Hornby was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was brought up in Maidenhead, and educated at Maidenhead Grammar School and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English. His parents divorced when he was 11.
Hornby's first published book, 1992's Fever Pitch, is an autobiographical story detailing his fanatical support for Arsenal Football Club. As a result, Hornby received the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. In 1997, the memoir was adapted for film in the UK, and in 2005 an American remake was released, following Jimmy Fallon's character's obsession with the Boston Red Sox, a baseball team. With the book's success, Hornby began to publish articles in the Sunday Times, Time Out and the Times Literary Supplement, in addition to his music reviews for the New Yorker.
High Fidelity — his second book and first novel — was published in 1995. The novel, about a neurotic record collector and his failed relationships, was adapted into a 2000 film starring John Cusack, and a Broadway musical in 2006.
His second novel, About a Boy, published in 1998, is about two "boys" — Marcus, an awkward yet endearing adolescent from a single-parent family, and the free-floating, mid-30s Will Freeman, who overcomes his own immaturity and self-centeredness through his growing relationship with Marcus. Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult starred in the 2002 film version. In 1999, Hornby received the E. M. Forster Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Hornby's next novel, How to Be Good, was published in 2001. The female protagonist in the novel explores contemporary morals, marriage and parenthood. It won the W.H. Smith Award for Fiction in 2002.
Part of the money he earned with his next book, Speaking with the Angel in 2002, was donated to TreeHouse, a charity for children with autism, the disorder that affects Hornby's own son. He was editor of the book, which contained twelve short stories written by his friends. He also contributed to the collection with the story "NippleJesus".
In 2003, Hornby wrote a collection of essays on selected popular songs and the emotional resonance they carry, called 31 Songs (known in the US as Songbook). Also in 2003, Hornby was awarded the London Award 2003, an award that was selected by fellow writers.
Hornby has also written essays on various aspects of popular culture, and in particular, he has become known for his writing on pop music and mix tape enthusiasts. Since 2003, he has written a book review column, "Stuff I've Been Reading", for the monthly magazine The Believer; all of these articles are collected between The Polysyllabic Spree (2004), Housekeeping vs. The Dirt (2006), Shakespeare Wrote for Money (2008), and More Baths Less Talking (2012).
Hornby's novel A Long Way Down was published in 2005, with a film version of this book set to be released in 2014. It was on the shortlist for the Whitbread Novel Award. Hornby has also edited two sports-related anthologies: My Favourite Year and The Picador Book of Sports Writing.
Hornby's book Slam was released on 16 October 2007; it is his first novel for young adults and was recognized as a 2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults. The protagonist of Slam is a 16-year-old skateboarder named Sam whose life changes drastically when his girlfriend gets pregnant.
Hornby released his latest novel titled Juliet, Naked in September 2009. On the same wavelength as his first novel High Fidelity, the book is about a reclusive '80s rock star who is forced out of isolation when the re-release of his most famous album brings him into contact with some of his most passionate fans. This synopsis was revealed to The Guardian newspaper as part of "What not to miss in 2009: books".
In 2010, Hornby co-founded the Ministry of Stories, a non-profit organisation in East London dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.
Hornby discussed his bouts of depression in 2012 on the BBC Radio 4 broadcast of "Fever Pitched: Twenty Years On".
Several of Hornby's books have made the jump from page to screen. Hornby wrote the screenplay for the first, a 1997 British adaptation of Fever Pitch, starring Colin Firth. It was followed by High Fidelity in 2000, starring John Cusack; this adaptation was notable in that the action was shifted from London to Chicago. After this success, About a Boy was quickly picked up, and released in 2002, starring Hugh Grant. An Americanized Fever Pitch, in which Jimmy Fallon plays a hopelessly addicted Boston Red Sox fan who tries to reconcile his love of the game with that of his girlfriend (Drew Barrymore), was released in 2005. Johnny Depp purchased film rights to the book A Long Way Down before it was published.
In 2009, Hornby adapted an autobiographical memoir by the journalist Lynn Barber for the screen as An Education, a feature film starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan. He was nominated for an Oscar for writing the screenplay.
High Fidelity was also the basis for a 2006 eponymous musical that shifted the action to Brooklyn; its book is by David Lindsay-Abaire, with lyrics by Amanda Green and music created by Tom Kitt. The production ran for a month in Boston, then moved to Broadway, closing after 18 previews and 14 regular performances.
The importance of music in Hornby's novels, and in his life, is evidenced by his long-standing and fruitful collaborations with the rock band Marah, fronted by Dave and Serge Bielanko. Hornby has even toured in the United States and Europe with the band, joining them on stage to read his essays about particular moments and performers in his own musical history that have had a particular meaning for him.
Hornby's music criticism (most notably for The New Yorker and in his own Songbook) has been widely criticised by writers such as Kevin Dettmar (in his book Is Rock Dead), Curtis White (in an essay at www.centreforbookculture.org, titled "Kid Adorno"), Barry Faulk and Simon Reynolds for his embrace of rock traditionalism and conservative take on post-rock and other experimental musics (exemplified in Hornby's negative review of the Radiohead album Kid A).
Hornby has also had extensive collaboration with American singer/songwriter Ben Folds. Their album Lonely Avenue was released in September 2010. Folds wrote the music, with Hornby contributing lyrics. Prior to the album's release, "Picture Window", was released on Ben Folds' website. A bootleg version of a song about Levi Johnston written by Hornby and Folds and performed by Folds, appeared on the internet.
Hornby has been married twice. He and his first wife have one son, born in 1992, who has autism. Hornby's second wife is producer Amanda Posey. They have two sons, born in 2003 and 2005. Hornby's sister, writer Gill Hornby, is married to writer Robert Harris.
Nick Hornby was directly involved in the creation of the charity Ambitious about Autism, then known as TreeHouse Trust, and its school TreeHouse School, as a result of trying to find specialist education for his son Danny. Hornby remains a major donor to the charity and is still involved as a vice president.
Nick proudly supports Arsenal.
Belinda
Nick Hornby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He has to sing 'Belinda'
"Belinda, I love you
Don't leave me, I need you"
He tried to stop a while back
But what is he without her?
A one hit wonder with no hits is what he is
And anyway
He always hears how much it means to people
There's a lot of forty-somethings
Who wouldn't be in the world without it
So now he does it with this lyric in his head
Belinda, I loved you
I'm sorry that I left you
I met somebody younger on a plane
She had big breasts
A nice smile
No kids either
She gave me complimentary champagne
No one ever wants to hear the song he wrote for Cindy
"Cindy, I love you
I need you, don't leave me"
And he can't blame them, they can tell
His heart was never in it
And Cindy never liked it but
She never much liked him
Belinda, I loved you
I'm sorry that I left you
I met somebody younger on a plane
She had big breasts
A nice smile
No kids either
She gave me complimentary champagne
So every night about this time
He feels the old self-loathing
While the old folks in the audience sing along
And he smiles and waves the mic at them
So they can do the chorus
But he's not there, he's somewhere else
He's with Belinda
In the days before he made it all go wrong
Belinda, I love you
She gave me complimentary champagne
She gave me complimentary champagne
The song "Belinda" is a melancholic and self-reflective piece that speaks to the life of a struggling musician who has become famous only for one song that he wrote for an ex-lover. He is forced to perform the song "Belinda" every night around the same time, even though he has tried to stop singing it at some point, but to no avail. He sings to Belinda, whom he left her for a younger woman whom he met on a plane. The woman had big breasts, a nice smile, and no kids. The song is a reflection of regret and lost opportunities. He has become a one-hit-wonder with no other hit.
Nick Hornby's "Belinda" speaks to the struggles that musicians undergo to achieve success in the music industry. The song also speaks to the price they often pay to stay relevant in the industry, even if it means performing the same song every night, making them feel like they are in a time-loop. The lyrics showcase how fans can become attached to specific songs, and as much as the performer wants to deviate, they remain chained to their fans' wishes. The song shows the high price musicians pay to stay relevant in the music industry.
Line by Line Meaning
Every night around this time
He has to sing 'Belinda'
"Belinda, I love you
Don't leave me, I need you"
He performs 'Belinda' every night at the same time, singing about his love and need for her.
He tried to stop a while back
But what is he without her?
A one hit wonder with no hits is what he is
He attempted to stop performing 'Belinda', but realizes it's his only hit and without it, he'd be forgotten.
And anyway
He always hears how much it means to people
There's a lot of forty-somethings
Who wouldn't be in the world without it
So now he does it with this lyric in his head
People express how much they love 'Belinda', and he recognizes its significance to a certain generation. He sings it now with the new lyric in his head.
No one ever wants to hear the song he wrote for Cindy
"Cindy, I love you
I need you, don't leave me"
And he can't blame them, they can tell
His heart was never in it
And Cindy never liked it but
She never much liked him
People never request he sings 'Cindy', and he understands as they can sense the passion isn't there. Cindy also didn't appreciate the song or him.
So every night about this time
He feels the old self-loathing
While the old folks in the audience sing along
And he smiles and waves the mic at them
So they can do the chorus
But he's not there, he's somewhere else
He's with Belinda
In the days before he made it all go wrong
During every performance of 'Belinda', he feels unhappy with himself. Although the crowd loves it, he disconnects from reality and enters a time before he ruined everything with Belinda.
She gave me complimentary champagne
During his flight, a woman provided him with free champagne.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BEN FOLDS, BENJAMIN SCOTT FOLDS, NICHOLAS PETER JOHN HORNBY, NICK HORNBY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cherigayles6087
About two weeks before he died, I told Paul Buckmaster that his orchestral arrangement on "Belinda" was my very favorite of everything he worked on with Ben. Paul then emailed me his at-home work tracks for his arrangement. I will always love this song...
@AvielMannBallo
Wow, that's special!
@PogieJoe
Wonderful rendition.
@chark2717
I used to listen to this song and cry for years and years , oh my beautiful masterpiece eh , haha
@SiaiKhuptong
I'm shocked that this doesnt even have 1000 views :O
@alstorer
+Carlosisdown : the song referred to doesn't, as such, exist. It's the chorus of the song that the song is about. The chorus of the fictional song is, roughly, the second line of the actual song to the tune of the chorus. It's a bit meta...
@MaskOfShale
This video proves that you can get 1,397 views on a great song, and only have to comments.
@Rondu_saurus_Rex
This song is perfect as is .... I really hope I really really hope no one tries to remake this song ever.....please keep Mariah Carey and Beyoncē away from this song ....please!!!!
@CarlosIsDown
What song is he talking about?
@Steelburgh
This was inspired by "Layla" that Clapton wrote about Pattie Boyd. They didn't use the actual lyrics from it, though;
I think he just meant that, in general, he asked Ben to write a song that includes a chorus from another song as part of the verse and chorus of his own, which I imagine would be a challenge.