Elvis Costello's role as executive producer is confined, says Agnes, to "choosing pictures of me for the sleeve, preferably of me looking as old as possible."
As the first album release on the boy's own IMP label, the marriage of tradition recalled first-hand (Agnes) and tradition assimilated by third-generation admirer (Philip) is a strange brew. As yours truly said in a review of "Tootsies" (Singles, May 4), Germanic melodrama is very much an acquired taste. Costello, a sometime producer of Philip's solo work, became an instant fan when he met Agnes.
Miss Bernelle: "We were introduced by Philip, and I didn't catch his name. I had dinner with him, and we talked about the record. I said to Philip, 'What a charming young businessman.' He said, 'That's Elvis Costello.'
"I didn't see him for ages, not till we went into the studio. Then he went on a huge American tour, and then he did two performances in Dublin (Agnes's home since the Sixties), and I went to them. It was the first time I'd been to a pop concert. I queued for a colour brochure because I thought it might be helpful to know more about him. There was a section where he listed his favourite things — music, and so on — and under 'Favourite Album', he's put Father's Lying Dead On The Ironing Board! And it wasn't even released!"
How was the concert?
"I thought it was fascinating, but too loud, and the balance was bad.
"I went to see The Pogues, and I must have been the only person there with eardrums — no one else could have had, or they couldn't have sat there all night. I was going, "Turn it down, there must be something wrong!"
"Still," she continues, charmingly sincere, "I've been getting a real education in pop music. My daughter played me all her record and said, 'Now Mama, that's U2, that's Thompson Twins, that's Madonna.' And I said, 'darling, they all sound exactly alike."
What's the adage about true words spoken in jest?
|