Alphabet Beats #077: L is for....Lowe as in Nick

L is for....

Live BBC4 Sessions 2007

Quiet Please...The New Best of Nick Lowe

I am certain that somewhere there is an unpublished list of Songwriters/Artists who are greatly under-appreciated just because they never had singles smashing the #1 spots (infact he only ever had four singles make the charts in the UK and only one got into the Top Ten!) and albums that moved by the truckload. I am sure that one of the names on that list is Nick Lowe!

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 the band Brinsley Schwarz in late 1969 and began performing country and blues-rock.

After leaving Brinsley Schwarz in 1975 Lowe began playing bass in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds.

A noted figure in UK pub rock, power pop, punk rock and new wave scenes, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica. He is best known for his 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, The Damned, Dr Feelgood and others. Lowe also wrote "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", a hit for Costello.

The Albums (*incomplete)
    Jesus of Cool (1978, UK) (released in the US as Pure Pop for Now People)
    Labour of Lust (1979)
    Nick the Knife (1982)*
    The Abominable Showman (1983)*
    Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit (1984)*
    The Rose of England (1985)*
    Pinker and Prouder than Previous (1988)*
    Party of One (1990)*
    The Impossible Bird (1994)
    Dig My Mood (1998)
    The Convincer (2001)
    Untouched Takeaway (Live) (2004)
    At My Age (2007)*

Quiet Please...The New Best of Nick Lowe (2009)
    The Old Magic (2011)
    Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family (2013)

Singles/EP's/Anything Else We Could Find that's Good!

So It Goes.

Keep It Outta Sight.

The Bowi EP.

Halfway To Paradise.
I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass.

Little Hitler.

American Squirm.

Cracking Up. 

Cruel To Be Kind.

Switchboard Susan. 

Teacher Teacher (Rockpile). 

Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine. 

Burning. 

My Heart Hurts.

Ragin' Eyes.

Wish You Were Here.

Half A Boy, Half A Man. 

I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock 'n' Roll.

True Love Travels On A Gravel Road.

I Live On A Battlefield. 

You Inspire Me.

She's Got Soul.

Rockpile (Danish TV 1979). 

Rockpile Live in Hamburg (1980). 

What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding (with Elvis Costello). 

The Beast In Me. 

Johnny Cash and Nick Lowe on The Making of The Beast In Me. 

NPR Tiny Desk Concert.