Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe

by Will Birch

Overview

The definitive biography of singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, best-known for "Cruel to Be Kind" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding"

Described as "Britain's greatest living songwriter," Nick Lowe has made his mark as a pioneer of pub rock, power-pop, and punk rock and as a producer of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, the Damned, and the Pretenders. He has been a pop star with his bands Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile, a stepson-in-law to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and is the writer behind hits including "Cruel to Be Kind" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding." In the past decades, however, he has distinguished himself as an artist who is equally acclaimed for the second act of his career as a tender yet sharp-tongued acoustic balladeer.


Biographer Will Birch, who in addition to being a music writer was a drummer and songwriter with The Records, has known Lowe for over forty years and melds Lowe's gift as a witty raconteur with his own authoritative analysis of Lowe's background and the cultural scenes he exemplifies. Lowe's parallel fame as one of the best interviews in the business will contribute to this first look into his life and work—and likely the closest thing fans will get to an autobiography by this notoriously charming cult figure.


This is not an authorized biography, but Lowe has given it his spiritual blessing and his management and label are fully on board. Cruel to Be Kind will be the colorful yet serious account of one of the world's most talented and admired musicians.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306921957
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	08/20/2019
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	641,569
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Will Birch is a former drummer and songwriter with the Kursaal Flyers ("Little Does She Know") and The Records ("Starry Eyes"). During the 1980s he moved into record production, working with such acts as Any Trouble, Dr Feelgood, Hollies, Billy Bremner (Rockpile) and the Long Ryders. Throughout the 1990s Will wrote many articles for MOJO and other music magazines. He is the author of No Sleep Till Canvey Island: The Great Pub Rock Revolution, and Ian Dury: The Definitive Biography. He lives near London.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Who Do You Think You Are? 9

1 The Hero 11

2 Two-way Family Favourites 21

3 The Chord Master 30

Part 2 Learning The Game 47

4 Kippington Lodge 49

5 The Hype 65

6 Despite It All 80

7 Nervous on the Road 103

8 The Wilderness Year 120

Part 3 The Lost Weekend 145

9 The Go-To Guy 147

10 Trying to Mate in a Horrible State 169

11 Seconds of Pleasure 184

12 Cracking Up 205

13 Superman's Girlfriend 230

Part 4 The Second Coming 255

14 Payday 257

15 A Battered Sophistication 281

16 The Old Magic 302

17 The Jesus of Cool 322

Epilogue 345

Appendix: All Men Are Liars - The Untold Story 349

Acknowledgements 366

Lyric Reprint Permissions 370

Select Bibliography 371

Select Discography 374

Endnotes 386

Index 393

Editorial Reviews

06/10/2019

Musician and music writer Birch debuts with an admiring set of fan’s notes, drawing on interviews with his friend, singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, as well as on interviews with Lowe’s acquaintances and bandmates. Weaving Lowe’s music with the threads of his life, Birch traces Lowe’s story from his childhood in 1950s Surrey, England, where he listened to country, jazz, Elvis, and Lonnie Donegan. From there he takes readers to Lowe’s gig with the band Brinsley Schwarz and their opening for Van Morrison at the Fillmore East in N.Y.C. in 1970; his marriage to country singer Carlene Carter in 1979, and his musical partnerships with Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, and Graham Parker. Lowe’s biggest hit—“Cruel to Be Kind”—came in 1979, and he continued to develop into a songwriter’s songwriter, whose songs have been recorded by Costello, Solomon Burke, Tom Petty, Diana Ross, and Rod Stewart. In leisurely, insightful prose, Birch ponders why Lowe is not better-known, and concludes that Lowe is simply not interested in any activity that involves self-promotion or “prostituting himself on chat shows and social media.” With a no-frills writing style, Birch offers a solid biography for Lowe’s devoted fans. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"[An] entertaining biography... [Birch] is casually expert in the way of those rare music writers who can both play music and write."—The Wall Street Journal

Pitchfork, "Best Music Books of 2019"

"[Cruel to Be Kind] makes clear that Lowe's contributions to pop music have been many and mighty—and certainly worthy of celebration with a biography...sure to please old-time admirers of an essential rocker."—Kirkus Reviews

"In leisurely, insightful prose...Will Birch offers a solid biography for Lowe's devoted fans."—Publishers Weekly

"[Will Birch] has written a sunny book about the genial and underappreciated Lowe, following his career through its many incarnations... [A]n enjoyable portrait."—Booklist

"Even the Jesus of Cool needs a St. Paul to spread his gospel and Will Birch is more than up to the task in Cruel to Be Kind. In this intimate, engrossing, and eye-opening biography of Nick Lowe, Birch reveals deep insights into the man and his work. It's a book as elegant as one of Lowe's songs: filled with just the right combination of pathos, humor, and wit, told with an economy of style, and nary a wasted word or sentence. Absolutely brilliant. "—Bob Mehr, author of the New York Times bestseller, TroubleBoys: The True Story of the Replacements

"[A] terrific biography."—Austin American-Statesman

"Affectionate and informed."—Minnesota Public Radio's Rock and Roll Book Club

"[Cruel to Be Kind] winningly makes the case for Nick Lowe's under-recognized songwriting skills and production prowess."—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"[A] remarkable book for both its scope and detail and also its engaging readability...all in all, everything any Nick Lowe fan could want."—Under the Radar

"A book that's as warm, funny, and affecting as Lowe's best songs."—Pitchfork

From the Publisher

2019-05-12
Solid, occasionally hagiographic life of the British musician who helped pub rock evolve into punk, New Wave, and beyond.

Nick Lowe (b. 1949), writes Mojo contributor and musician Birch, is "simply peerless," a musician's musician whose songs have been recorded by the likes of Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and Rod Stewart. He is also an international man of mystery and renowned toper who, while now calmed down at age 70, would put the fear in Keith Richards for powers of consumption. The author recounts Lowe's musical evolution from "beat group" to pub rock, the latter of which was a more energetic answer to America's singer/songwriter wave of the early 1970s, born with the rise of bands like Kippington Lodge, which, though they "simply lacked teen appeal," put Lowe at center stage as singer, songwriter, and bassist. An encounter with fellow musician Brinsley Schwarz sealed the deal. Their live debut was unimpressive, writes Birch, opening for Van Morrison; watching him onstage, Lowe recalls, "I had a mounting sense of dread that we'd made a terrible mistake." They got better, launching a musical movement that fed directly into the punk ethos of a few years later. After Costello recorded his "(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding," Lowe came under increasing demand as a songwriter, boasting that he could write for anyone—the Clash, the Jam, Tin Pan Alley; he also began to produce while playing live with Dave Edmunds, Carlene Carter, Ry Cooder, and others. The question, asked and answered, as to why Lowe isn't more famous is a little obvious; there are and have always been many journeymen musicians who provide rock-solid support without ever making the headlines. But though he tends to be a touch worshipful, Birch makes clear that Lowe's contributions to pop music have been many and mighty—and certainly worthy of celebration with a biography.

If unlikely to bring new fans into the fold, sure to please old-time admirers of an essential rocker.

Kirkus Reviews