<Table> <Tr> <Td> "Cracking Up" (1979) </Td> <Td> "Cruel to be Kind" (1979) </Td> <Td> "Switch Board Susan" (1979) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "Cracking Up" (1979) </Td> <Td> "Cruel to be Kind" (1979) </Td> <Td> "Switch Board Susan" (1979) </Td> </Tr> <P> "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 . </P> <P> "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 didn't think it would do anything, but he kind of bullied me into it ." </P>

Who sang the song cruel to be kind