Nick Lowe

The self-proclaimed "Jesus of Cool" during the first flowering of UK punk, Nick Lowe had a long-running career with at least three incarnations: Earnest country-rocker, new-wave whiz kid wiseguy, and more recently as an admired elder statesman of roots-rock. Born and raised outside of London, Lowe first played in the band Kippington Lodge with guitarist and hometown friend Brinsley Schwarz; in 1969 the group took Schwarz's name as its new moniker. Lowe however was the frontman, bassist and main songwriter; not until the third album (1972's Silver Pistol) did newly-joined guitarist Ian Gomm share in the singing and writing. With a sound based in the Byrds and The Band, they seemed designed for a US audience, and the first album's "Ballad of a Has-Been Beauty Queen" (the only ten-minute song Lowe was ever involved with) did get some FM airplay. However, they were largely sunk by a failed publicity stunt in which a plane full of U.K. rock critics were flown to New York to see the band-who as fate would have it played a weak set that night. By their 1975 breakup Brinsley Schwarz had become more of a rock band and exemplified England's back-to-roots "pub rock" trend. Their last sessions together included the two songs that would become Lowe's best-known: "What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding" and "Cruel to be Kind," which got more attention when they were later recut by Elvis Costello and by Lowe solo. But Lowe found a home in the irreverent and fun side of the UK's new-wave movement. He fell in with the Stiff label as a staff producer, which most notably led to his producing the first five Elvis Costello albums. (Lowe claimed his studio credo was "Bash it out now, tart it up later," the source of his nickname Basher.) Lowe's first solo album Jesus of Cool (retitled Pure Pop for Now People by his U.S. label) displayed the infectious tunes and satirical wit that were becoming his trademarks. One prime example was an EP that, in salute to David Bowie's Low, was titled Bowi. One connection from the Stiff days was guitarist/singer Dave Edmunds, with whom he forced the band Rockpile-playing a speedier and scruffier take on the classic Elvis Presley/Chuck Berry sound. After the band fell apart, Lowe continued making infectious pop with a rotating team of players, including keyboardist Paul Carrack and his then-wife Carlene Carter. When a cover version of "What's So Funny" appeared on the Bodyguard soundtrack, Lowe found himself a millionaire at a time when his own career was on a commercial and critical downswing. In the wake of that windfall, Lowe gave up production gigs and took his time on his next album. The result, 1994's The Impossible Bird, featured slower tempos, stronger country/soul leanings, and more lyrical depth, with "The Beast in Me" getting covered by Johnny Cash. Lowe would remain in that groove, turning out a string of rootsy and well-crafted albums including a Christmas disc, 2013's Quality Street. In 2017 the instrumental band Los Straitjackets recorded a tribute album, What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Los Straitjackets. Later that year Lowe toured with them and began recording with them for his next album.