Nick Lowe: Jesus of Cool

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "Nick Lowe was nearly famous once. In the early '70s, the English singer and writer of the song '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding' played bass in the pub-rock band Brinsley Schwarz, a popular group in England that was widely considered to be on the brink of a breakthrough in the United States. Yet it never happened. 'I have had many occasions to fall to my knees and give thanks for that,' Lowe tells me during a recent interview … 'The thing I wasn't interested in was being actually famous. Infamous, perhaps, but I didn't really want to be a celebrity.' Instead, he established himself as a solo artist and producer who, in addition to releasing acclaimed albums including 'Jesus of Cool' and 'At My Age,' has worked with Elvis Costello, the Cramps and the John Hiatt-Ry Cooder side project Little Village. His attitude toward fame stands in marked contrast to the celebrity-driven nature of pop culture today, where wannabe singers think TV 'reality' competitions are the fastest way to stardom. 'I look at those kids and think, "Ugh, don't do it."'"