Nicholas Rodney Drake was born on 19 June 1948 in Rangoon, then in Burma. Two years later, his family moved to Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire. Having bought his first guitar in 1965, the following year he won a scholarship to Cambridge University, where he studied English literature at Fitzwilliam College.

While studying, Drake had begun writing songs and performing them in London clubs, where he was spotted in February 1968 by Fairport Convention’s Ashley Hutchings. Through Hutchings’s contacts - most notably producer Joe Boyd - Drake secured a deal with Island Records.

Drake’s debut album, Five Leaves Left, featuring contributions from members of Fairport Convention, was released in September 1969, to a muted response, although John Peel was a fan. After its release, Drake dropped out of university and moved to London to channel all his efforts into his musical career. The more upbeat Bryter Layter followed in 1970 – with The Velvet Underground’s John Cale guesting on two tracks – but once again it suffered from poor sales, selling only 3000 copies. The combination of his commercial failure and producer/mentor Joe Boyd’s decision to move to Los Angeles led Drake to fall into depression.

Instead of touring the album, Drake holed up in his London flat, withdrawing from friends and family and smoking prodigious amounts of marijuana. The following year he pulled himself together enough to record one more album, the 28 bleakly beautiful minutes of Pink Moon. It represented a return to the stripped-back sound of his debut, with only Drake and an engineer present for the sessions.

Pink Moon was released by Island in February 1972, selling even fewer copies than its predecessors, although this was partly down to Drake’s reluctance to assist in promoting the album. Drake sank further into depression and returned to his parents’ house, effectively retiring from music. For the next two years, Drake’s psychiatric problems worsened, and he was hospitalised for a while, although he did manage to record four songs with Joe Boyd in 1974.

He was found dead at his parents’ home on 25 November 1974, having overdosed on amitriptyline, an antidepressant. The coroner recorded a verdict of suicide, although some members of his family disputed that, pointing out that he had not left a note. He was 26.