Mark Nevin

Singer/songwriter and guitarist Mark Nevin came to prominence alongside Eddi Reader in Fairground Attraction in the 1980s, writing the band's number one hit "Perfect." Born in Ebbw Vale, Wales, the young Nevin and family moved to Leamington Spa, Reading and Bristol for his father's job in the '70s; he moved to London as a teenager. Nevin made his entrance into the music business in the final lineup of post-punk band Jane Aire & the Belvederes. He then began to establish himself as a songwriter, working with Sandie Shaw during her mid-'80s comeback. Reader first linked with Nevin for the Compact Organization sampler album The Compact Composers, singing on two of his songs. Together they formed Fairground Attraction with Simon Edwards and Roy Dodds. Nevin wrote 13 of the 14 songs for their album The First of a Million Kisses, which would go on to win best single and best album at the 1989 Brit Awards. The record also achieved platinum status, and spawned their biggest hit "Perfect." In 1990 the band split, with Reader embarking on a solo career and Nevin collaborating with a number of notable artists. Nevin worked with Brian Kennedy in Sweetmouth, releasing Goodbye to Songtown in 1991, before establishing a productive career as a songwriter with ex-Smiths singer Morrissey and Kirsty MacColl. He also wrote "I'm Yours" with Ringo Starr, with Sir George Martin conducting the orchestra. In the mid-'90s, Nevin relaunched himself, as a singer/songwriter. An initial recording session with strings, brass, and backing singers was scrapped in favor of a series of stripped-down tracks. The material was subsequently gathered for Insensitive Songwriter, released in 1999 on Nevin's Raresong Recordings label. He followed that record up three years later with The Mighty Dove before taking an extended break from music. In something of a second act to his career, Nevin returned in 2011 with the album Stand Beside Me in the Sun, and just a few years later, he released Beautiful Guitars. In 2017, he put out his fifth studio album, My Unfashionable Opinion.