Rockpile

Welshman Dave Edmunds played guitar in Love Sculpture during the 1960s and continued as a successful solo artist, scoring hits with a revival of Smiley Lewis‘s I Hear You Knocking, Down Down and Born To Be With You.

He featured in the David Essex film Stardust in 1974, and his 1975 solo LP, Subtle as a Flying Mallet, featured a multilayered Phil Spector-esque style which became something of an Edmunds trademark.

Nick Lowe started his professional career with a group called Kippington Lodge. They changed their name to Brinsley Schwarz in 1969. For five years, they were one of Britain’s most successful bands.

As a producer for Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and many others, Lowe had considerable success, including one single hit for himself with I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass, a track from his album Jesus of Cool.

With guitarist Billy Bremner and drummer Terry Williams, Dave and Nick came together as Rockpile – an ersatz supergroup.

The group mixed genres with dazzling deftness and a keen sense of humour, combined with instrumental virtuosity and pristine harmonies.

Seconds of Pleasure (1980) was their first album as Rockpile, although the four members had played together on Edmunds‘ Tracks On Wax 4 and Repeat When Necessary, and on Lowe‘s Jesus Of Cool and Labour of Lust, as well as on assorted singles.

It was also to be their lone release as a band.

Sadly, they were gone all too quickly – thanks to management squabbles (mainly a fight between Edmunds and manager Jake Riviera) and creative differences.

While the members often backed each other on records, Rockpile marched messily to a premature grave in 1981, and Lowe and Edmunds continued an ongoing feud for several years. Terry Williams joined Dire Straits as the replacement for drummer Pick Withers in 1982.

Nick Lowe 
Vocals, bass
Dave Edmunds
Vocals, guitar
Billy Bremner 
Vocals, guitar
Terry Williams
Drums

Video