Rockpile

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Rockpile
Origin	England
Genre(s)	Rock
Years active	1976–1981
Label(s)	F-Beat Records (UK) Columbia (US)
Former members
Nick Lowe Dave Edmunds Terry Williams Billy Bremner

For the American Viticultural Area, see Rockpile AVA.

For the Vietnam War geographic location, see The Rockpile.

For the Dave Edmunds solo album, see Rockpile (album).

Rockpile was a British rock group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, 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.