Nick Lowe – Cruel to be Kind 😎 ‘Cruel to Be Kind’ is a song co-written by Nick Lowe and his former bandmate Ian Gomm. Released as a single in 1979, the song peaked at number 12 on the charts of Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. Nick Lowe stated, "I wrote that when I was with a band, Brinsley Schwarz, that I was with from the early '70s, but it never came out. Several years later, Lowe recorded the song with his band Rockpile; he recalled, "I said, 'Boys, I'm sorry, I've got this song which