At My Wit's End

Nick Lowe : Cruel To Be Kind

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In the Summer of 1979, Nick Lowe's "Cruel To Be Kind"  perked up the ears of radio listeners all over the world, peaking at #12 in the United States, the U.K. and in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The version we heard is the one Lowe later made this entertaining video for, a reenactment of his August 1979 wedding to Carlene Carter , with Dave Edmunds playing the limo driver. 

It's not the only version on record.

Lowe originally wrote the song with Ian Gomm for the final Brinsley Schwarz album, It’s All Over Now, which was never officially released.

“Initially... the inspiration was a song I loved by Harold Melvin + the Blue Notes called, 'The Love I Lost', and the bass line was the same... we loved that Philly disco stuff from the 70's, The O'Jays, all that stuff, we loved that," recalled Lowe.

This version was eventually released as a B side to Lowe's "Little Hitler" single.

Lowe's solo version of the song calls back his original Philly soul inspiration.

"And I love doing it," he told GQ. " I really love it. It cheers people up. How I do it now sounds quite different. In fact, it was on the radio the other day and I was quite amazed how differently I do it now. If they’re good songs, they really will stand the test of time.".