Nick Lowe – I Knew The Bride

Great pop song by Nick Lowe. This version was released in 1985 and peaked at #77 in the Billboard 100. Huey Lewis served as producer on this song. Dave Edmunds had covered it in 1977.

This is an interview with Nick in 1985 talking about his new album The Rose of England and getting help from Elvis Costello and Huey Lewis.

The British new wave singer-songwriter-producer got crucial help on the album from two old friends: Huey Lewis and Elvis Costello.

“Huey Lewis is the only person I ever knew as a normal person and then watched him become a megastar before my very eyes,” Lowe says.

“His first band, the Clover, played on Elvis’ first album, which I produced, and Huey played some bits on my first album. So this year I was telling Huey that Columbia didn’t like my new album, because they didn’t think it was commercial enough.

“Huey said, ‘No problem, let’s do “I Knew the Bride.” ‘But that’s a bit of a chestnut,’ I told him. ‘I wrote it nine years ago for Dave Edmunds.’ And he said, ‘Your fans may know that, but let’s face it, their numbers are not exactly legion. Let’s recut it with a more modern sound.’ So we cut it in three days with his band, the News, and all of a sudden Columbia decided the album was exactly what they were looking for.”

When Lowe started recording, longtime friend Costello came down to the studio as always. “Elvis got real excited that we were recording almost totally live,” Lowe recounts. “We just set up the microphones, and away we went. He phoned me up a few days later and said, ‘I’ve got this song you might like to try, Nick.’

“I sort of dreaded listening to it. Although Elvis is a great songwriter, his songs usually have tons of chords and vocal twists and very personal lyrics, none of which really fit my style. But he played me the song, ‘Indoor Fireworks,’ and it was pretty straightforward; I suppose it’s about the breakup of his marriage. I was very pleased to record it; my own marriage had also just ended, but there had been no fireworks; it was all quite amicable and boring.”

 

I Knew the Bride

I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
Well, the bride was a picture in the gown that her mama wore
When she was married herself nearly twenty-seven years before
They had to change the style a little but it looked just fine
Stayed up all night, but they got it finished just in time
Now on the arm of her daddy, she’s walkin’ down the aisle
I see her catch my eye and give me a secret smile
Maybe it’s too old fashioned, but we once were close friends
Oh but the way that she looks today, she never could have then
Well, I can see her now in her tight blue jeans
Stuffin’ all her money in the record machine
Spinnin’ like a top, you should of seen her go
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
Well, the proud daddy only want to give his little girl the best
So he put down a grand on a cozy little lover’s nest
You could have called the reception an unqualified success
At a flash hotel for a hundred and fifty guests
Well, take a look at the bridegroom smilin’ pleased as pie
Shakin’ hands all around with a glassy look in his eye
He got a real good job and his shirt and tie is nice
But I remember a time when she never would have looked at him twice
Well, I can see her now drinkin’ with the boys
Breakin’ their hearts like they were toys
She used to do the pony, she used to do the stroll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
Well, I can see her now with her walk man on
Struttin’ up and down to her favorite song
I still remember when she used to want to make a lot of noise
Hoppin’ and boppin’ with the street corner boys
She used to wanna party, she used to wanna go
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to do the pony
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll
I knew the bride when she used to want to party
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

13 thoughts on “Nick Lowe – I Knew The Bride”

      1. never really occurred to me but yes, you can hear his “sound” on it. A great track. ironic to me, I only heard it on CFNY in the day- the “alternative” or “new wave” station. Regular rock radio wouldn’t touch this very straight-forward rock song

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      2. I didn’t know about Huey Lewis at all until I read that… then I recognized it…

        That is about as straight a rock track as it is… I guess he was labeled that for some reason… he is power pop to me

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      2. Thats enough as it is… One of my neighbors drives big machinery… He was doing work for Marty Stuart and said he was the nicest most down to earth guy. On two different occasions he remembered my friend and had lunch with him.

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      3. That is good to hear- he always has seemed like that–a friend of mine ran into him years ago in an airport- and was talking about- what a nice guy he was.

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