Nick Lowe

A well-respected British singer-songwriter with a career spanning five decades, Nick Lowe (born 24 March 1949) has had his tracks covered by Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, and Dr. Feelgood and was a key part of the success of legendary cult label Stiff Records. Following in the footsteps of the Beatles, he learned his trade as a teenager playing residencies in Germany before joining London's exuberant pub rock scene in the 1970s and thrashing out raw, ramshackle, R&B jams with his groups Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile. He made the UK Top 10 with solo single "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" in 1978 and, as the house producer for Stiff in the 1980s, worked on classic records by the Damned, the Pretenders and Graham Parker; while Elvis Costello had a big hit with his song "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding" (also covered by Curtis Stigers on the soundtrack to blockbuster movie The Bodyguard). His signature tune "Cruel to Be Kind" became a new wave pop landmark and reached number 12 in the US, while albums Jesus of Cool (1978), Labour of Lust (1979) and Nick the Knife (1982) built a loyal cult following. Renowned for his quirky lyrics and personable take on the world, he wrote—in later years—"The Beast in Me" for Johnny Cash's American Recordings (1994) album and can count modern acts such as Wilco and the Arctic Monkeys as fans of his work. During the 2000s and 2010s, he continued to put out albums intermittently, releasing The Old Magic in 2011 and Christmas album Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family in 2013. In 2024, he teamed up with Nashville band Los Straitjackets to release his first album of original material in thirteen years, Indoor Safari.