Happy doing what we’re doing, Happy that we’re doing it right. Happy doing what we’re doing, Happy that the feeling is right.*

For Brinsley Schwarz, the feeling vanished about February. They had spent six years together, both as the Brinsleys and their predecessors Kippington Lodge, and were in a rut. They had plans to move to America and try to make it there, but were having difficulty finding a record company willing to finance the venture. (They had long since parted company with the Stateside division of United Artists, their British home.) Finally, Nick Lowe, bassist, main singer, and on-the-surface leader, decided to call it a day. He was bored, internal squabbling was becoming prevalent, and he didn’t fancy another two years slogging around the States in a repetition of their British existence. After all, he was the group’s major songwriter, was well praised by those-whocould-tell for his way with words, and saw an opportunity to write for other people. If a Canadian group could rip off one of his songs and have a Top Ten hit with it, there must be others who could do the same, only this time with royalties.