Nick Lowe
Biography
Nick Lowe has made his mark as a producer (Elvis Costello-Graham Parker-Pretenders-The Damned), songwriter of at least three songs you know by heart, short-lived career as a pop star, and a lengthy term as a musicians’ musician. But in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal.
Starting with 1995′s ‘The Impossible Bird’ through to 2011′s ‘The Old Magic,’ Nick has turned out a fantastic string of albums, each one devised in his West London home, and recorded with a core of musicians who possess the same veteran savvy. Lowe brings wit and understated excellence to every performance, leading Ben Ratliff of the New York Times to describe his live show as “elegant and nearly devastating.”
Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world. Clad in their trademark Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks, the “Jackets” have delivered their trademark guitar licks to 16 albums, thousands of concerts and dozens of films and TV shows.
Together Nick & The Straitjackets have toured extensively around the world—headlining their own shows and sharing stages with the likes of Elvis Costello & The Imposters and The Mavericks and recorded three EPs worth of new material. A full-length LP is planned for 2024.
Video & Press
Nick Lowe on Why He Made a New Rock Album: ‘People Want to Hear Short, Punchy Tunes’
The power-pop pioneer and former Rockpile member teams up with Los Straitjackets to release Indoor Safari, his first album of original songs in more than 12 years [Rolling Stone] In his rollicking new single “Went to a Party,” Nick Lowe puts on a “bad suit,” starts “jigging” to the music, is mistaken for Robyn Hitchcock, and […]
Nick Lowe, Los Straitjackets Offer a Magical Night at the Magic Bag
[The Oakland Press] By GARY GRAFF | Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets may be playing for thousands this month as the special guest opening act for longtime friend Elvis Costello. But it’s unlikely those shows will be anything close to what the troupe did in front of a few hundred fans Saturday night, Aug. 6, at the […]
Nick Lowe’s ‘The Convincer’ Gets The Deluxe Edition Treatment
Nick Lowe’s 2001 album, The Convincer, is a late-period masterpiece and a textbook example of a gracefully maturing artist. It’s now a deluxe reissue. [PopMatters] By Chris Ingalls In 1992, Nick Lowe wasn’t necessarily a household name among your average pop music fan, at least not in the United States. But the British singer/songwriter/producer was highly regarded by critics […]
‘In My Room’ With Nick Lowe
Singer-songwriter performs the classic “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” [Rolling Stone] By ANGIE MARTOCCIO Nick Lowe played a handful of songs from his home in London for Rolling Stone‘s “In My Room,” an IGTV series in which musicians perform while in quarantine in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Accompanied by his son, Roy, Lowe […]
Hear Nick Lowe’s Lovelorn New Song With Los Straitjackets
[Rolling Stone] “Love Starvation,” a twangy account of romantic fallout, appears on Lowe’s upcoming EP with the masked rockers By HANK SHTEAMER “That’s what’s really cool about a guy like Nick, that he’d agree to something like this,” Los Straitjackets guitarist Eddie Angel told Rolling Stone last year of the masked instrumental rockers’ ongoing collaboration with veteran singer-songwriter Nick […]
St. Nick: The Long, Strange and Wonderful Career of Nick Lowe
[Rolling Stone] He helped shape punk rock, produced Elvis Costello and spent quality time with Johnny Cash. But his best role has been as a master songwriter who never takes himself too seriously. By Mark Binelli In January 1990, a couple of months shy of his 41st birthday, Nick Lowe welcomed a BBC film crew […]