Cruel to Be Kind - wikipedia Cruel to Be Kind `` Cruel to Be Kind '' Cover of the 1979 UK single Single by Nick Lowe from the album Labour of Lust B - side `` Endless Grey Ribbon '' Released 31 August 1979 ( 1979 - 08 - 31 ) Format 7 - inch single Genre Power pop Length 3 : 31 Label Radar Songwriter ( s ) Nick Lowe Ian Gomm Producer ( s ) Nick Lowe Nick Lowe singles chronology `` Cracking Up '' ( 1979 ) `` Cruel to Be Kind '' ( 1979 ) `` Switch Board Susan '' ( 1979 ) `` Cracking Up '' ( 1979 ) `` Cruel to be Kind '' ( 1979 ) `` Switch Board Susan '' ( 1979 ) `` Cruel to Be Kind '' is a 1979 single by Nick Lowe, co-written by Lowe and his former Brinsley Schwarz bandmate Ian Gomm, that peaked at No. 12 in both the UK and U.S. charts that summer. It also peaked at No. 12 in both Canada and New Zealand. In the U.S., where it is one of Lowe 's most well - known works, it remains his only single to hit the top 40, whereas in the UK `` I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass '' remains his biggest hit after reaching No. 7 a year earlier. Contents 1 Background 2 Release history 3 Music video 4 Cultural reference 5 Chart performance 5.1 Weekly charts 5.2 Year - end charts 6 Covers 7 References 8 External links Background `` Cruel to Be Kind '' was originally written by Nick Lowe and Ian Gomm while in Brinsley Schwarz, having been recorded as a demo during this period. Lowe stated, `` I wrote that when I was with a band, Brinsley Schwarz, that I was with from the early ' 70s to about the mid - ' 70s... We recorded it on a demo, it never came out, and when I signed to Columbia Records the A & R man ( Gregg Geller ) there at the time suggested I record it again. And I did n't think it would do anything, but he kind of bullied me into it. '' Musically, the song was originally closer to a soul style. Lowe later said, `` Initially... the inspiration was a song I loved by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes called, ' The Love I Lost, ' and the bass line was the same... we loved that Philly disco stuff from the 70 's, The O'Jays, all that stuff, we loved that... I ca n't really remember much about recording it. It was just another tune that we did, you know, and I sent it over to New York to Gregg and said, ' Uhh, will this do ? ' '' Release history The song was originally written and recorded for the last Brinsley Schwarz album It 's All Over Now, which was never officially released. It next appeared as a non-album B - side on the single `` Little Hitler '' off Nick Lowe 's first solo album Jesus of Cool ( retitled Pure Pop for Now People in the U.S. ). This is now known as the `` original '' version, as compiled on Lowe 's 1999 Box Set The Doings : The Solo Years, as well as a bootleg based on the unreleased `` It 's All Over Now '', of the same title. ( Not to confused with the `` Jesus of Cool '' version ). It was finally released on Nick Lowe 's first solo album Jesus of Cool ( 1978 ) but was then re-recorded with Rockpile and appeared on Lowe 's second ( 1979 ) album Labour of Lust, where it became a UK top 10 hit. It was released on the Radar Records label in the UK and Columbia Records in the United States. The single was backed with the non-album Lowe solo song `` Endless Grey Ribbon '' which Lowe had originally composed for fellow Rockpile member Dave Edmunds, as seen in the ITV documentary `` Born Fighters ''. Lowe included the Labour of Lust version of the song on the 1984 12 '' single of `` Half a Boy and Half a Man '' off his album Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit, as well as the EP version of his single `` All Men are Liars '' from 1990 's Party of One. It also appears on the 2010 `` soundtrack '' album `` inspired '' by the 2006 motion picture The Ant Bully. Live versions of the song appear on Lowe 's 1998 EP `` You Inspire Me '', off his Dig My Mood album, and on the 2004 live album Untouched Takeaway. The re-recorded, Labour of Lust, version of the song has been included in many compilations of Nick Lowe 's work, including 1985 's 16 All Time Lowes, 1990 's Basher : The Best of Nick Lowe, 1999 's The Doings : The Solo Years, 2002 's Anthology and 2009 's Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe. It has also been included on many various artists compilations of hits of the 70s, such as Poptopia ! 70 's Power Pop Classics. Music video This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2017 ) The video to the song was one of the first music videos aired on MTV, and is a combination of actual footage of Lowe 's wedding to Carlene Carter, as well as a humorous re-enactment of the wedding, featuring Carter as herself, Dave Edmunds as their limo driver, Terry Williams as the photographer, Billy Bremner as the baker, and Jake Riviera ( Nick 's manager at the time ) as the best man. The wedding took place on August 18, 1979, at the Tropicana Motel in West Hollywood. All family stayed there for the wedding and reception ( also featured in the video ). Filming for the video took so long that Lowe was actually late to the wedding. Cultural reference The song was featured in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You, where it was sung by alternative rock band Letters to Cleo in the prom scene. Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1979 -- 80 ) Peak position Australia 12 Canada RPM 12 New Zealand 12 UK 12 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 12 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 12 Year - end charts Chart ( 1979 ) Rank Canada 90 U.S. Cash Box 93 Covers The track has been covered by many artists, notably including co-writer Ian Gomm, first on his own 1997 album Crazy for You, then again in 2005 for the various artists tribute album Lowe Profile : A Tribute to Nick Lowe. Japanese - and Greek - language versions have been released by various artists, as well as both instrumental versions and dance remixes. A Wilco iTunes - only release in January 2012 features Lowe on vocals with the band backing ( they were touring together at the time ). The original recording was played during the end credits for the documentary I.O.U.S.A.. Freedy Johnston often performs the song in concert, accompanied by solo ukulele. Year Singer / Group Album Comments 1982 Enjoh Santyuutei Koi No Howan Howan ( single ) Japanese version 1999 Pitwork Shine ( EP ) 1999 Letters to Cleo 10 Things I Hate About You included on the 2008 Letters to Cleo compilation album When Did We Do That ? Marshall Crenshaw and Christine Ohlman Labour of Love : The Music of Nick Lowe tribute album to Nick Lowe 2002 Poti Poti Poti Poti Children 's version 2002 Naím Thomas No Tenga Prisa also released as a single, with a dance remix version 2002 Robin Renée All Six Senses Kay Hanley Instant Live : The Paradise Boston MA 8 / 26 / 04 former lead singer of Letters to Cleo 2005 The Bleeding Hearts eMusic Live : The Bleeding Hearts at Cat 's Cradle 3 / 18 / 2005 2006 Jody Whitesides Cruel to be Kind ( single ) 2007 Lazlo Bane Guilty Pleasures 2007 Sammy G You Do n't Listen to Me Kurt Baker Got It Covered contains both vocal and instrumental versions Matt Durket Atomic Batteries to Power Stavros Michalakakos Vres to Nisi ( single ) Greek version ( `` Find the Island '' ) 2011 Lovers and Poets Cruel to be Kind ( single ) 2017 Lisa Mitchell When They Play That Song The Lowe / Gomm composition should not be confused with the song `` You 've Got to Be Cruel to Be Kind '' which was a UK hit for Unit 4 + 2 in December 1965, nor for the song `` Cruel To Be Kind '' by Spacehog, released in 1996. No doubt all of these songs owe their inspiration, directly or indirectly, to Shakespeare 's Hamlet ( Act III, scene 4 ), in which Hamlet tells his mother, `` I must be cruel only to be kind. '' References Jump up ^ Mason, Stewart. Nick Lowe - Cruel to Be Kind at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Nick Lowe, `` Cruel to be Kind '' Chart Positions ``. Retrieved December 2, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Nick Lowe, `` I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass '' Chart Position ``. Retrieved December 2, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Daily Cut : Nick Lowe `` Cruel to Be Kind '' ``. 98.5 WNCX. CBS. Retrieved 25 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Speakeasy : Nick Lowe ''. Front and Center Entertainment. Missing or empty url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada ''. Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 14. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 14. Jump up ^ ``. O.U.S.A. ( 2008 ) : Soundtracks ''. IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 14. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Music video of the song on YouTube Nick Lowe His Cowboy Outfit : Martin Belmont Paul Carrack Bobby Irwin Studio albums Jesus of Cool Labour of Lust Nick the Knife The Abominable Showman Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit The Rose of England Pinker and Prouder Than Previous Party of One The Impossible Bird Dig My Mood The Convincer At My Age The Old Magic EPs Bowi Live ! On the Battlefield Live albums Untouched Takeaway Singles `` So It Goes '' `` Halfway to Paradise '' `` I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass '' `` Little Hitler '' `` American Squirm '' `` Cracking Up '' `` Cruel to Be Kind '' `` Switch Board Susan '' `` Stick It Where the Sun Do n't Shine '' `` Burning '' `` My Heart Hurts '' `` Ragin ' Eyes '' `` Wish You Were Here '' `` Half a Boy & Half a Man '' `` L.A.F.S. '' `` I Knew the Bride ( When She Used to Rock ' n ' Roll ) '' `` Lovers Jamboree '' `` All Men Are Liars '' `` You Got the Look I Like '' `` True Love Travels on a Gravel Road '' `` I Live on a Battlefield '' `` You Inspire Me '' `` Lately I 've Let Things Slide '' `` She 's Got Soul '' Compilations Basher : The Best of Nick Lowe The Wilderness Years Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe Related articles Brinsley Schwarz Stiff Records Dave Edmunds Rockpile Little Village Carlene Carter Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cruel_to_Be_Kind&oldid=824492878 '' Categories : 1978 songs 1978 singles Songs written by Nick Lowe Nick Lowe songs Song recordings produced by Nick Lowe Stiff Records singles Radar Records singles Hidden categories : Pages using web citations with no URL All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2016 Articles with hAudio microformats Articles needing additional references from January 2017 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia 日本 語 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 February 2018, at 18 : 02. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who sang the song cruel to be kind
Answer: Nick Lowe