Tag Archives: Nick Lowe

Music Video of the Day: Half A Boy and Half A Man by Nick Lowe (1984, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Jeff and I saw this video at tonight’s Night Flight Friday watch party, along with our friends Brad and Patrick.  As soon as the video started, I knew that I had found our next music video of the day.  And not a minute too soon because I’m typing this up like 15 minutes before the time hits midnight on the West Coast!

What do I like about this video?  The beach!  The fun!  The party!  The dancing!  Plus, the song’s tune really get stuck in your head.  (To be honest, I’m the worst when it comes to actually hearing lyrics.  I just hear the music and I’m often shocked by how poorly I do whenever I try to recite the lyrics later.  I assume that “Half a boy and half a man” was a lyric in this song but he could have been singing one of the Bond theme songs for all I know.)  This past week was also that week so getting to see a fun video and hear a catchy song was a nice way to celebrate making it to the end.

Anyway, I’m totally off my previously perfect schedule now but I’ll get caught up with everything (including my retro television reviews) over the weekend.  For now …. ENJOY!

Music Video of the Day: Cruel to Be Kind by Nick Lowe (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 64th music video played on MTV was the video for Nick Lowe’s Cruel to Be Kind.  This video was shot on the same day that Lowe married country singer and Johnny Cash’s stepdaughter Carlene Carter at the Tropicana Hotel in West Hollywood.  In fact, shooting the video took so long that Lowe was actually late for the wedding, actual footage of which was included in the video.  Carter and Lowe’s marriage would last for ten years, from 1979 to 1990.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

  1. Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles
  2. You Better Run by Pat Benatar
  3. She Won’t Dance With Me by Rod Stewart
  4. You Better You Bet By The Who
  5. Little Suzi’s On The Up by PH.D
  6. We Don’t Talk Anymore by Cliff Richard
  7. Brass in Pocket by Pretenders
  8. Time Heals by Todd Rundgren
  9. Take It On The Run by REO Speedwagon
  10. Rockin’ in Paradise by Styx
  11. When Things Go Wrong by Robin Lane & The Chartbusters
  12. History Never Repeats by Split Enz
  13. Hold On Loosely by .38 Special
  14. Just Between You And Me by April Wine
  15. Sailing by Rod Stewart
  16. Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden
  17. Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon
  18. Better Than Blue by Michael Johnson
  19. Message of Love by The Pretenders
  20. Mr. Briefcase by Lee Ritenour
  21. Double Life by The Cars
  22. In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins
  23. Looking for Clues by Robert Palmer
  24. Too Late by Shoes
  25. Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  26. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy by Rod Stewart
  27. Surface Tension by Rupert Hine
  28. One Step Ahead by Split Enz
  29. Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty
  30. I’m Gonna Follow You by Pat Benatar
  31. Savannah Nights by Tom Johnston
  32. Lucille by Rockestra
  33. The Best of Times by Styx
  34. Vengeance by Carly Simon
  35. Wrathchild by Iron Maiden
  36. I Wanna Be a Lifeguard by Blotto
  37. Passion by Rod Stewart
  38. Oliver’s Army by Elvis Costello
  39. Don’t Let Me Go by REO Speedwagon
  40. Remote Control and Illegal by The Silencers
  41. Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton
  42. Little Sister by Rockpile with Robert Plant
  43. Hold On To The Night by Bootcamp
  44. Dreamin’ by Cliff Richard
  45. Is It You? by Lee Ritenour 
  46. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
  47. He Can’t Love You by Michael Stanley Band
  48. Tough Guys by REO Speedwagon
  49. Rapture by Blondie
  50. Don’t Let Go The Coat by The Who
  51. Ain’t Love A Bitch by Rod Stewart
  52. Talk of the Town by The Pretenders
  53. Can’t Happen Here by Rainbow
  54. Thank You For Being A Friend by Andrew Gold
  55. Bring It All Home by Gerry Rafferty
  56. Sign of the Gypsy Queen by April Wine
  57. The Man With The Child In His Eyes by Kate Bush
  58. All Night Long by Raindow
  59. Boys Keep Swinging by David Bowie
  60. Rat Race by The Specials
  61. Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads
  62. Victim by Bootcamp
  63. Tonight’s the Night (Gonna be Alright) by Rod Stewart

Music Video of the Day: I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock ‘n’ Roll by Nick Lowe (1985, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Though this video was first released in 1985, the song had been around for quite some time before that.  It was written by Nick Lowe in the late 70s and it was first a hit for Lowe’s frequent collaborator, Dave Edmunds, in 1977.  The version that’s featured in this music video is a slightly slower version that Lowe recorded for his 1985 album,  The Rose of England.  This version was produced by Huey Lewis, who brought in the News to play on the album.  Lewis played harmonica.

The video, itself, feels like a companion piece to several of Huey Lewis’s videos from the 80s.  The sense of humor is the same type of humor that often appeared in Lewis’s video, as is the wistful acknowledgment of times gone by.

Enjoy!