 Kirchen's Commander Cody band broke apart in 1976 and he formed a "swing orchestra" called the Moonlighters and began a decades-long collaboration with British musician Nick Lowe.Lowe produced the Moonlighters' second album "Rush Hour", and Kirchen toured with Lowe and joined him in the studio from time to time.During this period Kirchen also worked on albums with Elvis Costello, Gene Vincent, and Link Wray.