Indian summer?
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If it comes to it, Nick Lowe says he is ready to
play in near-empty theatres on his UK tour. Chris Price spoke
to the pub rock pioneer.
When thinking about Nick Lowe, initially it can be hard to pin
down exactly why he is viewed in such esteem by the music industry.
He has only ever had one UK top 10 single, I Love the Sound of
Breaking Glass.
Then as you dig deeper, more and more things jog your memory. He
got his break in the 1960s as a member of Kippington Lodge, who
later became known as pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz.
After leaving the band in 1975, he began playing in rockability
four-piece Rockpile with singer and guitarist Dave Edmunds. He
became the in-house producer at Stiff Records and has produced
records for Dr Feelgood (he also wrote their big hit Milk and
Alcohol) and Graham Parker as well as producing the first four
albums by Elvis Costello.
Perhaps his most famous song is barely associated with him at
all. He wrote (What’s So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and
Understanding, which became a hit for Costello in 1979. It was also
the song which made him wealthy, when Curtis Stigers covered it for
the soundtrack to The Bodyguard in 1992, starring the late Whitney
Houston, a record which has sold more than 44 million copies.
Curtis and Nick are now close friends.
Arguably better received in the US than his native Britain, Nick
has finally got back on the road for a rare UK tour. Yet for a man
considered a pivotal figure in pub rock, punk rock and new wave
genres, he does not expect a fanfare for his live return.
“I have neglected the UK,” said Nick, 62. “I don’t know how well
I will do on this tour. In London, which is the exception to every
rule, you can play a fancy place and have a full house so long as
you don’t do it too often, but out of town it can be a little
bleaker.
“It is my own fault as in the past I have gone to places where
people are willing to pat me on the back and say I am marvellous. I
don’t know how it is going to go. Who knows? There could be a
tumbleweed blowing in the aisle.”
Despite the glass-half-empty outlook on the prospects for his
tour, Nick is not a man riddled with self-doubt. Some critics
argued the contrary after listening to the lyrics on his
well-received 2011 album The Old Magic. Their concern was
understandable with song titles like Checkout Time, Sensitive Man
and Restless Feeling but the singer-songwriter was quick to
distance himself from his subject matter.
“Most songs I write aren’t about me, even though they are
written in the first person,” he said. “I am not about putting my
diary to music. I think of a character and make it up.
“The line in Checkout Time 'I’m 61 and I never thought I would
see 30’ came to me as a good line. I tried to diffuse it later on
with some guff about crossing over Jordan. It is a lot of old
twaddle. It is supposed to be for fun. I don’t seriously spend any
time worrying about my legacy.”
I'd like to walk around the Pantiles for old time's
sake.
Going out on the road has reaped an added benefit for Nick. He
will make something of a homecoming in his two Kent shows.
“I suppose you could say that” he said. “When I first joined
Kippington Lodge they were based in Sevenoaks first of all, so I
moved to Tunbridge Wells and lived there for about three
years.”
“We lived in a flat on the Pantiles. It was fantastic. It was
filled with 10 hippies and now it would cost £10,000 a week to live
there.
“We would play Margate in the east and then Eastbourne in the
south west. My formative years were spent there. They are very
happy memories. It will be the first time I have played in
Tunbridge Wells since the 1960s. I am sure I will choke up a little
bit and I hope I have time to walk around the Pantiles for old
time’s sake.”
Nick Lowe performs at Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre on
Wednesday, February 22. Tickets £27.50. Box office 01227 787787. He
then performs at Tunbridge Wells’ Assembly Hall Theatre on
Thursday, March 1. Tickets £24.50. Box office 01892
530613.
Tuesday, February 21 2012
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