How Cruel

How Cruel
How Cruel
EP by Joan Armatrading
Released	November 1979
Studio	Morgan (London); A&M (Hollywood);
Genre	Pop, reggae
Label	A&M
Producer	Joan Armatrading, Henry Lewy
Joan Armatrading chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

How Cruel is a 12-inch one-sided EP by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, which was released in November 1979 on A&M.^[2] The title track had previously appeared on Armatrading's live album Steppin' Out, which was not released in the US.^[2] The EP was released in the US and elsewhere, but not in the UK.^[3] It made it to number 10 on the Dutch Album Top 100 and peaked at #19 on the Norwegian Albums Chart.^[4]^[5] It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1981.^[6] The single from this EP was "Rosie"/"How Cruel" (1979/1980), which reached #49 in the UK and #52 in Australia.^[7]^[8]^[9] "Rosie" was included on Armatrading's first compilation album, 1983's Track Record,^[10] as well as her 2004 live album Live: All the Way from America.^[11] All four tracks from this EP were placed at the start of the second CD of Armatrading's 2003 compilation album Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983).^[12]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joan Armatrading.

"Rosie" – 3:10
"How Cruel" – 3:04
"He Wants Her" – 3:15
"I Really Must Be Going" – 4:27

Personnel

Joan Armatrading – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Richard Hirsch, Winston Delandro – guitar
Ben Adkins, Bill Bodine, Durban Betancourt-Laverde – bass
James Lascelles, Mike Storey, Red Young – keyboards
Gary Mallaber, Richard Bailey – drums
Lon Price – saxophone on "How Cruel"

Technical

Henry Lewy, Skip Cottrell, Chris Tsangarides – engineers

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[13]	10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[14]	19

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[4]	90

Sales and certifications

Certifications for *How Cruel*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)^[15]	Gold	50,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Joan Armatrading – How Cruel (1979, Vinyl), retrieved 16 February 2021
^ ^a ^b ^c Ruhlmann, William. How Cruel at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. Virgin. p. 19. ISBN 1852279478.
^ ^a ^b "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1980". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
^ "Joan Armatrading". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ "Grammy Awards: Best Rock Vocal Performance – Female". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ "Rosie / How Cruel" at Discogs (list of releases)
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 29. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ Connolly, Dave. Track Record at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ Jurek, Thom. Live: All the Way from America at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ Jurek, Thom. Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983) at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
^ "Dutch album certifications – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Enter How Cruel in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1983 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".

[1] Joan Armatrading – How Cruel (1979, Vinyl), retrieved 16 February 2021

[allmusic-cruel-2] Ruhlmann, William. How Cruel at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[3] Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. Virgin. p. 19. ISBN 1852279478.

[dutchcharts-4] "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1980". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 February 2021.

[5] "Joan Armatrading". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[6] "Grammy Awards: Best Rock Vocal Performance – Female". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[7] "Rosie / How Cruel" at Discogs (list of releases)

[8] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 29. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[9] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[10] Connolly, Dave. Track Record at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[11] Jurek, Thom. Live: All the Way from America at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[12] Jurek, Thom. Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983) at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[ac_Netherlands_Joan_Armatrading-13] "Dutchcharts.nl – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2021.

[ac_Norway_Joan_Armatrading-14] "Norwegiancharts.com – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2021.

[NetherlandsJoan_ArmatradingHow_CruelalbumCertRef-15] "Dutch album certifications – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Enter How Cruel in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1983 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".

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v t e Joan Armatrading
Studio albums	Whatever's for Us (1972) Back to the Night (1975) Joan Armatrading (1976) Show Some Emotion (1977) To the Limit (1978) Me Myself I (1980) Walk Under Ladders (1981) The Key (1983) Secret Secrets (1985) Sleight of Hand (1986) The Shouting Stage (1988) Hearts and Flowers (1990) Square the Circle (1992) What's Inside (1995) Lovers Speak (2003) Into the Blues (2007) This Charming Life (2010) Starlight (2012) Not Too Far Away (2018) Consequences (2021) How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean (2024)
Live albums	Steppin' Out (1979) Live: All the Way from America (2004) Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)
EPs	How Cruel (1979)
Compilation albums	Track Record (1983) The Very Best of Joan Armatrading (1991)
Singles	"Dry Land" "Love and Affection" "Down to Zero" "Rosie" "Me Myself I" "The Weakness in Me" "I'm Lucky" "When I Get It Right" "No Love" "Drop the Pilot" "Temptation" "Love by You" "Kind Words (And a Real Good Heart)" "The Shouting Stage" "Living for You" "More than One Kind of Love" "Wrapped Around Her" "True Love" "Shapes and Sizes" "Everyday Boy"
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