More, September 1977

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Elvis Costello

Stand up, we're in 77!

Michel Duyck and Bert Bertrand

Bilzen (Belgium), Thursday, August 11, 1977: after a rather limp afternoon that'd been reserved for the amateur bands competition — hard rock, jazz, rock, euro-rock — thanks to Elvis Costello & The Attractions energy began to fuse, adrenalin started to flow and the public came out of its torpidity; on its front: a rather punk squad clenched against the barbed wire fence used to separate the public from the journalists and photographers.

Rather edgy as the balance during the first songs was frankly loud and these f---ing spots weren't willing to function, Elvis and band were giving on all what they could give. Maximum impact with a minimum mastery packed in a swing/funk that mustn't get jealous on soul or reggae bands. Between the songs, Elvis energetically speaks to the public: "Stand up, you behind, we're in 1977 now... What are these barbed-wire fences doing here? We're in Bilzen here, it looks like Belsen."

Anyway, the people at the front row didn't have to wait for that remark to begin the demolition of this wire fence that should should go on all night long, later encouraged by the Damned and The Clash. Right after this gig and just before the Damned's we could speak to the man who rather recently impressed us with a superb album that's intriguing, interesting and promising a lot.


What did you dislike most tonight?

Well, above all, I regret that the public is separated from the stage by that stupid barbed-wire fence. I don't understand why they make a distinction between the press and the photographers who get a large location and the public clenched against the barbed-wire fence like they were dangerous or like they were animals. Nobody needs barbed-wire for a gig, they are human beings.

Alright, but for the organizers, there's the fact of accepting what you're doing and therefore protecting us (from the public that threw bottles and cans at the security men and then at the press people).... what were you expecting that the public will do?

In fact, I didn't have any desire that they'll do something special, but I was surprised enough that they didn't act another way.

How for instance?

I still don't understand that people can stay laying like that in the mud, licking their bottle or getting down, that surprises me strongly. That's all I want to say, alot of things are still to be discussed but I prefer to stop now.

But they came to listen to you.

Yes, but it doesn't prevent me being rather upset to find people acting like hippies in Woodstock, getting their kicks by wallowing in the mud.

Still, it's your presence that brought them here.

Maybe, but it frustrates me that festivals like this one still exist, I find it really stupid.

You rather go for smaller places like clubs?

Oh yes I prefer to play clubs, in fact it would have been better for me NOT to play here. I don't think I'll play for a festival anymore. Note that the sound was good, better than what I've formally imagined.

For the first songs the sound wasn't that perfect.

Right, but then it was doing well; we weren't be offered a soundcheck before the gig.

Are the musicians playing with you on stage the ones who've played on your album?

No, I can't reveal the names of the people who recorded with me, not to create a mystery, but simply for contractual reasons.

Did you find yourself the name of the band The Attractions?

Yes, I found it sounded rather good, a bit like a soul band's name, kind of The Stylistics for instance.

What do you think you please the punks for ? Because you record for Stiff Records?

In,fact I don't know at all if we please the punks, because we've got some problems with punks in England; we aren't definitely real punks, whatever it means.

What kind of problems...they started to shout ?

Yes, and spit, and throw things... well, that's true, a lot of people expect that we're punks because we're on Stiff. The Damned are on it too and get very successful that's probably why people relate Stiff and punk; because the success of the Damned who are the ones at Stiff who achieve it the most. Anyway, I don't like labels, the Damned are the Damned, Clash is Clash, we're the Attractions and these "punks" and "New Wave" terms are only words, easy to use sometimes, but it doesn't really interest me.

Could you reveal us your tastes and influ6nces when you were younger ?

It's uneasy to talk about it 'cos I've listened to many different things: I got predilections sometimes, but I don't listen to something great more recently because I found that since 1966, pop music has gone a stupid direction with the emergence of bands like Quicksilver Messenger Service, 24 hours long solos, hard rock, Yes... I never stopped from listening to music but it didn't excite me anymore, so I got back to what they made before 1966, it was really great music then, above all the country music

Haven't you listened to soul-music ?

Yes, that's right, soul-music, Tamla Motown as the white nop music began to decline. As I think that before 1966 there were the Who, the Kinks, the Small Faces, Dusty Springfield and many other bands who all made incredible records every week, the following story looks so poor when the single began to disappear everybody worked on albums. So when I was 14 years old I listened to soul, Tamla Motown and reggae.

Some of your songs got a reggae sound.

That's true, not that much on stage but on the LP some songs are reggae like. That's a thing that I feel inside of me, because I've grown with it. I don't pretend to know what's happening in Jamaica nor to know what they do now in reggae music but that's something I get inside; the same roes for Tamla Motown music, these are music types I danced to when I was younger. Anyway, there's something else to what I'm doing. I don't like to say "It's absolutely this or that type I like, country, jazz..." There are many elements in my music. You get to take it as it is, in it's totality.

Since when do you sing under the name of Elvis Costello ?

Four weeks since the issue of the album which has been recorded from November to March, during the week-ends or the days off as I was still working then, the recording took different sessions for a period of six months.

Have you ever thought of adding a saxophone to your band ? (Like Springsteen)

No, nor a sax nor another guitar nor any other instrument in fact. We are very pleased with an actual sound; that's a formation thin enough to be really stretchy, we get many possibilities being four it's easy, very flexible.

The organ sounds peculiarly enough...

Yes, we wanted to go away from usual keyboards to get an acoustic piano would be fantastic, but using it on stage would bring a. lot of technical problems. So we use a very cheap electric piano with an acute and trembling sound and a Vox organ which gives this dirty and rough sound. In fact a lot of bands are using this kind of stuff right now and they sound like American punk bands. Question Mark and the Mysterians f.i., not because they copy them, but because the basic material is the same. It isn't new as it's already been done before but the sound is "fresh."

That's why you use a Fender Jazzmaster?

...which is a rather unusual guitar, yes. I like it very much as its trembling and compact


fulfilled sonority. I don't like the sound of the Les Paul or any Gibson at all in fact; I stopped using the Telecaster but I would enjoy playing it again, 'cause I also like it a lot. Right now I'm also using a "Dual Sonic," I'm gonna show it to you, I do think that I'm the only one in the world to play this guitar (so does Patty Smith and 937 others... BB).

(He brings an ultra clean guitar out of its case, with just one mike, looking like it's coming from a cheep manufacturer, but it must get an incredible sound - listen to the album. Captain Sensible comes in for a last drink before to go and get his kicks on stage.)

Listen, I think we're gonna stop now, 'cos I would like to see the Damned, OK?

All right, so do we...

Is there something you'd still want to know? Actually talking about it isn't very useful before it's done; we want to play a music that sounds "fresh," to bring something new, new songs, and surprise the people for it will be really different.

Do you expect that you will play at Wembley Stadium one day?

Oh no, I wouldn't play for too large audiences, I want to go in small venues were I can feel the touch of the public, OK?

OK.

Let's go and see the Damned.


But that's another story.

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More, No. 20, September 1977


Michel Duyck and Bert Bertrand interview Elvis Costello.

(Translated from French into English by Jean-Jacques DeWulf for Elvis Costello Information Service, February 1988.)


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