The Nick Lowe Discography - A Selective Lowdown

Acclaimed performer and producer Nick Lowe was born in Walton-On-Thames in 1949. He first found his professional feet in the band Kippington Lodge, formed with friend Brinsley Schwarz in the late 1960s. The latter gave his name to a re-incarnation of the 'Lodge' band which subsequently lasted until 1975, by which time Lowe and Ian Gomm had been through its ranks. Gomm, along with Lowe, penned the song 'Cruel To Be Kind' which was to be Nick's second UK solo hit in 1980.
In 1976, Lowe released what was to be the first single on the legendary Stiff label where he resided as an in-house producer. In between his production stints and writing for such acts as Dr Feelgood (Lowe co-wrote Milk & Alcohol), Elvis Costello (for whom he produced his first five albums), The Damned and The Pretenders (he produced their version of the Kinks' song Stop Your Sobbing), Lowe pt out a steady stream of solo albums, beginning with the modestly titled Jesus Of Cool in 1978, home to his biggest UK hit single 'I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass', which reached number 7 in the singles chart. Here are a couple of other choice items from the Nick Lowe Discography:

• Labour Of Lust, released in June the following year, continued to display Lowe's taste for ironic, slightly barbed, sophistication, given weight by songs such as Cracking Up and Switchboard Susan. The band on this album was essentially the other members of Dave Edmunds' Rockpile, with cameos from Costello and one Huey Lewis who contributed harmonica on Born Fighter. It reached number 42 on the UK album chart.
• Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit, a 1984 album, saw a shift in emphasis to a rootsy Americana, which saw it win many favourable reviews but alas minimal commercial success; the single from it, Half A Boy And Half A Man, only reached 53 in the UK and the album itself peaked at 113. It was also notable for the presence of keyboardist and vocalist Paul Carrack, with whom Lowe had worked on a track for the 1981 Squeeze album East Side Story.
• The Convincer, released in October 2001, is a laid-back, plaintive album that sees Lowe in relaxed mood, almost happy in his skin. Tracks such as I'm A Mess, Let's Stay In And Make Love and his take on an old Johnny Rivers song, Poor Side Of Town show the old warrior tastefully brandishing his country-rock credentials with some skill and pride.

If you're a fan of these selections from the Nick Lowe discography, you may like to check out another UK artist with some similar, musical traits to Nick - James Henry. You can download (for nothing) a previous single of his, 'The Sun Is Cracking The Flags', taken from his forthcoming album 'Overspill', by clicking the link below.