Nick Lowe explains why his biggest hit was almost never recorded

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Speaking from his West London home in early March, Nick Lowe proffers that he’s “selecting what I’m going to wear on the tour,” cheekily adding, “I sort of forget how to tour.I turn into the bloke who just knows how to empty the washing machine and drive to the shops.

Not the beloved entertainer.I find,” he furthers, “if you start off by dressing up as the ‘beloved entertainer,’ it helps to bring it on.”Lowe’s dapper sartorial choices are but one of the many qualities that make him so revered.

In addition to his seemingly endless bonhomie are spirited, clever and often urgent songs including “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” (a 1979 hit for Elvis Costello); Lowe’s biggest hit single, “Cruel to Be Kind”; along with gems like “I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock ‘N’ Roll),” not to mention one beloved 1980 album with Dave Edmunds and their band Rockpile.Production work with Stiff Records includes the Damned’s debut LP, Costello and the Pretenders.Lowe, who turned 78 this week, has made 15 solo records, most recently 2024’s “Indoor Safari,” tracked with his longtime band Los Straitjackets.

They played select dates in the States in 2025, while his first time stateside was a tour with Costello and Mink Deville, which landed at the Santa Monica Civic on May 30, 1978.Lowe recalls being mugged — twice — upon his first visit to L.A., in 1975, but holds no ill will toward the city.

In fact, “many drinks were bought for me on the strength of that story ever since.No harm done at all!”What are your memories of the first time you came to Los Angeles? Nick Lowe: It was such a different time.

I’m rather thrilled that you want to speak to me from the L.A.Times, because once, being a British entertainer going to Los Angeles was quite a big deal.

The first time I came, I wasn’t actually performing.I ca...