Record Mirror, July 29, 1989

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Record Mirror

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Elvis Costello

Monza Rock '89, Milan

Gary Crossing

"If I were you I'd ask for my money back," growled Elvis Costello, midway through his set. The bespectacled 'Beloved Entertainer' found himself that evening, in a football stadium on the outskirts of Milan, addressing a thinly scattered and very distant crowd of young Italians.

It was hoped that 'Monza Rock '89' would be the pop festival to put Milan on the map, gradually become an annual event along the lines of Montreux. Opposing local councils and rival promoters thought otherwise and alas it was not to be. Publicity was sparse, expected ticket sales were halved and the unfortunate punters that arrived were banned from the sacred pitch, leaving them miles from the stage.

You can appreciate then why Mr Costello was just a tad disappointed. He, however, was far from disappointing. Appearing without a backing band, sporting a dark suit and a diamante brooch where his tie should be, he resembled an extremely profitable busker.

Elvis opened the proceedings with "Blood And Chocolate," playing along to an eerie backing track of screams, bass and drums. From then on it was pure acoustic joy as the man plucked songs from his past, mixed them with songs from the current album Spike and sung his heart out.


Tanita Tikaram (or is it Tantrum?) enjoys great popularity in Italy. However, this cannot have been strengthened by her performance in Milan. Moody and out of tune, she croaked her way through her mediocre songs with all the stage presence of a bowl of cold lasagne. Constantly pushing her hair back over her face and seldom opening her eyes, she seemed very nervous, only coming to life when she said "Goodbye and thank you".

One Nation were thankfully a very different story. They pumped out their powerful mid-Atlantic soul with energy, enthusiasm and humour. Their set was peppered with catchy tunes ranging from the single "What You See Is What You Get" and the very danceable "Strong Enough" to the touching vocals of the love song "This Is Different." Kipper, the lead singer, has a very soulful voice, which definitely helped to ease the crowd's pain of parting with all those Lire.


Tags: Stadio BrianteoMonzaItalyThe Beloved EntertainerMontreux Jazz FestivalBlood And ChocolateSpikePaul McCartneyMy Brave FaceVeronicaEveryday I Write The BookFlowers In The Dirt

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Record Mirror, July 29, 1989


Gary Crossing reports on Monza Rock '89, including Elvis Costello, solo, Wednesday, June 28, 1989, Stadio Brianteo, Monza, Italy.


Alan Jones on peak chart positions for "Veronica" and "My Brave Face."

Images

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Page scans.


Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney


Alan Jones

The songwriting alliance between Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney worked more to Paul's advantage here, his recording of the pair's composition "My Brave Face" peaking at number 18, whilst Elvis' waxing of "Veronica" peaked at number 33. But in America, it's Elvis who has come up trumps. "Veronica" reached number 19 (that's 17 places higher than the peak position of his only previous top 40 hit, 1983's "Everyday I Write The Book") whilst "My Brave Face" skidded to a halt at number 25.

Disenchantment with what was supposed to be McCartney's best work in years has also affected his album sales in America, where Flowers In The Dirt — a number one album here — apparently peaked at number 21 a fortnight ago. The only consolation for Macca is that his last album, Press, fared even worse. only number 30.



1989-07-29 Record Mirror photo 01.jpg
Photo.

1989-07-29 Record Mirror cover.jpg 1989-07-29 Record Mirror page 03.jpg
Cover and contents page.

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