The mystery surrounding the death of a Midland music hero has been reignited following the disclosure of a letter found next to his body.
Singer-guitarist Nick Drake, whose fans include Hollywood star Brad Pitt and songwriter Elton John, only rose to fame after he died at his parents' home in Warwick-shire more than 30 years ago.
The letter, addressed to the woman he adored, was found on Drake's desk near his body and had been written the previous afternoon, expressing his heartbreak at the end of their relationship.
The musician, who had been on anti-depressants, died of a drugs overdose in Tanworth-in-Arden in November 1974, with the coroner ruling suicide at his inquest.
The singer, who only made three albums, did not have his first single released until 2004 and in that year sold more of his records than all those bought between 1969, when his first album was released, and 2003.
Drake had left the letter to Sophia Ryde, who has disclosed its existence to the author of a new book about Drake.
The details she has disclosed do not give conclusive proof as to whether Drake killed himself, but she believes his death was as a result of taking too many pills rather than suicide.
Trevor Dann, a former head of BBC music entertainment and author of the biography Darker Than the Deepest Sea, said: "It is very clear with Sophia that he was very, very upset that she had ended their relationship."
