Born Nicholas David Kershaw in Bristol, England on March 1, 1958, Kershaw played guitar and sang in a number of underground bands before deciding on a career as a songwriter. However, he ended up performing his own songs rather than giving them to others, and signed a deal with MCA Records in 1983, which spawned a debut single, "I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", which just missed out on the UK Top 40.