performed on stage with punk and post-punk ...

, Andrew Ranken (of

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

), and had an ongoing

pen pal Pen pals (or penfriends, penpals, pen-pals) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of letters. Occasion ...

relationship with

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...

, who described Burch's writing as "the best cure for a

hangover A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol (beverage), alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than ...

I ever lucked across." Burch's current band, Nigel Burch and The Flea-Pit Orchestra, have released three CDs, and often play live in London. A

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

called his music "a cross between the music of

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

and Weill, an

Irish pub In Ireland, a "pub" is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. Irish pubs are characterised by a unique culture centred around a casual and friendly atmosphere, hearty food and drink, Irish sports, ...

band, and a 1950s

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

group. The urban-alienation songs might be too explicitly crammed with messages for some, but plenty of fierce, spontaneous playing". Burch and band has toured internationally, with a significant following in Russia and Austria. Burch's self described "morbid drawings" are represented by The

Nicholas Treadwell Nicholas Treadwell (born 1937) owns the Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, which started in 1963 in touring vehicles, after which it was run in buildings in London, Bradford and finally Austria. Treadwell has promoted the Superhumanism art movement, whi ...

Gallery, have been shown in the UK,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and Germany, and been published in a number of magazines.

References

External links

Django Bates, Hackney Empire, London
*http://music-news.com/showreview.asp?H=Nigel-Burch-and-the-Flea-Pit-Orchestra&nReviewID=7282 *http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/songs-for-when-you-want-to-weep--waltz/366162.html *http://www.islingtontribune.com/reviews/features/2010/jun/feature-holloway-arts-festival-interview-musician-nigel-burch {{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, Nigel Living people 1954 births English male songwriters English rock singers Musicians from Essex People from Braintree, Essex Musicians from the London Borough of Hackney