Lowe began his recording career in 1966 as a member of psychedelic rock group Kippington Lodge, founded with his friend Brinsley Schwarz. That band released a few singles on Parlophone. Three years later, Kippington Lodge had changed its name to Brinsley Schwarz and its musical focus to country and blues rock.
After leaving Brinsley Schwarz in the mid-1970s, Lowe began playing in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds. In August 1976 Lowe released "So It Goes" b/w "Heart of the City", the first single on the Stiff Records label where he was in-house producer (the label's first EP was Lowe's 1977 four-track release Bowi, apparently named in response to David Bowie's contemporary LP Low) . On this and other labels, Lowe would go on to produce The Damned's Damned Damned Damned and many albums by Elvis Costello. Upon moving from Stiff to Jake Riviera's Radar and F-Beat labels, Lowe became extremely selective in his choice of production tasks.
Because the two main writers in Rockpile had contracts with different record labels and managers, albums were always credited to either Lowe or Edmunds, so there is only one official Rockpile album, from the very end of the collaboration - 1980's Seconds of Pleasure, featuring the Lowe songs "When I Write the Book" and "Teacher Teacher" - but all of Lowe's and Edmunds' solo albums from the period were effectively Rockpile albums. Rockpile's demise was hastened by a number of conflicts, not between the group, but their management.
Lowe's best-known song from this era is probably "I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll" (a reworking of Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell", a.k.a. "Teenage Wedding"). On the 1977 Live Stiffs compilation with a pickup band called Last Chicken in the Shop, he virtually sneers out his contempt for all concerned; in 1985, fronting Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit on the album The Rose of England, he hasn't changed the words, but the tone is entirely different, even affectionate. The latter recording featured Huey Lewis & the News as his backing band.
In 1979, Lowe married country singer Carlene Carter, daughter of country singers Carl Smith and June Carter Cash and step-daughter of Johnny Cash. He adopted her daughter, Tiffany Anastasia Lowe. The marriage with Lowe lasted until the mid-1980s, but they remained friends, and Lowe remained close to the Carter/Cash family; he and Johnny Cash played and recorded together, and Cash recorded several of his songs.
After the demise of Rockpile, Lowe toured for a period with his band Noise to Go and later with The Cowboy Outfit, which also included the noted keyboard player Paul Carrack. Lowe was also a member of the short-lived mainly studio project Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, and Jim Keltner.
In 1992, "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was covered by Curtis Stigers on the soundtrack album to The Bodyguard, an album that sold over fifteen million copies. Because Lowe received royalties from these sales, he suddenly found himself a millionaire. Freed from commercial constraints, Lowe has recorded more solo albums in his own very individual style to critical acclaim.
Lowe played Glastonbury 2011, performing a short solo set of Brinsley Schwarz tracks on The Spirit Of 71 stage, where they played back in 1971, before heading to the Acoustic Stage for a full band show.
Lowe performed as an opening act for Wilco in their North American tour, September 2011. He performed solo with acoustic guitar.
His more recent albums include
At My Age (2007)
The Old Magic (2011)
Shake and Pop
Nick Lowe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And someone in the newspaper said it "was art"
Disco Casanova said "it's heavy on the riff"
The local teeny bopper band was playin' it to death
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
They're jetting out to Rio and some other sunny spots
Some senoritas say "The singers sound terrific"
Their personal appearances are stopping the shops
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Hey long distance its a rock and roll romance
CBS is going to pay a great big advance
Hey Atlantic come on take chance
Arista say they "love you but the kids can't dance to it"
They cut another record, it never was a hit
And someone in the newspaper said it "was shit"
The drummer is a bookie, the singer is a whore
The bass player's selling 'cause he never would have won
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Hey long distance its a rock and roll romance
CBS is going to pay a great big advance
Hey Atlantic come on take chance
Arista say they "love you but the kids can't dance to it"
They cut another record, it never was a hit
And someone in the newspaper said it "was shit"
The drummer is a bookie, the singer is a whore
The bass player's selling clothes he never woulda worn
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
Shake and pop, shake and pop
The lyrics to Nick Lowe's "Shake and Pop" reflect the fleeting nature of fame and the music industry's tendency to commodify artists for profit. The song tells the story of a band that becomes a one-hit wonder after producing a popular record that garners attention from the media and results in their sudden rise to fame. This fame leads to a whirlwind of activity, with offers for international tours and new record deals from various music labels.
However, the band's success is short-lived. They struggle to produce another hit, and their subsequent record is panned by critics. The band members are revealed to have less-than-stellar reputations and are portrayed as being in it for the money rather than the music. The lyrics convey a sense of disillusionment with the music industry, with the band members seemingly caught up in a cycle of producing music solely for commercial success rather than for creative expression.
Line by Line Meaning
They went and cut the record, the record hit the chart
The band made a recording that became popular
And someone in the newspaper said it "was art"
A critic thought the recording was high-quality
Disco Casanova said "it's heavy on the riff"
A music expert praised the song's instrumental sections
The local teeny bopper band was playin' it to death
Even the most mainstream bands were covering the song
The telephones are ringing, the boys are getting hot
The band is receiving a lot of attention and offers for gigs
They're jetting out to Rio and some other sunny spots
The band is traveling to exotic locations for shows
Some senoritas say "The singers sound terrific"
The band is impressing female fans with their music
Their personal appearances are stopping the shops
Their live shows are attracting large crowds and publicity
Hey long distance its a rock and roll romance
The band members are involved in long-distance relationships while on tour
CBS is going to pay a great big advance
The band has landed a lucrative recording contract with CBS
Hey Atlantic come on take chance
The band is hoping to secure a deal with Atlantic Records
Arista say they "love you but the kids can't dance to it"
Arista Records likes the band's music, but doesn't think it will be popular with a younger audience
They cut another record, it never was a hit
The band released another recording that was not successful
The drummer is a bookie, the singer is a whore
The band members have questionable occupations
The bass player's selling 'cause he never would have won
The bass player is selling clothing to make money, since he wouldn't have been successful as a musician
Contributed by Brayden J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@stevewynnearts
Love it
@signalsyyz
....just heard this on the radio today....cool tune...
@jonhillman871
this song wants to be mutated into a funk song with curtis mayfield style falsetto.
@richardfinlayson1524
Cool ,I love it when people write the same song twice, the Yardbirds did it with train kepta Rollin', and stroll on.
@richardfinlayson1524
You just get twice as much rockin
@simplycallum8194
Never heard a song about record companies before.
@RnREnglands
Mercury Poisoning ...his buddy Graham Parker ....has a hit
@ralphreinert
Nick Lowe even had another one: I Love My Label.
@CountDruckula
EMI by the Sex Pistols as well
@mbogucci1
Why did he change it to "They Called It Rock"?