When Nick Drake (1948-1974) died of a drug overdose at twenty-six, he left behind three modest-selling albums, including the stark Pink Moon and the lush Bryter Layter . Three decades later, he is recognized as one of the true geniuses of English acoustic music. Yet Nick Drake--whose music was as gentle and melancholy as the man himself-- has always maintained a spectral presence in popular music. This groundbreaking biography reconstructs a vanished life while perfectly capturing the bohemian scenes surrounding the music business in London in the late '60s and early '70s. Using many newly discovered documents and all-new interviews, Trevor Dann reveals more detail on Nick Drake than ever, from his upbringing in a quintessentially English village, through his hash-fueled school days at Cambridge University, to the missed opportunities and mismanagement that defined his career. Friends and colleagues describe the difficulties that he faced as each new album was released, only to fail, and the insidious despair that consumed him. Complete with discography and rare photos, Darker Than the Deepest Sea is essential reading for anyone who has been moved by Nick Drake's unforgettable blend of beauty and sadness. Nick Drake, the English songwriter who has come to personify the young, sensitive, gloomy, and doomed composer of navel--gazing songs, released only three albums and 31 tracks of music before his fatal overdose in 1974 (he was 26). Ignored in his own time, his music gradually obtained a wider audience and a measure of popular acceptance. Dann sets out to reveal the person behind the virtuoso guitar playing and soft English lilt in this new biography. The problem is, his subject was elusive to those who knew him and remains so to his biographer. Nobody really knew Drake well, not even his friends. Too often Dann compensates by focusing on trivia (for instance, directions to Drake's Cambridge dormitory). By the end, we know things about Drake, but we don't know the man. Funny, then, how affected readers are by the loss when they arrive at the point of his death. Somehow, Dann captures enough of the shadow that was Drake that we care when the light is extinguished and the shadow lost. Given Drake's fierce reserve, this is no small accomplishment. Jerry Eberle Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved " Darker Than the Deepest Sea helps unravel the mystery...Dann definitely did his homework." -- Associated Press , 10/16/2006 "Compelling and in-depth portrait...is a fitting tribute to a musician whose talent is now revered." -- Pages , 12/1/06 "Dann did a delicate and intriguing job...The perfect way to approach such a dark yet subtle figure." -- Nerve.com , 10/13/2006 "Dann goes into trainspotter's detail." -- Harp , November 2006 "Dann paints as complete a portrait as possible of the man whose life and death pose the eternal question mark." -- Austin Chronicle , 12/1/06 "If the purpose of a biography is to bring the subject to life, then Trevor Dann has definitely succeeded." -- Infuze , November 2006 "It's fascinating to watch Dann follow the breadcrumbs of evidence that Drake left behind...[A] fresh respect." -- HeadButler.com , 10/18/2006 "The most thorough accounting of Drake's life and times to date." -- Chicago Reader , 11/3/06 "[A] meticulous portrait Offer[s] illuminating words on this precocious talent [A] comprehensive overview." -- Kirkus Reviews , 8/15/06 "[Dann] does a masterful job in bringing light to Drake's enigmatic existence...This is a superb piece of writing." -- American Songwriter , November/December 2006 The former head of BBC Music Entertainment and producer of Live Aid , Trevor Dann has written for the Times, Q, Mojo , and the Independent . He lives near Cambridge, United Kingdom.