Cruel To Be Kind: The Music And Life Of Nick Lowe

Will Birch

CONSTABLE

Lowe life stories.

As a former Kursaal Flyer, pub rock chronicler and friend, Will Birch is well placed to write about Nick Lowe, and he does so with honesty and affection, chronicling the life and career of a man whose importance in rock and pop, particularly in the late 1970s, is still underrated.

Using deep research and firsthand interviews, Birch gives us a fine portrait of a man who is both driven and lazy, serious and hilarious, and a pop craftsman who spent much of his career off his nut. Women love him, men admire him and an awful lot of people, from Elvis Costello to Wilco, from Curtis Stigers to Johnny Cash, have admired Lowe’s extraordinary talents. This book is truthful, engaging, and an essential portrait of a man who is now if not the Jesus, then certainly the Moses Of Cool. ■■■■■■■■■■