How Cruel

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 peaked at #19 on the Norwegian Albums Chart.^[4] It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1981.^[5] The single from this EP was "Rosie"/"How Cruel" (1979/1980), which reached #49 in the UK and #52 in Australia.^[6][7][8] "Rosie" was included on Armatrading's first compilation album, 1983's Track Record,^[9] as well as her 2004 live album Live: All the Way from America.^[10] 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).^[11]

How Cruel
EP by Joan Armatrading
Released	November 1979
Studio	Morgan (London) A&M (Hollywood)^[1]
Genre	pop, reggae
Label	A&M
Producer	Joan Armatrading, Henry Lewy
Joan Armatrading chronology
Steppin' Out (1979) How Cruel (1979) Me Myself I (1980)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joan Armatrading.

1. "Rosie" – 3:10
2. "How Cruel" – 3:04
3. "He Wants Her" – 3:15
4. "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)^[12] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[13] 19

Year-end charts Chart (1980) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[14] 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

1. Joan Armatrading – How Cruel (1979, Vinyl), retrieved 16 February 2021
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.
4. "Joan Armatrading". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
5. "Grammy Awards: Best Rock Vocal Performance – Female". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
6. "Rosie / How Cruel" at Discogs (list of releases)
7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 29. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
8. 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.
9. Connolly, Dave. Track Record at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
10. Jurek, Thom. Live: All the Way from America at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
11. Jurek, Thom. Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983) at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Joan Armatrading – How Cruel". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
14. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1980". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
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".