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. It led off with "Cruel to Be Kind," Lowe's only major US hit.

Labour of Lust
Studio album by
Nick Lowe
Released9 June 1979 (1979-06-09)[1]
Recorded1978–1979
StudioEden, London; Love, Helsinki, Finland (except: "American Squirm": 1978)
GenrePower pop[2]
Length32:40
LabelRadar (UK), Columbia (US)
ProducerNick Lowe
Nick Lowe chronology
Jesus of Cool
(1978)		 Labour of Lust
(1979)		 Nick the Knife
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
American Songwriter[4]
The A.V. ClubA−[5]
Pitchfork8.4/10[6]
Record Collector[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Smash Hits7/10[9]
Spin7/10[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[11]
The Village VoiceA[12]

The American version of this record had a slightly different track listing, with "Endless Grey Ribbon" being deleted and replaced with the UK single A-side, "American Squirm." The latter song includes members of Elvis Costello & The Attractions, namely Elvis Costello on backing vocals, Bruce Thomas on bass and Pete Thomas on drums. Credited to "Nick Lowe and His Sound," the B-side of this single was Elvis & The Attractions' version of the Lowe-penned "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?" "Endless Grey Ribbon" was later issued in America as the B-side of the "Cruel to Be Kind" single.

Labour of Lust was released on CD in 1990 by Demon/Fiend in Europe and Columbia in North America, but quickly fell out of print. Yep Roc Records reissued the album on CD on 15 March 2011, containing all tracks from the US and UK versions, as well as "Basing Street," the B-side of both the UK single "Cracking Up" and the North American single "Switchboard Susan."

Cover design

The album cover and corresponding ad campaign was designed by Barney Bubbles, who designed the artwork for virtually all of the early albums and 45's by Lowe, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, the Damned, and many other Stiff Records and Radar Records artists. It featured a distinctive "Hamer & sickle" logo, fashioning the body and snapped neck of Lowe's Hamer bass guitar into a pop-art Hammer and sickle, the symbol of proletarian solidarity from the Russian Revolution. This logo was also used on the sleeve of the 45 release of "Cracking Up." Bubbles's original mockup of the logo, which recently sold at auction,[13] is featured in the gatefold sleeve of the 2011 Yep Roc reissue of the album.

Track listing

U.K. version

All songs written by Nick Lowe except where noted.

  1. "Cruel to Be Kind" (Lowe, Ian Gomm) – 3:31
  2. "Cracking Up" – 2:59
  3. "Big Kick, Plain Scrap!" – 2:28
  4. "Born Fighter" – 3:09
  5. "You Make Me" – 1:53
  6. "Skin Deep" – 3:12
  7. "Switch Board Susan" (Mickey Jupp) – 3:50
  8. "Endless Grey Ribbon" – 3:17
  9. "Without Love" – 2:29
  10. "Dose of You" – 3:21
  11. "Love So Fine" (Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, Terry Williams) – 3:52

U.S. version
  1. "Cruel to Be Kind" – 3:31
  2. "Cracking Up" – 2:59
  3. "Big Kick, Plain Scrap" – 2:28
  4. "American Squirm" – 2:29
  5. "You Make Me" – 1:53
  6. "Skin Deep" – 3:12
  7. "Switch Board Susan" – 3:50
  8. "Dose of You" – 3:21
  9. "Without Love" – 2:29
  10. "Born Fighter" – 3:09
  11. "Love So Fine" – 3:52

2011 Yep Roc records
  1. "Cruel to Be Kind" – 3:31
  2. "Cracking Up" – 2:59
  3. "Big Kick, Plain Scrap" – 2:28
  4. "American Squirm" – 2:29
  5. "Born Fighter" – 3:09
  6. "You Make Me" – 1:53
  7. "Skin Deep" – 3:12
  8. "Switchboard Susan" – 3:50
  9. "Endless Grey Ribbon" – 3:17
  10. "Without Love" – 2:29
  11. "Dose of You" – 3:21
  12. "Love So Fine" – 3:52
  13. "Basing Street" (Bonus Track) – 2:32

Personnel
Additional personnel

Charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 53
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 21
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 43
US Billboard 200[18] 32

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Random Notes". Rolling Stone. No. 293. 14 June 1979. p. 46.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Nick Lowe Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Labour of Lust – Nick Lowe". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  4. Berick, Michael (15 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  5. Phipps, Keith (15 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour Of Lust". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. Bevan, David (22 March 2011). "Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust [Reissue]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  7. Staunton, Terry (April 2011). "Nick Lowe – Labour Of Lust". Record Collector. No. 387. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  8. Hermes, Will (15 March 2011). "Labour of Lust". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  9. Starr, Red (12–25 July 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 16. p. 25.
  10. Hultkrans, Andrew (15 March 2011). "Nick Lowe, 'Labour of Lust' (Yep Roc)". Spin. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  11. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Nick Lowe". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 232. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  12. Christgau, Robert (30 July 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  13. "Nick Lowe album artwork sells at auction". Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 182. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6833a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  16. "Swedishcharts.com – Nick Lowe – Labour of Lust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  18. "Nick Lowe Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – Nick Lowe – Labour of Lust". Music Canada. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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