Rockpile
Encyclopedia
Rockpile were a British
rock and roll
group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong rockabilly
and power pop
influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave
. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds
(vocals, guitar), Nick Lowe
(vocals, bass guitar), Billy Bremner
(vocals, guitar) and Terry Williams
(drums).
Rockpile recorded four albums, though only one (Seconds of Pleasure
) was released under the Rockpile banner. Two other albums (Tracks on Wax 4
and Repeat When Necessary
) were released as Dave Edmunds
solo albums, and one more (Labour of Lust
) was released as a Nick Lowe
solo album. Scattered Rockpile tracks can also be found on a few other Lowe and Edmunds solo albums. Additionally, Rockpile served as backing group on tracks recorded by Mickey Jupp
in 1978 and Carlene Carter
in 1980.
, and on his tour in support of the album, he billed his band, which included Terry Williams
on drums, as Dave Edmunds and Rockpile. 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. In 1977, Lowe became part of the "Five Live Stiffs" tour without Rockpile. Only Terry Williams was included in Lowe's backing band, which was called Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop. At the last minute, however, Edmunds also joined the band, and, although Bremner didn't participate in this tour, Rockpile was soon back in business full time.
Rockpile appeared as a backing band on one track of Lowe's debut solo album, released in March 1978 with different track listings and titles in the UK and the US. The UK version (Jesus of Cool
) featured Rockpile on the live recording of "Heart of the City", while the US album (Pure Pop for Now People) featured the Rockpile studio track "They Called It Rock", credited as being written by Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds/Rockpile.
Meanwhile, Edmunds' 1978 solo album (Tracks on Wax 4
) was the first album to be completely a Rockpile album, but with Edmunds on all lead vocals. The album included the same live version of "Heart of the City, except with Edmunds' lead vocal overdubbed in place of Lowe's. Rockpile toured behind both the Lowe and Edmunds releases in 1978. The band also backed Mickey Jupp
on side one of his Stiff album Juppanese, produced by Lowe.
In 1979, Rockpile simultaneously recorded Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary
and Lowe's Labour of Lust
. Jake Riviera left Stiff Records and, taking his artists (Lowe, Elvis Costello
, and The Yachts), moved to Radar Records
in the UK (although Riviera Global Productions stayed with Columbia Records
in the US). Edmunds's contract with Swan Song was unaffected by this change.
Rockpile (under solo artists' names) enjoyed hits in 1979 on both sides of the Atlantic with Edmunds' "Girls Talk" (a top 20 hit in both the UK and Canada) and Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind" (top 20 in the UK, Canada and the US). 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
(co-owner of Swan Song). Two of the band's songs were included in the concert album.
to complete 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
featured lead vocal turns by Edmunds, Lowe and Bremner, and spawned the minor hit "Teacher Teacher", sung by Lowe.
Rockpile also backed Lowe's new wife Carlene Carter
(Johnny Cash
's stepdaughter) on most of her 1980 album Musical Shapes
. In August Rockpile played the noted Heatwave
festival near Toronto, which with 100,000 attenders was the first large punk or new wave music event, and where Rockpile were the most experienced of the several major bands. 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."
Released after the band's split, Edmunds' solo album Twangin...
was mostly a collection of outtakes from his prior solo albums, and featured Rockpile on nine of the eleven tracks.
Bremner and Williams appeared on several Lowe albums throughout the 1980s, but Lowe and Edmunds didn't work together again until Lowe's 1988 album Pinker and Prouder than Previous
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
and power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
(vocals, guitar), Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
(vocals, bass guitar), Billy Bremner
Billy Bremner (musician)
William "Billy" Bremner is a guitarist best known for his work in the band Rockpile and on many of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds' albums...
(vocals, guitar) and Terry Williams
Terry Williams (drummer)
Terrence "Terry" Williams is a Welsh rock drummer, whose resume includes work for Dire Straits, B. B. King, and Bob Dylan....
(drums).
Rockpile recorded four albums, though only one (Seconds of Pleasure
Seconds of Pleasure
Seconds of Pleasure was a 1980 album by Rockpile, a band consisting of guitarists/vocalists Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner, bassist/vocalist Nick Lowe, and drummer Terry Williams...
) was released under the Rockpile banner. Two other albums (Tracks on Wax 4
Tracks on Wax 4
Tracks on Wax 4 is a 1978 album by Dave Edmunds. The record was the first Edmunds solo effort to feature all four members of the band Rockpile: Edmunds, Billy Bremner , Nick Lowe, and Terry Williams.The album's eighth song, "Thread Your Needle", is sometimes incorrectly attributed as having...
and Repeat When Necessary
Repeat When Necessary
Repeat When Necessary is an album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. Produced by Edmunds, it was released in 1979 by Swan Song Records...
) were released as Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
solo albums, and one more (Labour of Lust
Labour of Lust
Labour of Lust is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Also produced by Lowe, it was released in 1979 by Radar Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. It was recorded and released at the same time as Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary and features the same Rockpile personnel...
) was released as a Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
solo album. Scattered Rockpile tracks can also be found on a few other Lowe and Edmunds solo albums. Additionally, Rockpile served as backing group on tracks recorded by Mickey Jupp
Mickey Jupp
Michael 'Mickey' Jupp is an English musician and songwriter, mainly associated with the Southend music scene....
in 1978 and Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter is an American country singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter and her first husband, Carl Smith....
in 1980.
Band history
Guitarist/vocalist Edmunds had recorded a 1970 solo album titled RockpileRockpile (album)
Rockpile was the first solo album by Dave Edmunds, released in 1972. It is principally focused on remakes of late 1950s and early 1960s hits, with a few new songs included. Edmunds plays almost all the instruments except for bass and backing vocals, which are contributed by John Williams, Edmunds'...
, and on his tour in support of the album, he billed his band, which included Terry Williams
Terry Williams (drummer)
Terrence "Terry" Williams is a Welsh rock drummer, whose resume includes work for Dire Straits, B. B. King, and Bob Dylan....
on drums, as Dave Edmunds and Rockpile. 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
Brinsley Schwarz
Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lodge.-Formation:...
, managed by Dave Robinson and led by bassist/singer Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
. The 1974 album that they did together, The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz
The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz
The New Favourites of Brinsley Schwarz is the final studio album by Brinsley Schwarz, released in 1974, produced by Dave Edmunds.-Track listing:#" Peace, Love, and Understanding" – 3:34...
, pushed the band into a power pop mode and included the original version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
" Peace, Love, and Understanding" is a 1970s song written by English musician Nick Lowe and recorded in the best-known version by Elvis Costello....
". 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
Subtle as a Flying Mallet
Subtle as a Flying Mallet was the second solo album by Dave Edmunds, principally focused on sound-alike remakes of late 1950s and early 1960s hits. All of the vocals are by Edmunds, and many of the songs are true solo efforts in that Edmunds also plays all the instruments...
.
When Robinson and Jake Riviera
Jake Riviera
Jake Riviera is a music business entrepreneur best known for his management of such performers as Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe and as co-founder of pioneering British indie label Stiff Records.Riviera was in school bands and local groups in north-west London in the 60s, and became road manager of...
co-founded Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
, 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
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's Swan Song Records
Swan Song Records
Swan Song Records was a record label launched by the English rock band Led Zeppelin on 10 May 1974. It was overseen by Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant and was a vehicle for the band to promote its own products as well as sign artists who found it difficult to win contracts with other major labels...
, 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
Billy Bremner (musician)
William "Billy" Bremner is a guitarist best known for his work in the band Rockpile and on many of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds' albums...
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
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
, 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. In 1977, Lowe became part of the "Five Live Stiffs" tour without Rockpile. Only Terry Williams was included in Lowe's backing band, which was called Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop. At the last minute, however, Edmunds also joined the band, and, although Bremner didn't participate in this tour, Rockpile was soon back in business full time.
Rockpile appeared as a backing band on one track of Lowe's debut solo album, released in March 1978 with different track listings and titles in the UK and the US. The UK version (Jesus of Cool
Jesus of Cool
Jesus of Cool is the 1978 solo debut album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe who left Brinsley Schwarz in 1974. Produced by Lowe, it was released in March 1978 by Radar Records in the UK...
) featured Rockpile on the live recording of "Heart of the City", while the US album (Pure Pop for Now People) featured the Rockpile studio track "They Called It Rock", credited as being written by Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds/Rockpile.
Meanwhile, Edmunds' 1978 solo album (Tracks on Wax 4
Tracks on Wax 4
Tracks on Wax 4 is a 1978 album by Dave Edmunds. The record was the first Edmunds solo effort to feature all four members of the band Rockpile: Edmunds, Billy Bremner , Nick Lowe, and Terry Williams.The album's eighth song, "Thread Your Needle", is sometimes incorrectly attributed as having...
) was the first album to be completely a Rockpile album, but with Edmunds on all lead vocals. The album included the same live version of "Heart of the City, except with Edmunds' lead vocal overdubbed in place of Lowe's. Rockpile toured behind both the Lowe and Edmunds releases in 1978. The band also backed Mickey Jupp
Mickey Jupp
Michael 'Mickey' Jupp is an English musician and songwriter, mainly associated with the Southend music scene....
on side one of his Stiff album Juppanese, produced by Lowe.
In 1979, Rockpile simultaneously recorded Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary
Repeat When Necessary
Repeat When Necessary is an album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. Produced by Edmunds, it was released in 1979 by Swan Song Records...
and Lowe's Labour of Lust
Labour of Lust
Labour of Lust is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Also produced by Lowe, it was released in 1979 by Radar Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. It was recorded and released at the same time as Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary and features the same Rockpile personnel...
. Jake Riviera left Stiff Records and, taking his artists (Lowe, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, and The Yachts), moved to Radar Records
Radar Records
Radar Records was a UK-based record label formed by Martin Davis who had previously worked at United Artists Records, and Andrew Lauder, who had previously been head of A&R at the UK divisions of Liberty Records and United Artists...
in the UK (although Riviera Global Productions stayed with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the US). Edmunds's contract with Swan Song was unaffected by this change.
Rockpile (under solo artists' names) enjoyed hits in 1979 on both sides of the Atlantic with Edmunds' "Girls Talk" (a top 20 hit in both the UK and Canada) and Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind" (top 20 in the UK, Canada and the US). Rockpile also played in the 29 December 1979 Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea is a double album from Wings, The Who, Queen, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The Clash, The Specials, and many more artists of the highlights from the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea held at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England to raise money for the...
with Elvis Costello & The Attractions and Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, where they were joined onstage by Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
(co-owner of Swan Song). Two of the band's songs were included in the concert album.
Seconds of Pleasure
In 1980, Edmunds submitted the solo album Twangin...Twangin...
Twangin'... is a 1981 album by Dave Edmunds, and his final recording for Swan Song Records before moving to the Columbia label. The album would also be the last Edmunds solo effort to feature the band he co-led at the time, Rockpile....
to complete his Swan Song contract, and so Rockpile was able to record a true band record for Jake Riviera's new label F-Beat Records
F-Beat Records
F-Beat Records was one of the record labels set up by Jake Riviera in late 1979/early 1980, at the same time as he started Demon Records. The label's first release, I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, reached number 4 in the UK charts, the highest singles chart...
. The album Seconds of Pleasure
Seconds of Pleasure
Seconds of Pleasure was a 1980 album by Rockpile, a band consisting of guitarists/vocalists Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner, bassist/vocalist Nick Lowe, and drummer Terry Williams...
featured lead vocal turns by Edmunds, Lowe and Bremner, and spawned the minor hit "Teacher Teacher", sung by Lowe.
Rockpile also backed Lowe's new wife Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter is an American country singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter and her first husband, Carl Smith....
(Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's stepdaughter) on most of her 1980 album Musical Shapes
Musical Shapes
Musical Shapes is the third album by Carlene Carter. The only song to make the Billboard country singles chart was "Baby Ride Easy," a duet with Dave Edmunds of the British rock band Rockpile.-Track listing:...
. In August Rockpile played the noted Heatwave
Heatwave (festival)
Heatwave was a rock festival August 23, 1980, outside of Toronto at Mosport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario. The slogans used to promote the show were variously the "Punk Woodstock", the "New Wave Woodstock", or "The 1980s Big Beat Rock and Roll Party"....
festival near Toronto, which with 100,000 attenders was the first large punk or new wave music event, and where Rockpile were the most experienced of the several major bands. 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."
Released after the band's split, Edmunds' solo album Twangin...
Twangin...
Twangin'... is a 1981 album by Dave Edmunds, and his final recording for Swan Song Records before moving to the Columbia label. The album would also be the last Edmunds solo effort to feature the band he co-led at the time, Rockpile....
was mostly a collection of outtakes from his prior solo albums, and featured Rockpile on nine of the eleven tracks.
Bremner and Williams appeared on several Lowe albums throughout the 1980s, but Lowe and Edmunds didn't work together again until Lowe's 1988 album Pinker and Prouder than Previous
Pinker and Prouder than Previous
Pinker and Prouder Than Previous is a 1988 album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe and was released on the Columbia Records label.-Track listing:All songs written by Nick Lowe, except as indicated:# " Wildest Dream" - 3:19...
.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
||
| 1980 | Seconds of Pleasure Seconds of Pleasure Seconds of Pleasure was a 1980 album by Rockpile, a band consisting of guitarists/vocalists Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner, bassist/vocalist Nick Lowe, and drummer Terry Williams...
|
34 | 29 | 27 | 8 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
||||||||
| 1980 | "Wrong Again (Let's Face It)" | — | — | Seconds of Pleasure | |||||
| "Teacher Teacher" | 31 | 51 | |||||||
| "Now and Always" | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||