Rockpile was a British rock group of the mid-to-late 1970s, noted for its
strong rockabilly and power pop influences. The group was
central to the rise of New Wave music and appeared on six albums as a featured act,
although three of them were released as Dave Edmunds solo albums, and two more were
released as Nick Lowe solo albums.
Guitarist/vocalist Edmunds had recorded a 1970 solo album entitled Rockpile,
and on his tour in support of the album, he billed his band, which included Terry
Williams on drums, as Dave Edmunds and Rockpile.[1] However, the band broke up after the tour, and Edmunds returned to studio work. One of the artists
that he produced was the pub-rock band Brinsley Schwarz, managed by Dave Robinson and
led by bassist/singer Nick Lowe. The 1974 album that they did together, The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz, pushed the band into a power pop mode
and included the original version of "(What's So Funny
'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding". Brinsley Schwarz broke up after the album, and Lowe began doing session work with
Edmunds, including Edmunds' 1975 solo album Subtle as a Flying
Mallet.
When Robinson and Jake Riviera co-founded Stiff
Records, Lowe was the first artist signed to the label, and he and Edmunds recorded new material for release under Lowe's
name. Stiff promoted its ties to Edmunds. However, the relationship between Edmunds and Riviera was always rocky, and in 1976
Edmunds signed a solo contract with Led Zeppelin's Swan
Song Records, rejecting Riviera and Stiff. With help from Lowe and Terry Williams, Edmunds recorded a new solo album,
Get It. Lowe and Edmunds then formed a new version of Rockpile, with Williams
returning on drums and Billy Bremner joining as rhythm guitar and third
vocalist.
Despite the pressures from having its two leaders signed to different labels, Rockpile toured in 1976-77 as the opening act
for Edmunds' new labelmates Bad Company, and Edmunds also provided some
archive tracks to Stiff for release on Stiff compilations. However, as Lowe and Stiff became increasingly popular, Rockpile went
into an on-again, off-again status. Lowe recorded most of a solo album with the band, but then became part of the "Five Live
Stiffs" tour without Rockpile. Only Terry Williams was included in his backing band, which was called Nick Lowe's Last Chicken
in the Shop. At the last minute Edmunds also joined the band, and, although Bremner didn't participate, Rockpile was soon
back in business full time ... despite the breakup of Stiff, which led Jake Riviera (and Lowe) to move to Radar Records in the UK (although Lowe and Riviera Global Productions stayed with Columbia Records in the US).
Rockpile was the main backing band on both the British version (Jesus of Cool)
of Lowe's solo album and the US version (Pure Pop for Now People), with one song on
the album ("They Called It Rock") credited as being written and performed by Rockpile. Edmunds' next solo album,
Tracks on Wax 4, was completely a Rockpile album with Edmunds on lead vocals, and
Rockpile toured behind both releases in 1978. The band also backed Mickey Jupp on side one
of his Stiff album Juppanese, produced by Lowe.[2]
In 1979, Rockpile simultaneously recorded Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary
and Lowe's Labour of Lust and enjoyed hits on both sides of the Atlantic with
Edmunds' "Queen of Hearts" (a UK hit on Arista, but a cover version by Juice Newton was the
US hit) and Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind". Rockpile also played in the 29 December 1979 Concerts for the People of Kampuchea with Elvis
Costello & The Attractions and Wings, where they were joined onstage by Led
Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant and were included in the concert album.
In 1980, Edmunds had almost completed his Swan Song contract, and so Rockpile was able to record a true band record for Jake
Riviera's new label F-Beat Records. The album Seconds of Pleasure spawned the minor hit "Teacher Teacher", but it was considered a
disappointment after the great Edmunds and Lowe "solo" records that Rockpile had made. Rockpile also backed Lowe's new wife
Carlene Carter (Johnny Cash's stepdaughter) on part of her album Musical Shapes. [3] In August
Rockpile played the noted Heatwave festival near Toronto, but tensions between Lowe
and Edmunds led to the band's dissolution in 1981. As Lowe put it, "We got together for fun and when the fun had all been had we
packed it in."[4]
After the band's split, Edmunds' next solo record, Twangin..., which was mostly a
collection of outtakes from his prior solo albums, featured Rockpile on nine of the eleven songs.
Lowe and Edmunds never worked together again until Lowe's 1988 album Pinker and Prouder Than
Previous.
Notes
External links
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