Cruel to be kind : the life and music of Nick Lowe / Will Birch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Birch, Will, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lowe, Nick.

Rock musicians--Great Britain--Biography.

Rock musicians.

Great Britain.

Singers--Great Britain--Biography.

Singers.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 406 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Da Capo Press, 2019.

Summary:

"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."--Amazon.

Contents:

Part 1 Who Do You Think You Are? p. 9

1 The Hero p. 11

2 Two-way Family Favourites p. 21

3 The Chord Master p. 30

Part 2 Learning The Game p. 47

4 Kippington Lodge p. 49

5 The Hype p. 65

6 Despite It All p. 80

7 Nervous on the Road p. 103

8 The Wilderness Year p. 120

Part 3 The Lost Weekend p. 145

9 The Go-To Guy p. 147

10 Trying to Mate in a Horrible State p. 169

11 Seconds of Pleasure p. 184

12 Cracking Up p. 205

13 Superman's Girlfriend p. 230

Part 4 The Second Coming p. 255

14 Payday p. 257

15 A Battered Sophistication p. 281

16 The Old Magic p. 302

17 The Jesus of Cool p. 322.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical resources (pages 371-373) and index.

ISBN:

9780306921957

0306921952

OCLC:

1078889225