© Dan Burn-Forti
NICK LOWE
Nick Lowe turned 70 this year and remains one of the best-connected men in pop. He and his boarding school pal Brinsley Schwarz started bands together, including one named after Schwarz himself. A pioneer of pub rock due to his work with Dr Feelgood, Lowe became the house producer for new label Stiff Records, pioneering UK punk in the shape of The Damned’s debut, Damned Damned Damned. He also produced classic albums by Elvis Costello including Trust (1981) and Blood & Chocolate (1986). Nick played on Wreckless Eric’s Whole Wide World, and has worked with The Pretenders, Paul Carrack, Graham Parker and Rockpile with Dave Edmunds.