Best remembered today for hosting Nick Lowe’s earliest recordings (b. 24 March 1949, Walton-On-Thames, Surrey, England), Kippington Lodge grew out of Sounds 4+1, the group Lowe assembled while still at school alongside his friend Brinsley Schwarz. Once studies ended, Lowe—already accustomed to frequent moves because his father served in the Royal Air Force—chose to travel abroad, prompting Schwarz to head back to his hometown of Tunbridge Wells in Kent. There Schwarz put together Three’s A Crowd, which secured a contract with EMI Records in 1967. After the band adopted the name Kippington Lodge, its first release, the October single “Shy Boy,” appeared backed by the equally striking “Lady On A Bicycle.” Lowe’s return to England allowed him to rejoin his former schoolmates in time for the follow-up “Rumours,” overseen by producer Mark Wirtz. With Lowe’s arrival the lineup stabilized around Schwarz on guitar and vocals, Lowe on bass and vocals, Barry Landerman on organ, and Pete Whale on drums. Landerman soon exited, later turning up in Vanity Fare, and Bob Andrews (b. 20 June 1949) took his place. To offset meager record earnings, the musicians worked as Billie Davies’ backing band while issuing three more singles between 1968 and 1969, each produced by EMI staffers Mike Collier, Roger Easterby, or Des Champ. Their final effort, a reading of the Beatles’ “In My Life,” surfaced in April 1969; when it fared no better than its predecessors, the members found themselves without direction. In September, American drummer Billy Rankin replaced Pete Whale, the Kippington Lodge moniker was abandoned, and the group continued simply as Brinsley Schwarz, fronted by its lead guitarist.
