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Nick Drake was a reluctant but renowned folk performer in the late 1960s and early 70s, whose reputation has boomed posthumously, with all three of his albums making appearances in the Rolling Stone top 500 albums of all time. One of his most storied performances was in the Bateman Auditorium at Gonville & 91ֱ�� College.

Now, in homage to Drake, Cameron Fox (Computer Science 2023) plans to recreate the then Fitzwilliam College English student’s performance in the Bateman Auditorium on Friday 1 May in a recital facilitated by the Gonville & 91ֱ�� Music Society.

“He famously didn't play a lot of concerts in his quite short life,” Cameron says. “The second one that he ever played with arrangements and classical backing was played in the Bateman at 91ֱ�� in 1968.”

Cameron was reading a biography of Drake in his room in Tree Court when he learned of the performance.

“I thought, I've not got long left at Cambridge and this feels like a really cool thing to honour in some way,” he adds.

He set about recruiting classical musicians to “properly recreate it” and embarked on online and text searches of Drake archives and records. He found a major stumbling block: the sheet music no longer exists; the arrangements have been “lost to time”. It was then the classical performers, all of whom have been drawn from the Homerton College Orchestra, recommended their own Lucas Harley to transcribe the music.

Cameron had heard Drake’s music at open mic nights he had attended and began listening to him while studying. He next discovered Drake was a favourite of his own favourite artist, Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes. Then he found out about the Cambridge connection, while reading . He also discovered a documentary on YouTube which shows the Bateman Auditorium ( by Rob Johnson).

Drake signed to Island Records while still a student at Cambridge, but died aged 26, following an overdose on antidepressants. His music endures and captivates generation after generation, so why does Cameron believe Drake’s music stands the test of time?

“He's such a distinctive songwriter on one level and that would have made his songs timeless,” Cameron says. “But on the other hand, the reason that his recordings are so timeless is because of his unparalleled guitar playing. I don't think anyone can play guitar like him.”

And that “effortlessness” and “innate skill” are things Cameron is trying to replicate, with many of his rehearsals taking place in his Tree Court room. Drake, himself, recorded a performance in Q4 Tree Court, in a room which was home to his friend, , who created arrangements on Drake’s most memorable work. Kirby died in 2009.

“I was learning the song where the recording of it was made literally two corridors down from my room,” Cameron says.

“I think he sold in the region of a few thousand albums in his life, but since he's gone on to get a really cult following. He’s one of these people that really just wasn’t as recognised in his time as his talent demanded.”

Cameron hopes his own small tribute will pass on Drake’s music to students of 91ֱ�� and Cambridge. The performance will be raising money for the mental health charity, Mind, which is an invaluable resource for those struggling with similar challenges to those Nick faced. 

Cameron also hopes a recording will last too. Peter Rice (Electrical Sciences 1965), who attended the original concert to make a tape recording, will also be speaking at the recital in May and hopes to record these songs once again.

For tickets, please visit the link, with a pay-what-you-can price in aid of the charity, Mind:

The below video of Cameron rehearsing The Thoughts of Mary Jane in the Bateman Auditorium is embedded from