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Jesus Of Cool was released as Radar (UK) RAD 1 in March 1978 and peaked at #22 in Music Week a month later. Its American counterpart, Pure Pop For Now People, was released as Columbia (US) JC 35329, also in March 1978, and peaked at #127 on the Billboard Album Chart the following month.
He was a washed-up veteran of the beat group wars with an empty diary and a sore back, having kipped on a couch since the 1975 break up of his former group, Brinsley Schwarz. But within two years Nick Lowe had established himself as an artist, songwriter, record producer and celebrated instigator of the "New Wave," via the ingenuity of Stiff Records and his own unique vision. With his debut album ready to ship, Nick was walking on water. In the words of Sounds writer, Tim Lott, he had become "a bona fide Jesus Of Cool!" Manager Jake Riviera was quick to seize on Lott's phrase for the album title. "We thought it was ludicrous but fantastic," says Nick, "an outrageous thing to say. It seems like nothing now, but at the time it fitted perfectly. The Americans wouldn't go with it, of course. They wanted a different title, thus Pure Pop For Now People. Jake loved it 'Two album titles? Yes Please!' - it was right up his street. "The street in question was Alexander, home of Stiff, from where Riviera and Lowe plotted their campaign. This included feeding disinformation to the music press, resulting in one paper "exclusively revealing" the album title: Wireless World. "We would tell the journalists conflicting stories," recalls Nick. "We said, 'let's tell matey one thing and when we see old so-and-so, we'll tell him something completely different.'"
1976 was an unexpectedly hectic year, from which Nick emerged with a studio tan, having produced records by Graham Parker & The Rumour, The Damned and Wreckless Eric. There was also "Rollers Show", his second tacky tribute to the Bay City Rollers. His high water mark of the year, however, was the great double-sided Stiff single "So It Goes' c/w "Heart Of The City", the latter borrowing from The 101ers and Jonathan Richman. Nick admits a tendency to plagiarize: "I felt... 'I'm a fan, I'll write songs about pop music.' I thought I would comment on it, steal a bit here and there and if anyone pulls me up, I'll say, 'sure...' It was a sort of forerunner to sampling." 1977 was even busier. As well as continuing to record his own new songs, Nick found time to slot in production of Dr Feelgood's Be Seeing You and the early recordings of new Stiff signing, Elvis Costello. "I shouldered my way into record production," says Nick. "I had no idea what I was doing, but I thought if I had enough front, I could get people at it. But I ballsed up loads of pretty good stuff."
There was also a 20-date US tour with Dave Edmunds, opening for Bad Company. Edmunds had become Nick's musical foil in this transitional period, culminating in Get It, Dave's debut LP on Led Zeppelin's Swansong label (which included the Lowe composition "I Knew The Bride"). Nick and Dave, along with drummer Terry Williams and guitarist Billy Bremner made a fearsome quartet, soon to trade as Rockpile.
Despite the non-stop workload, it was not an easy ride, even with the irrepressible Jake Riviera as manager. Money was always tight and studio time had to be begged,
borrowed or hi-jacked as the opportunity arose. It was in these circumstances that Nick gradually amassed the works that would grace Jesus Of Cool. His studio of choice was Pathway, an 8-track facility in North London, where many of the basic tracks were recorded with engineer "Bazza" (Barry Farmer) and later "Chazza" (Chas Herrington). "It was a tiny little box," recalls Nick. "It sounded great, but you didn't want to spend too much time there." Songs that were recorded and mixed in their entirety at Pathway included: "So It Goes", "Heart Of The City", the raging instrumental "Shake That Rat" and "I Love My Label", on which Nick is sure he performed the baroque piano solo "with brow furrowed, tongue poking out of corner of mouth."
As the album started to evolve, Nick moved his operation to Eden Studios in West London, where various Pathway backing tracks were "goosed up", including the black humoured "Mary Provost" ("a winner who became the doggie's dinner") and the jadedly
cynical "Music For Money". Seeking fab new sounds, Nick ordered Eden's engineer, Roger Bechirian, to make the drums "sound like oil drums falling down a fire escape."
"Shake And Pop" enjoyed a second incarnation with an amended title and rhythmic shift, courtesy of Rockpile. "Edmunds came up with the title 'They Called It Rock,' " says Nick. "I thought it was just about the worst title I'd heard. Dave thought "Shake And Pop" was bad. It was the fundamental difference between us, I suppose."
A trashed San Diego dressing room on the Bad Company tour was the inspiration for "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass". Featuring the distinctive piano of former Brinsley, Bob Andrews, it became one of Nick's biggest hits, but was rarely played live because "it was not much of a song," whereas "Nutted By Reality" was in fact two songs, unfinished and spliced together. Nick had no qualms about recycling his off-cuts:"I thought, 'McCartney does it with his bits and pieces, why don't I have a go too!' "
"In those days I wasn't interested in creating serious art. I was much more interested in the mischief," says Nick. "I wanted to make music that was accessible, but just as you've hooked people in, you would screw it up and throw it across the room. I do regret it somewhat, but time was of the essence and it had to be disposable." Whilst "Music For Money" has a certain throwaway quality, "Tonight" and "No Reason" stand up as great pop compositions, and "Little Hitler" (the title a Costello cast-off, apparently) positively shimmers. The cover versions are immaculately chosen too: Jim Ford's eerie "36 Inches High" and Martha Sharp's razor sharp "Born A Woman", originally a hit for Sandy Posey, which Nick remembered hearing "on some Sounds of the Fabulous 60s album."
Nick had cut a demo of "Cruel To Be Kind" with Brinsley Schwarz. "I wrote it with one ear on 'The Love I Lost' by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. As I reinvented myself as a thrusting New Waver, I was a bit embarrassed by the song, but when Columbia Records hove into view in the shape of Gregg Geller, he insisted - to my horror - that I record 'Cruel To Be Kind' on my next album!"
When it came to hiring musicians, Nick didn't have to look beyond the immediate "family" of crack players, all of whom were quickly adapting to the new ethos of keeping it simple and making it look damned easy. Drummers: Bobby Irwin, then with the Strutters; Steve Goulding from the Rumour; Terry Williams from Rockpile;
Pete Thomas from the Attractions and Charley Charles from the Blockheads! If they'd all been available for a given session, Nick would have been spoilt for choice. Bass players didn't come any hotter than Andrew Bodnar, also from the Rumour, or Blockhead Norman Watt-Roy, and Nick was no slouch either. Add into this the guitar work of Larry Wallis and Billy Bremner, plus the presence of studio wizard Dave Edmunds, and Nick had his own mini-Motown hit factory.Not that he shouted about it. The original sleeve notes for Jesus Of Cool were intentionally sparse, seeking to avoid the "muso mentality"of detailing every backing musician and studio. A certain mystique was maintained, for those who were curious. 30 years later, exhaustive research has produced the almost definitive credits list. It wasn't easy; such are the long-shot memories of many of the participants, except that is for Dez Brown, Nick's teetotal tour manager. His amazing recall has plugged the gaps. "The backing vocals on 'Halfway To Paradise'" Dez recalls, "were the work of the 'All Dave Edmunds Male Voice Choir'!"
For the original Jesus Of Cool sleeve, a marathon photo session took place at photographer Chris Gabrin's studio in Camden Town. The concept was for Nick to appear in various musical guises, each with the appropriate guitar. He turned up with a beard, so that the hairier characters could be captured first, including the be-denimed folkie with acoustic guitar and the stoned-out hippie with floral pattern Fender bass. Then he shaved and washed his hair to portray the leather-clad biker with heavy metal axe, gradually becoming smoother as the day progressed. Many exotic guitars were shipped in and clothes were borrowed from various people who worked in the building. "It was a long day," says Nick, "beer was consumed."
Reflecting on the mood of the time, Nick remembers, "we wanted to have a really interesting ride. It was our turn. The way I saw it was, I'd done my apprenticeship up and down the motorway with the Brinsleys and suddenly it was as if someone was saying to me, 'OK, you're the new generation, you've learnt your craft, now what have you got?' "I was suddenly at the front of the queue and I wanted to make a name for myself."
Will Birch
Author, No Sleep Till Canvey Island -
The Great Pub Rock Revolution
Jesus Of Cool was released as Radar (UK) RAD 1 in March 1978 and peaked at #22 in Music Week a month later. Its American counterpart, Pure Pop For Now People, was released as Columbia (US) JC 35329, also in March 1978, and peaked at #127 on the Billboard Album Chart the following month.
He was a washed-up veteran of the beat group wars with an empty diary and a sore back, having kipped on a couch since the 1975 break up of his former group, Brinsley Schwarz. But within two years Nick Lowe had established himself as an artist, songwriter, record producer and celebrated instigator of the "New Wave," via the ingenuity of Stiff Records and his own unique vision. With his debut album ready to ship, Nick was walking on water. In the words of Sounds writer, Tim Lott, he had become "a bona fide Jesus Of Cool!" Manager Jake Riviera was quick to seize on Lott's phrase for the album title. "We thought it was ludicrous but fantastic," says Nick, "an outrageous thing to say. It seems like nothing now, but at the time it fitted perfectly. The Americans wouldn't go with it, of course. They wanted a different title, thus Pure Pop For Now People. Jake loved it 'Two album titles? Yes Please!' - it was right up his street. "The street in question was Alexander, home of Stiff, from where Riviera and Lowe plotted their campaign. This included feeding disinformation to the music press, resulting in one paper "exclusively revealing" the album title: Wireless World. "We would tell the journalists conflicting stories," recalls Nick. "We said, 'let's tell matey one thing and when we see old so-and-so, we'll tell him something completely different.'"
1976 was an unexpectedly hectic year, from which Nick emerged with a studio tan, having produced records by Graham Parker & The Rumour, The Damned and Wreckless Eric. There was also "Rollers Show", his second tacky tribute to the Bay City Rollers. His high water mark of the year, however, was the great double-sided Stiff single "So It Goes' c/w "Heart Of The City", the latter borrowing from The 101ers and Jonathan Richman. Nick admits a tendency to plagiarize: "I felt... 'I'm a fan, I'll write songs about pop music.' I thought I would comment on it, steal a bit here and there and if anyone pulls me up, I'll say, 'sure...' It was a sort of forerunner to sampling." 1977 was even busier. As well as continuing to record his own new songs, Nick found time to slot in production of Dr Feelgood's Be Seeing You and the early recordings of new Stiff signing, Elvis Costello. "I shouldered my way into record production," says Nick. "I had no idea what I was doing, but I thought if I had enough front, I could get people at it. But I ballsed up loads of pretty good stuff."
There was also a 20-date US tour with Dave Edmunds, opening for Bad Company. Edmunds had become Nick's musical foil in this transitional period, culminating in Get It, Dave's debut LP on Led Zeppelin's Swansong label (which included the Lowe composition "I Knew The Bride"). Nick and Dave, along with drummer Terry Williams and guitarist Billy Bremner made a fearsome quartet, soon to trade as Rockpile.
Despite the non-stop workload, it was not an easy ride, even with the irrepressible Jake Riviera as manager. Money was always tight and studio time had to be begged,
borrowed or hi-jacked as the opportunity arose. It was in these circumstances that Nick gradually amassed the works that would grace Jesus Of Cool. His studio of choice was Pathway, an 8-track facility in North London, where many of the basic tracks were recorded with engineer "Bazza" (Barry Farmer) and later "Chazza" (Chas Herrington). "It was a tiny little box," recalls Nick. "It sounded great, but you didn't want to spend too much time there." Songs that were recorded and mixed in their entirety at Pathway included: "So It Goes", "Heart Of The City", the raging instrumental "Shake That Rat" and "I Love My Label", on which Nick is sure he performed the baroque piano solo "with brow furrowed, tongue poking out of corner of mouth."
As the album started to evolve, Nick moved his operation to Eden Studios in West London, where various Pathway backing tracks were "goosed up", including the black humoured "Mary Provost" ("a winner who became the doggie's dinner") and the jadedly
cynical "Music For Money". Seeking fab new sounds, Nick ordered Eden's engineer, Roger Bechirian, to make the drums "sound like oil drums falling down a fire escape."
"Shake And Pop" enjoyed a second incarnation with an amended title and rhythmic shift, courtesy of Rockpile. "Edmunds came up with the title 'They Called It Rock,' " says Nick. "I thought it was just about the worst title I'd heard. Dave thought "Shake And Pop" was bad. It was the fundamental difference between us, I suppose."
A trashed San Diego dressing room on the Bad Company tour was the inspiration for "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass". Featuring the distinctive piano of former Brinsley, Bob Andrews, it became one of Nick's biggest hits, but was rarely played live because "it was not much of a song," whereas "Nutted By Reality" was in fact two songs, unfinished and spliced together. Nick had no qualms about recycling his off-cuts:"I thought, 'McCartney does it with his bits and pieces, why don't I have a go too!' "
"In those days I wasn't interested in creating serious art. I was much more interested in the mischief," says Nick. "I wanted to make music that was accessible, but just as you've hooked people in, you would screw it up and throw it across the room. I do regret it somewhat, but time was of the essence and it had to be disposable." Whilst "Music For Money" has a certain throwaway quality, "Tonight" and "No Reason" stand up as great pop compositions, and "Little Hitler" (the title a Costello cast-off, apparently) positively shimmers. The cover versions are immaculately chosen too: Jim Ford's eerie "36 Inches High" and Martha Sharp's razor sharp "Born A Woman", originally a hit for Sandy Posey, which Nick remembered hearing "on some Sounds of the Fabulous 60s album."
Nick had cut a demo of "Cruel To Be Kind" with Brinsley Schwarz. "I wrote it with one ear on 'The Love I Lost' by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. As I reinvented myself as a thrusting New Waver, I was a bit embarrassed by the song, but when Columbia Records hove into view in the shape of Gregg Geller, he insisted - to my horror - that I record 'Cruel To Be Kind' on my next album!"
When it came to hiring musicians, Nick didn't have to look beyond the immediate "family" of crack players, all of whom were quickly adapting to the new ethos of keeping it simple and making it look damned easy. Drummers: Bobby Irwin, then with the Strutters; Steve Goulding from the Rumour; Terry Williams from Rockpile;
Pete Thomas from the Attractions and Charley Charles from the Blockheads! If they'd all been available for a given session, Nick would have been spoilt for choice. Bass players didn't come any hotter than Andrew Bodnar, also from the Rumour, or Blockhead Norman Watt-Roy, and Nick was no slouch either. Add into this the guitar work of Larry Wallis and Billy Bremner, plus the presence of studio wizard Dave Edmunds, and Nick had his own mini-Motown hit factory.Not that he shouted about it. The original sleeve notes for Jesus Of Cool were intentionally sparse, seeking to avoid the "muso mentality"of detailing every backing musician and studio. A certain mystique was maintained, for those who were curious. 30 years later, exhaustive research has produced the almost definitive credits list. It wasn't easy; such are the long-shot memories of many of the participants, except that is for Dez Brown, Nick's teetotal tour manager. His amazing recall has plugged the gaps. "The backing vocals on 'Halfway To Paradise'" Dez recalls, "were the work of the 'All Dave Edmunds Male Voice Choir'!"
For the original Jesus Of Cool sleeve, a marathon photo session took place at photographer Chris Gabrin's studio in Camden Town. The concept was for Nick to appear in various musical guises, each with the appropriate guitar. He turned up with a beard, so that the hairier characters could be captured first, including the be-denimed folkie with acoustic guitar and the stoned-out hippie with floral pattern Fender bass. Then he shaved and washed his hair to portray the leather-clad biker with heavy metal axe, gradually becoming smoother as the day progressed. Many exotic guitars were shipped in and clothes were borrowed from various people who worked in the building. "It was a long day," says Nick, "beer was consumed."
Reflecting on the mood of the time, Nick remembers, "we wanted to have a really interesting ride. It was our turn. The way I saw it was, I'd done my apprenticeship up and down the motorway with the Brinsleys and suddenly it was as if someone was saying to me, 'OK, you're the new generation, you've learnt your craft, now what have you got?' "I was suddenly at the front of the queue and I wanted to make a name for myself."
Will Birch
Author, No Sleep Till Canvey Island -
The Great Pub Rock Revolution
