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Lowe's Companies, Inc.

220px
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: LOW S&P 500 Component
Industry	Retailing
Founded	North Wilkesboro, North Carolina (1946)[1]
Headquarters	Mooresville, North Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations	1,749 (January 2011)[2]
Area served	United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia
Key people	Robert Niblock (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Home Improvement
Revenue	US$ 48.815 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Operating income	US$ 3.560 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Net income	US$ 2.010 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Total assets	US$ 33.699 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Total equity	US$ 18.112 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Employees	234,000 (2011)[2]
Website	www.lowes.com

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores that has retail stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in 2007, with the opening of a store in Hamilton, Ontario, in early 2008. Lowe's started the construction of two stores in the Mexican city of Monterrey officially entering the Mexican market.^[3] In 2011, Lowe's released plans to build over 150 stores in Australia over the coming five years, hoping to compete with the AUD$46 billion industry. Lowe's Companies, Inc. is 43 on the Fortune 500^[4] list. As of 2010, the chain is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Lowe's is the second-largest hardware chain^[5] in the U.S. behind The Home Depot and ahead of Menards. Globally, Lowe's is also the second-largest hardware chain, again behind The Home Depot and ahead of the European stores B&Q and OBI.

History[link]

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Lucius S. Lowe opened Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in 1921. The business was inherited by his daughter, Ruth, when Lucius died in 1940. She sold the company to her brother, Jim, that same year. Jim Lowe and Ruth's husband, Carl Buchan, both served in World War II, and during the war, the store was run by Ruth and her mother. Jim took on Carl (honorably discharged after receiving an injury) as a partner in 1943.

Under Buchan's management, the store focused on hardware and building materials. Before then, the product mix had also included notions, dry goods, horse tack, snuff, produce, and groceries. The company bought a second store in Sparta, North Carolina, in 1949.

Carl Buchan and Jim Lowe differed on expanding the company to new areas, and they split in 1952, with Buchan taking control of the hardware and building supply business, and Lowe taking other joint ventures the two controlled, including a car dealership. Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe's. Lowe started the Lowes Foods grocery store chain in 1954.

Buchan quickly expanded, opening stores by 1955 in Asheville, Charlotte, and Durham, North Carolina. More stores opened through the 1950s.

In 1960, Carl Buchan died of a heart attack at age 44. His five-man executive team, which included Robert Strickland and Leonard Herring, took the company public in 1961. By 1962 Lowe's operated 21 stores and reported annual revenues of $32 million.^[1][6]

Lowe's continued to expand throughout the southeast United States.

It suffered in the 1980s, due to market conditions and increasing competition from the new big-box chain, The Home Depot. For a while, Lowe's resisted adopting the mega-store format, partly because Lowe's management believed that the smaller towns where Lowe's mostly operated would not support huge stores. However, Lowe's eventually had to adopt the big-box format in order to survive. Today most Lowe's stores are of the big-box variety, though some classic format stores remain in smaller markets.

Lowe's has since grown nationally, aided by the purchase of Eagle Hardware & Garden in 1999. It is now the second-largest home improvement chain in North America and has begun expanding outside the United States, starting with the Southern Ontario area. The first store outside of United States was in Hamilton, Ontario, at Barton Street and Woodward Avenue.

Lowe's announced on August 25, 2009, that it had entered a joint venture with the Australian retailer Woolworths to enter the Australian market with 150 big box style superstores. Trading under the brand Masters Home Improvement, the first store opened in Braybrook, Victoria, to tradesmen on August 31, 2011, and the general public on September 1, 2011.

Corporate affairs[link]

Lowe's #487 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

A typical Lowe's storefront in Santa Clara, California.

Interior in Orlando, Florida

Headquarters[link]

Lowe's Companies is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

The headquarters of subsidiary Lowe’s Companies Canada, ULC are located in Toronto, Ontario and opened in 2006.^[7]

Organization[link]

Lowe's is organized geographically into Divisions (Northeast, Southeast, North Central, South Central, and West), Regions, Districts and then the individual store. It is decentralized. A Lowe's store can have anywhere from 80 to over 400 employees depending on the size and sales volume.

Brands[link]

Lowe's is also one of the top 50 trademark applicants according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.^[8] As with other large retailers across North America, Lowe's also owns and exclusively sells certain brands. Some of the brands sold at Lowe's Stores are included below: ^[9]

Lowe's Build and Grow clinics[link]

Lowe's Build and Grow clinics are free workshops for children put on by Lowe's on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

These workshops are free of charge and allow children and their parents an opportunity to experience the joy of building things hands on. Children have a new project at each clinic. They are given an apron and a patch for each project completed. Projects include building boxes, napkin holders, toys such as a dinosaur, and holiday-themed items.

Environmental record[link]

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Lowe's has won eight consecutive ENERGY STAR awards (2003–2010), including four ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards for educating consumers about the benefits of energy efficiency. On March 1, 2010 Lowe's also became the first winner of the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in Retail. The award recognizes Lowe's long-standing leadership as a retailer of energy-efficient products. Lowe’s was awarded for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through promoting energy-efficient products and educating consumers and employees on the value of the Energy Star program.^[10] In 2000, Lowe’s released a policy promising that all wood products sold would not be sourced from rainforests. "Our new environmental policy represents a major victory for the forests and our customers," said Bob Tillman, Chairman and CEO of Lowe's. "Our customers expect Lowe's to deliver the best quality lumber and wood products that have been responsibly harvested and produced by our suppliers."^[11] However according to a new report released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, wood used in flooring that Lowe’s has been selling is coming from the forests of Indonesia’s remote Papua Province, where 80 percent of logging is estimated to be illegal.^[12] As part of Lowe's ongoing effort to preserve the environment, the company uses direct deposit for its payroll. Employees without a bank account receive a Chase Payroll Card. As of 5/2010, over 250,000 Lowe's employees participate in direct deposit.

Advertising and sponsorships[link]

In 2006, Lowe's partnered with designer Marianne Cusato to develop and offer affordable house plans for the hurricane-affected Gulf region. Lowe's is the exclusive retailer for both the plans and building materials for the Lowe's Katrina Cottage. They offer easy construction and affordability, as well as the possibility of expansion. Moreover, they meet all international building codes and exceed hurricane codes.^[13]

Lowe's has a wide variety of television and radio commercials. A significant number of different racing-inspired commercials can be seen and are often played outside of television race coverage. Gene Hackman's voice can be heard on many commercial advertisements for Lowe's. However, Ben Yannette is currently doing the Lowe's advertising campaign voice-overs.^[14]

In 2006, Lowe's began sponsoring the radio broadcast booth of the New York Yankees. Frequently during every game Yankees announcer John Sterling states "We are coming to you live from the Lowe's Broadcast Booth. Lowe's: Let's build something together."^{[citation needed]}. The tag line has been changed in September 2011 to 'Never Stop Improving'.

Racing sponsorships[link]

Lowe's purchased naming rights of Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, in 1998, and the speedway changed names to Lowe's Motor Speedway. After the ten year naming rights expired, Lowe's extended naming rights by one year. After the one year extension expired, Lowe's discontinued naming rights, and as of the 2010 racing season the racetrack returned to its original name. Lowe's is an associate sponsor of several Speedway Motorsports, Inc. properties such as Atlanta Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

The corporation is the primary sponsor for five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Chevrolet Impala SS and it was a part time sponsor of the former #5 Nationwide Series team; both teams are owned by Hendrick Motorsports. Prior to the current sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's was the sponsor of the #31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing driven by Mike Skinner and Robby Gordon from 1997 to 2001. Prior to the RCR deal, Lowe's was the primary sponsor of the #11 Ford driven by Brett Bodine for Junior Johnson & Associates, and later, Brett's own team, Brett Bodine Racing (after Bodine bought the #11 team from Johnson).

Lowe's also sponsors Fernandez Racing in the American Le Mans Series and previously sponsored the team in the Rolex Sports Car Series; in that series, Lowe's sponsors the #99 Gainsco Stallings Racing Pontiac in events where Johnson is driving.

[edit] All-American Muslim advertising controversy

Lowe's withdrew its advertising from the TLC reality television show All-American Muslim in December 2011.^[15] One organization that criticized the show was the Florida Family Association, which claimed that the TV show was "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values."^[16] A spokesperson for Lowe's said that "we understand the program raised concerns, complaints, or issues from multiple sides of the viewer spectrum, which we found after doing research of news articles and blogs covering the show."^[15]

Lowe's faced a backlash from several quarters, including Muslim-American and Arab-American organizations. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee called upon members to contact Lowe's to urge it to reverse its position.^[17] The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations met to consider possible actions, including boycotts and protests.^[18] Several celebrities also called for a boycott.^[18] California State Senator Ted Lieu called Lowe's decision "naked religious bigotry" and said he would consider legislative action if Lowe's did not apologize to Muslim-Americans and reinstate the ads.^[16] Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League expressed similar views.^[19] Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, criticized Lowe's decision to "uphold the beliefs of a fringe hate group and not the creed of the 1st Amendment."^[18] Representative John Conyers of Michigan called on Lowe's to apologize. Michigan state representative Rashida Tlaib contacted the company's corporate headquarters, reporting that Lowe's declined to change its decision.^[17]

Canada[link]

Based in Toronto, Ontario, Lowe's opened its first three stores in Canada on December 10, 2007, in Hamilton, Brampton and Brantford. On February 1, 2008, they opened three more stores in Toronto, East Gwillimbury and a second store in Brampton as well as a new location in Maple (Vaughan).^[20] Currently, additional stores are under construction, with 19 now open in the province of Ontario. Lowe's also recently announced expansion into Western Canada, starting with three new stores in Calgary, Alberta. One of the three locations opened in late September 2010. The other two are projected to open in early 2011.

Each store represents an average investment of $20.5 million ($20.4 million USD).^[21]

Australia[link]

Trading as Masters Home Improvement, the first store opened in Braybrook, Victoria to tradesmen on 31 August 2011, and the general public on 1 September 2011. Masters is a joint venture of the Lowe's Companies Inc. and Woolworths Limited to compete against Wesfarmers' owned Bunnings Warehouse which operate in the large bigbox format similar to Lowe's and Home Depot.

The stores will be 1/3 owned by Lowe's Companies Inc.(USA) and 2/3 owned by Woolworths Limited (Australian Owned Public Company Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Lawsuits[link]

Lowe's was involved in a small cluster of class action lawsuits, that all revolve around Lowe's employee payment system. The cases focused on a pay practice known as "variable rate overtime". Variable rate overtime has the effect of paying a decreasing overtime rate the more hours a person works in a week. The suits alleged that salaried managers who worked between 40 and 50 hours per week, were improperly compensated for that time. The variable rate overtime ended in the first quarter of 2006.

The first case was filed in October 2002 by employees of the Lowe's store in Shawnee, Kansas. In September 2005, the cases were certified as class action. Lowe's has four similar cases in New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The lawsuits for New York, Indiana and Kansas resulted in an out-of-court settlement on September 22, 2006.^[22]

The lawsuit in Pennsylvania became a class-action lawsuit in June 2004, with 550 employees.^[23][24] The case in Ohio was filed by ten former Lowe’s employees, in August 2004.^[25]

Lowe's is still facing multiple lawsuits from its Loss Prevention Managers citing that they were misclassified as exempt employees and therefore denied overtime pay. The managers assert that they were forced to work a minimum of 48 hours per week which saved Lowe's and its investors, millions of dollars every year. Lawsuits have been settled for $2.95M in California and $6.2M in Texas.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lowe's

	North Carolina portal
	Companies portal

• Official website

Look up Lowe or lowe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Lowe is a common surname in English. See List of people with surname Lowe.

Lowe may also refer to:

Places[link]

• Lowe, Delaware
• Lowe Township, Moultrie County, Illinois

Other uses[link]

• Lowe Alpine, an American outdoor equipment manufacturer and supplier
• Löwe Automobil, a German car-part manufacturer
• Division of Lowe, an Australian Federal government electoral division
• Lowe (band), a Swedish synthpop band
• Lowe Worldwide, a global advertising agency network headquartered in London
• The Lowe, traditional name of the assistant to the Scharfrichter (executioner)

See also[link]

• Lowe's, a home improvement store chain in North America
• Lowes Foods, a grocery store chain in the USA
• Lowe's Oculocerebrorenal Syndrome
• Löw, Löwe
• Low (disambiguation)
• Lowes (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Nick Lowe
Lowe performing at the Kursaal in November 2008
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas Drain Lowe
Born	(1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 63) Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England
Genres	Rock, pub rock, New Wave,[1] Power Pop[1]
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano/keyboards, bass
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Columbia Records, Demon Records, F-Beat Records, Radar Records, Reprise Records, Upstart Records, Yep Roc Records, Stiff Records, Proper Records (current).
Associated acts	Brinsley Schwarz, Rockpile, Elvis Costello, The Attractions, The Imposters, Huey Lewis and the News, Noise To Go, The Cowboy Outfit, Johnny Cash, Little Village, Bill Kirchen
Website	nicklowe.net

Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe (born 24 March 1949), is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.

A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave,^[1][2] Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica. He is best known for his songs "Cruel to Be Kind" (a US Top 40 single), and "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" (a top 10 UK hit), as well as his production work with Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and others. Lowe also wrote "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", a hit for Costello.^[3] He currently lives in Brentford, London, England.

Career history[link]

Songwriter[link]

Nick's best-known songs (mostly known for cover versions) include:

• "(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding"
• "The Beast in Me"
• "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass"
• "All Men Are Liars"
• "Cruel to Be Kind"
• "So It Goes"
• "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)"

Producer[link]

Lowe produced Elvis Costello's first five albums, including My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, and Armed Forces. He also produced The Damned's first single, "New Rose", considered the first English punk single, as well as the group's debut album, Damned Damned Damned.

His early 'rough and ready' production style earned him the nickname Basher (as in 'bash it out now, tart it up later'). Upon moving from Stiff to Jake Riviera's Radar and F-Beat labels, Lowe became selective in his choice of production tasks.

Bands[link]

Influence[link]

A 2011 article in The New York Times starts "The 40-year career of the English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe constitutes a paradox: the songs he has written are better known than he is."^[3]

Some musicians claim to have been influenced by Lowe. Alex Turner, of the Arctic Monkeys, said that he is 'blown away' and 'back to square one' by Lowe's songwriting^[4]

Biography[link]

Lowe attended the independent Woodbridge School in Suffolk^[5] and he began his musical career in 1967, when he joined the band Kippington Lodge, with his school friend Brinsley Schwarz. They released a few singles on the Parlophone record label as Kippington Lodge before they renamed the band Brinsley Schwarz in late 1969, and began performing country and blues-rock. Lowe wrote some of his best-known compositions while a member of Brinsley Schwarz, including "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", a hit for Elvis Costello in 1979, and "Cruel to Be Kind", a solo hit for Lowe in 1979.^[6]

After leaving Brinsley Schwarz in 1975, Lowe began playing in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds. In August 1976, Lowe released "So It Goes" b/w "Heart of the City", the first single on the Stiff Records label where he was an in-house producer.^[6] The single and thus the label was funded by a loan of £400 from Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux. The label's first EP was Lowe's 1977 four-track release Bowi, apparently named in response to David Bowie's contemporaneous LP Low. (The joke was repeated when Lowe produced The Rumour's album Max as an 'answer' to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours). Lowe continued producing albums on Stiff and other labels. In 1977 he produced Dr. Feelgood's album, Be Seeing You, which included his own song, "That's It, I Quit". The following year's Dr. Feelgood album, Private Practice, contained a song Lowe jointly penned with Gypie Mayo – "Milk and Alcohol". Along with "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass", "Milk and Alcohol" is one of only two Lowe compositions to ever reach the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.^[7]

Because the two main singers in Rockpile had recording contracts with different record labels and managers, albums were always credited to either Lowe or Edmunds, so there is only one official Rockpile album, which was not released until the waning days of the collaboration: 1980's Seconds of Pleasure, featuring the Lowe songs "When I Write The Book" and "Heart". However, two of the pair's most significant solo albums from the period; Lowe's Labour of Lust and Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary, were effectively Rockpile albums (as was Carlene Carter's Lowe-produced Musical Shapes album).

Lowe was quoted as saying that he had "escaped from the tyranny of the snare drum" in No Depression, (September–October 2001) when explaining his move away from regular pop music that would get played on mainstream radio.^{[citation needed]}

Other well-known Lowe songs include "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass", "All Men Are Liars", and Cruel to Be Kind, co-written with Ian Gomm and originally recorded with Brinsley Schwarz, a re-recording of which was his only US Top 40 hit, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979.^[6]

In 1979, Lowe married country singer Carlene Carter, daughter of fellow country singers Carl Smith and June Carter Cash and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash.^[8] He adopted her daughter, Tiffany Anastasia Lowe. The marriage ended in 1990, but they remained friends, and Lowe remained close to the Carter/Cash family. He played and recorded with Johnny Cash, and Cash recorded several of Lowe's songs.

After the demise of Rockpile, Lowe toured for a period with his band Noise To Go and later with The Cowboy Outfit, which also included the noted keyboard player Paul Carrack. Lowe was also a member of the short-lived mainly studio project Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner, who originally got together to record Hiatt's 1987 album Bring the Family.^[6]

In 1992, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was covered by Curtis Stigers on the soundtrack album to The Bodyguard, an album that sold about 44 million copies world-wide.^[3]

A New York Daily News article^[9] quoted Lowe as saying his greatest fear in recent years was "sticking with what you did when you were famous". "I didn't want to become one of those thinning-haired, jowly old geezers who still does the same shtick they did when they were young, slim and beautiful," he said. "That's revolting and rather tragic." Rock critic Jim Farber observed: "Lowe's recent albums, epitomised by the new At My Age, moved him out of the realms of ironic pop and animated rock and into the role of a worldly balladeer, specialising in grave vocals and graceful tunes. Lowe's four most recent solo albums mine the wealth of American roots music, drawing on vintage country, soul and R&B to create an elegant mix of his own."

In 2008, Yep Roc and Proper Records released a thirtieth anniversary edition of Lowe's first solo album Jesus of Cool (entitled Pure Pop for Now People in the US with a slightly different track listing). The re-issue includes tracks from the British and American releases in addition to several bonus tracks. In March 2009, he released a 49 track CD/DVD compilation of songs which spanned his entire career. Proper Records released it in the UK and Europe, entitled Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe.

In September 2010 Yep Roc issued The Impossible Bird, Dig My Mood and The Convincer on vinyl for the first time, and after a one-night reunion concert with Elvis Costello in October in San Francisco,^[10] Lowe embarked on his first non-solo United States tour "this millennium." His backing band comprised Geraint Watkins (keyboards), Robert Treherne (drums), Johnny Scott (guitar) and Matt Radford (bass). In March 2011, Yep Roc reissued Lowe's 1979 solo album Labour of Lust.^[11]

Lowe played Glastonbury 2011, performing a short solo set of Brinsley Schwarz tracks on The Spirit Of 71 stage, where they played back in 1971, before heading to the Acoustic Stage for a full band show.

Lowe performed as an opening act for Wilco in their North American tour, September 2011. He performed solo with acoustic guitar.

Lowe is married to Peta Waddington, a designer and DJ. The couple have a son, Roy Lowe, who was born in 2005.

Discography[link]

Lowe performing with Rockpile in 1980

Studio albums[link]

• Jesus of Cool (1978, UK) (released in the US as Pure Pop for Now People)
• Labour of Lust (1979)
• Nick the Knife (1982)
• The Abominable Showman (1983)
• Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit (1984)
• The Rose of England (1985)
• Pinker and Prouder than Previous (1988)
• Party of One (1990)
• The Impossible Bird (1994)
• Dig My Mood (1998)
• The Convincer (2001)
• At My Age (2007)^[6]
• The Old Magic (2011) - UK: #66

Live albums[link]

• Untouched Takeaway (2004)

Singles[link]

^[6]

EPs[link]

• Bowi, 7" 45 rpm (Stiff 1977)
• Nick Lowe & Dave Edmunds Sing the Everly Brothers, 7" 33⅓ rpm (F-Beat/Columbia 1980)^[6]

Compilation albums[link]

• A Bunch of Stiff Records (One track, "I Love My Label")
• Live Stiffs Live (1978) (Nick Lowe's Last Chicken In The Shop got two tracks, "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)" and "Let's Eat", on this live compilation of the first Stiff Records' tour.)
• 16 All Time Lowes (1984)
• Nick's Knack (1986)
• Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe (1989)
• The Wilderness Years (1991)
• The Doings (1999)
• Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe (2009)^[6]

Other appearances[link]

• "Baby It’s You," duet with Elvis Costello, on single "The Only Flame In Town" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1984)
• "In The Middle Of It All" on Adios Amigo: A Tribute to Arthur Alexander (1994)
• "I’m Coming Home" on Rig Rock Deluxe: A Musical Tribute to the American Truck Driver (1996)
• "From Now On" on Original Soundtrack: Mumford (1999)
• "Shake That Rat," bass on album Sing Along With Los Straitjackets by Los Straitjackets (2001)
• "Arrête Pas La Musique" on Evangeline Made: A Tribute to Cajun Music (2002)
• "Don’t Let The Cold," backing vocals on album Sentimental by Tanita Tikaram (2004)
• "It’s All In The Game" on Sweetheart: Love Songs (2004)
• "Only A Rose," duet with Geraint Watkins on album In A Bad Mood by Geraint Watkins (2008)
• "A Man In Love," guest vocals on album The Guest List by Martin Belmont (2009)
• "Shelly’s Winter Love," guest vocals, duet with Paul Carrack, on album Word To The Wise by Bill Kirchen (2010)
• "Changing All Those Changes" on Rave On Buddy Holly (2011)

Tributes[link]

• Labour of Love: The Music of Nick Lowe (Telarc, 2001) (features Dar Williams, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello, among others).
• Lowe Profile: A Tribute To Nick Lowe (Brewery, 2005) (two-disc, 30 song collection featuring Dave Alvin, Foster & Lloyd, Ian Gomm, among others).
• 5 songs on "The Stiff Generation: If it Ain't Stiff it Ain't Worth a Tribute" (Groove Disques, 2002).
• 5 songs on "Happy Doing What We're Doing" (Freedom [City Hall], 2005) by Elizabeth McQueen and the Firebrands.

Uses in media[link]

• "Without Love" from the album "Labour of Lust" appeared on the soundtrack of the film "Americathon".
• "(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass" was used on the soundtrack album of the film "That Summer".
• His recording of "So It Goes" appeared on the soundtrack of the Roger Corman movie "Rock 'N' Roll High School", which featured the Ramones.
• "We Want Action" from the album "The Abominable Showman" appeared on the soundtrack of the film "Easy Money".
• An original song "Little Cat (You've Never had it So Good)" was written for the British rock opera film "Absolute Beginners", which starred David Bowie and Sade.
• The music video for "All Men Are Liars" was featured in The Brothers Grunt episode "The Ugly Gruntling".
• His recording of "The Beast in Me" was used in the pilot episode of The Sopranos.
• The song "All Men Are Liars" was featured in the Australian film All Men Are Liars written and directed by Gerard Lee and starring Toni Pearen, David Price and John Jarratt.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nick Lowe (musician)

• Official website
• The Old Magic UK page
• Batty for Music podcast
• Allmusic
• Nick Lowe at the Internet Movie Database
• Electronic press kit for "Quiet Please..."
• Return of the Man Who Used to Rock - NY Times 9-13-11

John Lowe
Personal information
Nickname	Old Stoneface
Born	(1945-07-21) 21 July 1945 (age 66) New Tupton, Derbyshire, England
Home town	Chesterfield, Derbyshire England
Darts information
Darts	21g Unicorn World Champion Golden John Lowe
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1975 - 1993
PDC	(Founding Member) 1993 - 2008
Current world ranking	N/A
BDO majors - best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner 1979, 1987, 1993
World Masters	Winner 1976, 1980
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	SF 1995, 1996
World Matchplay	SF 1995, 2002 ; QF 2000
World Grand Prix	SF 2001 ; QF 1998
UK Open	Last 16 2005
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
News of the World Championship British Open WDF World Cup Singles WDF World Cup Pairs (with Eric Bristow) WDF World Cup - member of winning England team Nations Cup - member of winning England team Butlins Grand Masters British Gold Cup Dry Blackthorn Cider Masters BDO World Matchplay British Matchplay	1981 1977, 1988 1981, 1991 1977, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989 1979, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1991 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984 1977 1978, 1979, 1982 1983 1984 1978, 1985
Other achievements
1984 - First televised nine-dart finish 1986 to 1993 - England Captain (unbeaten)
Updated on 11 February 2008.

John Lowe (born 21 July 1945 in New Tupton, Derbyshire) is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.

Biography[link]

Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades - 1979, 1987 and 1993. He was regarded as the gentleman of the game, but he was very much a bridesmaid figure behind Eric Bristow in the early days of darts' rise to prominence - in terms of results and charisma. He met Bristow six times in the World Championship in various semi-finals and finals and it wasn't until his fourth attempt (in the 1987 final) that he managed to overcome his great rival. His record against the "Crafty Cockney" in majors was three wins and six defeats.^[1]

Lowe achieved the ultimate feat in darts on 13 October 1984 during the World Matchplay tournament against Keith Deller when he managed a nine dart finish – the sport's equivalent of a hole-in-one in golf or a 147 break in snooker. This was the first time this had ever been accomplished by any darts player while being televised. For this, Lowe won £102,000. He went on to clinch the tournament.

In addition to his three world titles Lowe has also won two World Masters titles, two British Open titles, two British Matchplay championships, two World Cup Singles and three European Cup Singles Titles, as well as countless other titles around the world in a hugely successful career. He played for England over 100 times and was captain for seven years, during which time his team were unbeaten.

He also gained credit for his decorum and sportsmanship at the oche, often in notable contrast to the gifted but arrogant Bristow. He was also probably unique in darts in that he looked after his health, never developing the weight difficulties associated with darts players, though he did consume alcohol onstage with the others when it was still permitted during matches.

Nicknames were all the rage in darts, but Lowe never really had one which caught on. A studious, composed performer, he didn't have anything which stood out in his demeanour or personality – until someone decided to use these very traits to come up with a soubriquet of Old Stoneface. This is also the title of Lowe's autobiography which was published in 2005.

Lowe has enjoyed a longevity at the sport that is currently unmatched. He played in the televised stages of the World Championship for a record 28 consecutive years from the inaugural championship in 1978 to his last appearance in 2005 where he was defeated by the Canadian John Verwey in a last leg tie-break.

Lowe is married to Karen and lives in Chesterfield, from where they both support Sunderland.^[2] He was secretary of the World Professional Dart Players Association (later to become the Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA)) and in 2005 enjoyed a testimonial year in the sport to commemorate his 30th year as a professional. He still attempted to qualify for the World Championship each year until 2008, but fell short in the early qualifying rounds. After joining a short-lived venture, the Setanta Sports televised BetFred League of Legends in 2008, Lowe became ineligible to compete at the PDC World Championship so could not attempt to qualify for the 2009 event.

In May 2009 Lowe released a book entitled The Art of Darts, in which he offered his personal insights into the game to both amateur and aspiring professional dart players.^[3]

Lowe is currently planning an exhibition tour of the United States in November and December 2011, with possible stops including Boston, New York and Las Vegas.^[4]

External links[link]

• John Lowe's official website
• Interview with John Lowe
• John Lowe's profile and stats on Darts Database
• John Lowe's Blog at Unicorn-Darts.com

References[link]