50-691: Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in pub rock , power pop and new wave , Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with being a vocalist, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica . He is best known for the songs " Cruel to Be Kind " (a US top 40 single) and " I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass " (a top 10 UK hit ), as well as his production work with Elvis Costello , Graham Parker , and others. Lowe also wrote " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding ",
100-687: A gold certification in Canada in November 1979. Other well-known Lowe songs include "All Men Are Liars". A re-recording of "Cruel to Be Kind" was his only US Top 40 hit, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979. In 1979, Lowe married country singer Carlene Carter , daughter of fellow country singers Carl Smith and June Carter Cash and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash . He adopted her daughter, Tiffany Anastasia Lowe. The marriage ended in 1990, but they remained friends, and Lowe remained close to
150-655: A handful of London acts such as Brinsley Schwarz who had been victims of the prevailing big-venue system. Along with Max Merritt and the Meteors who were originally from Australia and had moved to London, Kilburn and the High Roads , Bees Make Honey , Ace , Eggs Over Easy , Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers , Dr. Feelgood , Ducks Deluxe , Rockpile , Any Trouble , The Pirates, The Motors , F.B.I., Gozales, Wreckless Eric, The Inmates, Roogalator , and Kokomo. Most of
200-568: A hit for Costello and " I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll) ", a hit for Rockpile bandmate Dave Edmunds . Lowe attended the independent Woodbridge School in Suffolk . He began his musical career in 1967, when he joined the band Kippington Lodge, along with his school friend Brinsley Schwarz . They released a few singles on the Parlophone record label as Kippington Lodge before they renamed
250-492: A much lower break-even point for a record than a major label. With pub rock's emphasis on small venues, simple, fairly inexpensive recordings and indie record labels, it was the catalyst for the development of the British punk rock scene. Despite these shared elements, though, there was a difference between the genres: while pub rock harked back to early rock and roll and R&B , punk was iconoclastic , and sought to break with
300-424: A number of songs with clever wordplay that qualify as " novelties ", among them: Lowe's work as a producer is at least as notable as his work as a performer and songwriter. His early 'rough and ready' production style earned him the nickname "Basher", inspired by his supposed instructions to bands to 'bash it out—we'll tart it up later'. Beginning with his tenure at Stiff Records as an in-house producer in 1976, Lowe
350-512: A one-night reunion concert with Elvis Costello in October in San Francisco, Lowe embarked on his first non-solo United States tour "this millennium." His backing band consisted of Geraint Watkins (keyboards), Robert Treherne (drums), Johnny Scott (guitar) and Matt Radford (bass). In March 2011, Yep Roc reissued Lowe's 1979 solo album Labour of Lust . Lowe played Glastonbury 2011, performing
400-463: A short solo set of Brinsley Schwarz tracks on The Spirit of 71 stage, where they played back in 1971, before heading to the Acoustic Stage for a full band show. On 29 October 2013, he released his first Christmas album, Quality Street , on Yep Roc Records. He performed two songs from this album on 7 December taping of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! In spring 2019 he embarked on tours, in both
450-428: A tenth of the sales of mainstream bands. The pub rock scene was primarily a live phenomenon. During the peak years of 1972 to 1975, there was just one solitary Top 20 single ( Ace 's " How Long "), and all the bands combined sold less than an estimated 150,000 albums. Many acts suffered in the transition from pub to studio recording and were unable to recapture their live sound. The genre's primary characteristic is, as
500-645: Is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock , pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock scenes at the time. Although short-lived, pub rock was played live in small traditional venues like pubs and clubs. Since major labels showed no interest in pub rock groups, pub bands sought out independent record labels such as Stiff Records . Indie labels used relatively inexpensive recording processes, so they had
550-817: The Dagenham Roundhouse , the Grand in Leigh on Sea and the Admiral Jellicoe on Canvey Island . This network of venues later formed a ready-made launch pad for the punk scene. In 1974, pub rock was the hottest scene in London. At that point it seemed that nearly every large pub in London was supplying live music, along with hot snacks and the occasional stripper. The figureheads were Essex-based R&B outfit Dr. Feelgood . By Autumn 1975, they were joined by acts such as Hammersmith Gorillas , Joe Strummer 's 101ers , Eddie and
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#1732858773054600-539: The Pretenders (the 1978 debut single " Stop Your Sobbing ", which was a modest UK and U.S. hit); Graham Parker (his well-received first and third albums); Dr. Feelgood (several LPs, and their biggest hit single, 1979's " Milk and Alcohol "); Johnny Cash (his 1980 single "Without Love", a minor hit on the U.S. and Canadian country charts); and his then-wife Carlene Carter (2 albums in 1980 and 1981). From 1982 to 1985, he produced material for Paul Carrack , John Hiatt ,
650-623: The central belt in Scotland also produced local bands such as The Cheetahs and The Plastic Flies. Pub rockers believed that mainstream stars who played at arenas had lost touch with their audiences. Instead, pub rock groups preferred intimate venues, which were essential to creating meaningful music and connecting with the audience. Pub rock's small venue approach increased the importance of good songwriting and well-written lyrics, in contrast to mainstream pop which had marginalised both elements. The UK pub rock scene wound down by 1976. The record industry
700-662: The B-side of this single was Elvis & The Attractions' version of the Lowe-penned " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding? " "Endless Grey Ribbon" was later issued in America as the B-side of the "Cruel to Be Kind" single. Labour of Lust was released on CD in 1990 by Demon/Fiend in Europe and Columbia in North America, but quickly fell out of print. Yep Roc Records reissued
750-453: The British and American releases in addition to several bonus tracks. In March 2009, he released a 49-track CD/DVD compilation of songs spanning his entire career. Proper Records released it in the UK and Europe, entitled Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe . In September 2010 Yep Roc issued The Impossible Bird , Dig My Mood and The Convincer on vinyl for the first time, and after
800-531: The Carter/Cash family. He played and recorded with Johnny Cash, and Cash recorded several of Lowe's songs. Lowe and Carter's 1979 wedding was filmed and the footage became the basis for the promotional video clip for "Cruel to Be Kind". After the demise of Rockpile, Lowe toured for a period with his band Noise to Go and later with the Cowboy Outfit, which also included the noted keyboard player Paul Carrack . Lowe
850-846: The City", the first single on the Stiff Records label, where he was an in-house producer. The single and the label were initially funded by a loan of £400 from Dr. Feelgood 's Lee Brilleaux . The label's first EP was Lowe's 1977 four-track release Bowi , apparently named in response to David Bowie 's contemporaneous LP Low . The joke was repeated when Lowe produced the Rumour 's album Max as an 'answer' to Fleetwood Mac 's Rumours . Lowe continued producing albums on Stiff and other labels, including The Damned’s first album. In 1977 he produced Dr. Feelgood's album, Be Seeing You , which included "That's It, I Quit", written by Lowe. Private Practice , issued
900-548: The Damned , and many other Stiff Records and Radar Records artists. It featured a distinctive "Hamer & sickle" logo, fashioning the body and snapped neck of Lowe's Hamer bass guitar into a pop-art Hammer and sickle , the symbol of proletarian solidarity from the Russian Revolution . This logo was also used on the sleeve of the 45 release of "Cracking Up." Bubbles's original mockup of the logo, which recently sold at auction,
950-522: The Dr. Feelgood album Stupidity as "the way rock should be". Apart from the ready-made live circuit, punk also inherited the energy of pub rock guitar heroes like Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson , his violence and mean attitude. Dr. Feelgood have since been described as John the Baptist to punk's messiahs. In the gap between the music-press hype and vinyl releases of early punk, the rowdier Pub Rock bands even led
1000-708: The Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Men They Couldn't Hang . Beginning in the mid-1980s, Lowe became more selective in his choice of outside production tasks, helming the 1986 LP Blood & Chocolate for Elvis Costello, a 1988 single ("Windows of the World" b/w "1969") for the Pretenders, and the Katydids ' self-titled debut album of 1990. After that, Lowe essentially retired from producing recordings for other acts, although
1050-506: The Hot Rods , and The Count Bishops . Pub rock was rapidly overtaken by the UK punk explosion after spawning what are now seen as several proto-punk bands. Some artists were able to make the transition by jumping ship to new outfits, notably Joe Strummer, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello . A few stalwarts were later able to realise Top 40 chart success, but the moment was gone. Many of the actual pubs themselves survived as punk venues (especially
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#17328587730541100-830: The Hot Rods and the Sex Pistols were both considered rival kings of "street rock". The Pistols played support slots for the Blockheads and the 101ers at the Nashville. Their big break was supporting Eddie and the Hot Rods at the Marquee in Feb 1976. Dr. Feelgood played with the Ramones in New York. The word "punk" debuted on Top of the Pops on a T-shirt worn by a Hot Rod. Punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue reviewed
1150-469: The Kursaal Flyers , Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers ). While pub rockers did not have expensive stage shows, they took inspiration from early R&B and increased the dynamism and intensity of their live shows. Pub rock allowed a variety of singers and musicians to perform, even if they did not adhere to a clearly defined musical genre. Major labels scouted pub rock acts, thinking they might find
1200-536: The London pub rock circuit. Lowe wrote some of his best-known compositions while a member of the band, including " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding ", a hit for Elvis Costello in 1979; and " Cruel to Be Kind ", also in 1979, Lowe's single and biggest worldwide hit, co-written with bandmate Ian Gomm . After leaving Brinsley Schwarz in 1975 Lowe began playing bass in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds . In August 1976, Lowe released " So It Goes " b/w "Heart of
1250-639: The Nashville and The Hope & Anchor), but a range of notable pubs such as the George Robey and the Pied Bull have since been closed or demolished. The Newlands Tavern survived. Now called The Ivy House, in 2023 it is once again a thriving music venue showcasing many new bands. According to Nostalgia Central, "Pub rock may have been killed by punk, but without it there might not have been any punk in Britain at all". The boundaries were originally blurred: at one point,
1300-1080: The Pegasus Pub on Green Lanes , The Torrington in North Finchley, Dingwalls and the Dublin Castle in Camden Town , the Pied Bull at Angel , Bull and Gate in Kentish Town , the Kensington near Olympia , the Newlands Tavern in Nunhead, the Cricketers at Kennington Oval, Half Moon in Putney and Half Moon in Herne Hill (south London outposts) and The Sir George Robey in Finsbury Park . Out of London, venues included
1350-617: The Sex Pistols' Steve Jones , who complained "if we had played those complicated chords we would have sounded like Dr. Feelgood or one of those pub rock bands". By the time the Year Zero of punk (1976) was over, punks wanted nothing to do with pub rockers. Bands like the Stranglers were shunned but they did not care. It was independent record label Stiff Records , formed from a £400 loan from Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux, who went on to release
1400-792: The US and UK, with American instrumental rock band Los Straitjackets . In June 2019 Lowe played at the Glastonbury Festival . Lowe has been married twice. His first marriage to country singer Carlene Carter lasted from 1979 to 1990. He married designer Peta Waddington in 2010. The couple have a son, Roy, born in 2005 who is an aspiring musician who plays drums amongst other instruments. Lowe lives in Brentford , London, England. Lowe's best-known songs include his own hits: He also wrote songs most famous for their cover versions: Some songs were written or co-written for albums he produced: Lowe also wrote
1450-461: The album on CD on 15 March 2011, containing all tracks from the US and UK versions, as well as "Basing Street," the B-side of both the UK single "Cracking Up" and the North American single "Switchboard Susan." The album cover and corresponding ad campaign were designed by Barney Bubbles , who designed the artwork for virtually all of the early albums and 45's by Lowe, Elvis Costello , Ian Dury ,
1500-543: The army". Pub rock groups disdained any form of flashy presentation. Scene leaders like Dr. Feelgood , Kilburn and the High Roads and Ducks Deluxe played simple, "back to mono" rhythm and blues in the tradition of white British groups like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds , with fuzzy overdriven guitars and whiny vocals. Lesser known acts played funky soul ( Kokomo , Clancy , Cado Belle ) or country rock (
1550-401: The band Brinsley Schwarz in late 1969 and began performing country and blues-rock . The band were launched by their management company Famepushers Ltd with an appearance at New York's Fillmore East ; a planeload of British journalists were flown over by Famepushers to witness the event, but the stunt backfired and Brinsley Schwarz became a laughing stock until they established credibility on
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1600-482: The charge for those impatient for actual recorded music, but it was not to last. Punks such as Sex Pistols singer John Lydon eventually rejected the pub rock bands as "everything that was wrong with live music" because they had failed to fight the stadium scene and, as he saw it, preferred to narrow themselves into an exclusive pub clique. The back-to-basics approach of pub rock apparently involved chord structures that were still too complicated for punk guitarists like
1650-628: The country-rock band the Mavericks persuaded him to produce one track for the Apollo 13 soundtrack in 1995. In 2011, The New York Times claimed: "The 40-year career of the English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe constitutes a paradox: the songs he has written are better known than he is." Alex Turner , of the Arctic Monkeys , described Lowe as one of his favourite lyricists. In another interview, he said that he
1700-408: The first British punk single— The Damned 's " New Rose ". Stiff Records' early clientele consisted of a mix of pub rockers and punk rock acts for which they became known. Labour of Lust Labour of Lust is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe . Produced by Lowe, it was released in 1979 by Radar Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. It was recorded and released at
1750-399: The goal of creating highly polished end products, with overdubs, double-tracking and studio effects . Some mainstream bands spent months in the studio perfecting their recording, to achieve a meticulously crafted and perfect product. Pub rockers rejected this type of costly, complex recording process; instead, with pub rockers, the goal was simply to capture the band's "live" sound and feel in
1800-411: The name suggests, the pub. By championing smaller venues, the bands reinvigorated a local club scene that had dwindled since the 1960s as bands priced themselves into big theatres and stadia. New aspiring bands could now find venues to play without needing to have a record company behind them. Pub rock was generally restricted to Greater London over spilling slightly into the home counties , although
1850-402: The new At My Age , moved him out of the realms of ironic pop and animated rock and into the role of a worldly balladeer, specialising in grave vocals and graceful tunes. Lowe's four most recent solo albums mine the wealth of American roots music, drawing on vintage country, soul and R&B to create an elegant mix of his own." Lowe was quoted as saying that he had "escaped from the tyranny of
1900-455: The next Beatles at a local pub; however A&R representatives decided that pub rock did not have potential for mass market hits. With no interest from major labels, pub rockers put out their records through small independent record labels such as Stiff Records and Chiswick Records . By 1975, the standard for mainstream rock album recordings was expensive, lengthy studio recording processes overseen by highly-paid record producers , with
1950-616: The next year, included " Milk and Alcohol ", written by Lowe and Gypie Mayo . This song and " I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass " are the only Lowe compositions to reach the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart . Because the two main singers in Rockpile had recording contracts with different record labels and managers, albums were always credited to either Lowe or Edmunds, so there is only one official Rockpile album, 1980's Seconds of Pleasure , which
2000-457: The past musical traditions. Pub rock was deliberately nasty, dirty and post-glam. Dress style was based around denim and checked shirts, tatty jeans and droopy hair. The figureheads of the movement, Dr. Feelgood , were noted for their frontman's filthy white suit. Bands looked menacing and threatening, "like villains on The Sweeney ". According to David Hepworth , Dr. Feelgood looked as if they had "come together in some unsavoury section of
2050-554: The same time as Dave Edmunds ' Repeat When Necessary and features the same Rockpile personnel. It led off with " Cruel to Be Kind ," Lowe's only major US hit. The American version of this record had a slightly different track listing, with "Endless Grey Ribbon" being deleted and replaced with the UK single A-side, "American Squirm." The latter song includes members of Elvis Costello & The Attractions , namely Elvis Costello on backing vocals, Bruce Thomas on bass and Pete Thomas on drums. Credited to "Nick Lowe and His Sound,"
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2100-465: The snare drum" in No Depression , (September–October 2001) when explaining his move away from regular pop music that would get played on mainstream radio. In 2008, Yep Roc and Proper Records released a thirtieth anniversary edition of Lowe's first solo album, Jesus of Cool (entitled Pure Pop for Now People in the US, with a slightly different track listing). The re-issue includes tracks from
2150-519: The soundtrack album to The Bodyguard , an album that sold about 44 million copies worldwide. A New York Daily News article quoted Lowe as saying his greatest fear in recent years was "sticking with what you did when you were famous." "I didn't want to become one of those thinning-haired, jowly old geezers who still does the same shtick they did when they were young, slim and beautiful," he said. "That's revolting and rather tragic." Rock critic Jim Farber observed, "Lowe's recent albums, epitomised by
2200-544: The studio. The difference between mainstream rock and pub rock recording approaches not only produced different sounds (polished vs. raw), it also had a significant impact on the economics of each rock genre. With mainstream rock, the costly sound recording process meant that the break-even point for the record label was around 20,000 records; with pub rock, the less expensive recording process meant that pub rock labels could break even with as few as 2,000 records. This means that pub rock labels could afford to put out records with
2250-986: The venues were in large Victorian pubs "north of Regents Park", where there were plenty of suitable establishments. One of the most notable venues was the Hope and Anchor pub on Islington 's Upper Street , still a venue. Following the Tally Ho and the Hope and Anchor came the Cock, the Brecknock, the Lord Nelson, the Greyhound in Fulham , the Red Lion, the Rochester Castle, the Nashville in West Kensington ,
2300-556: Was "blown away" and sent "back to square one" by Lowe's songwriting. Wilco covered the Nick Lowe song "I Love My Label" as the B-side to "I Might" (2011) on their own dBpm label. Nick Lowe toured with Wilco for their album The Whole Love and would make guest appearances on his " Cruel to Be Kind " and (along with Mavis Staples ) appeared onstage for a cover of the Band 's song " The Weight ". Pub rock (United Kingdom) Pub rock
2350-527: Was already looking into early punk, thinking it might be the next "big thing". In 1976, some pub rock labels were putting out both the harder-edged pub rock acts and early punk bands such as The Damned . American country-rock band Eggs over Easy were the precursors of the movement when they broke the jazz-only policy of the "Tally Ho" pub in Kentish Town , in May 1971. They were impressive enough to inspire local musicians such as Nick Lowe . They were soon joined by
2400-402: Was also a member of the short-lived mainly studio project Little Village with John Hiatt , Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner , who originally got together to record Hiatt's 1987 album Bring the Family . In 1990 he wrote a song, "Who Was That Man?" about a man who died in the King's Cross fire . In 1992 "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was covered by Curtis Stigers on
2450-421: Was not released until the waning days of the collaboration. Seconds of Pleasure featured the Lowe songs "When I Write the Book" and "Heart". However, two of the pair's most significant solo albums from the period, Lowe's Labour of Lust and Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary , were effectively Rockpile albums, as was Carlene Carter 's Lowe-produced Musical Shapes album. Lowe's album Labour of Lust received
2500-666: Was responsible for producing some of the benchmark releases of punk and new wave, including the Damned 's first single, " New Rose ", considered the first English punk single, as well as the group's debut album, Damned Damned Damned . Lowe also produced Elvis Costello 's first five albums, from 1977 to 1981, including My Aim Is True , This Year's Model , and Armed Forces , which spun off numerous UK hit singles. Other Stiff acts produced by Lowe included punk parody group Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias , new wave singer Wreckless Eric and roots rocker Mickey Jupp . Other clients (both before and after Lowe left Stiff in 1978) included
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