Armed Forces

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Armed Forces
studio album by Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Released	January 5, 1979
Recorded	August 1978–September 1978, Eden Studios, London
Producer	Nick Lowe
Label	Radar (UK 1979) Columbia (US 1979) F-Beat (UK 1980) Demon (UK 1993) Rykodisc (US 1993) Edsel (UK 2002) Rhino (US 2002)
Length	36:31 (1979 UK) 36:40 (1979 US) 63:29 (1993 reissue) 40:12 + 52:03 (2002 reissue)

UK cover.

Tracks

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Accidents Will Happen	Elvis Costello	3:00
2.	Senior Service	Elvis Costello	2:17
3.	Oliver's Army	Elvis Costello	2:58
4.	Big Boys	Elvis Costello	2:54
5.	Green Shirt	Elvis Costello	2:42
6.	Party Girl	Elvis Costello	3:20

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Goon Squad	Elvis Costello	3:14
2.	Busy Bodies	Elvis Costello	3:33
3.	Sunday's Best	Elvis Costello	3:22
4.	Moods For Moderns	Elvis Costello	2:48
5.	Chemistry Class	Elvis Costello	2:55
6.	Two Little Hitlers	Elvis Costello	3:10

US Side 2
In the US, "Sunday's Best" was replaced by "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?"

	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Goon Squad	Elvis Costello	3:14
2.	Busy Bodies	Elvis Costello	3:33
3.	Moods For Moderns	Elvis Costello	2:48
4.	Chemistry Class	Elvis Costello	2:55
5.	Two Little Hitlers	Elvis Costello	3:10
6.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:31

Credits

• Elvis Costello - vocals and guitar
• Steve Nieve - keyboards
• Bruce Thomas - bass
• Pete Thomas - drums

Armed Forces (1993 Rykodisc/Demon edition)

	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Accidents Will Happen	Elvis Costello	3:00
2.	Senior Service	Elvis Costello	2:17
3.	Oliver's Army	Elvis Costello	2:58
4.	Big Boys	Elvis Costello	2:54
5.	Green Shirt	Elvis Costello	2:42
6.	Party Girl	Elvis Costello	3:20
7.	Goon Squad	Elvis Costello	3:14
8.	Busy Bodies	Elvis Costello	3:33
9.	Sunday's Best	Elvis Costello	3:22
10.	Moods For Moderns	Elvis Costello	2:48
11.	Chemistry Class	Elvis Costello	2:55
12.	Two Little Hitlers	Elvis Costello	3:10
13.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:31
14.	My Funny Valentine	Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart	1:28
15.	Tiny Steps	Elvis Costello	2:42
16.	Clean Money	Elvis Costello	1:57
17.	Talking In The Dark	Elvis Costello	1:56
18.	Wednesday Week	Elvis Costello	2:01
19.	Accidents Will Happen (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:23
20.	Alison (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:06
21.	Watching The Detectives (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	6:08

Armed Forces (2002 Rhino/Edsel edition)

Disc 1: Armed Forces
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Accidents Will Happen	Elvis Costello	3:00
2.	Senior Service	Elvis Costello	2:17
3.	Oliver's Army	Elvis Costello	2:58
4.	Big Boys	Elvis Costello	2:54
5.	Green Shirt	Elvis Costello	2:42
6.	Party Girl	Elvis Costello	3:20
7.	Goon Squad	Elvis Costello	3:14
8.	Busy Bodies	Elvis Costello	3:33
9.	Sunday's Best	Elvis Costello	3:22
10.	Moods For Moderns	Elvis Costello	2:48
11.	Chemistry Class	Elvis Costello	2:55
12.	Two Little Hitlers	Elvis Costello	3:10
13.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:31

Disc 2: Bonus Disc
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Tiny Steps	Elvis Costello	2:41
2.	Busy Bodies (Alternate Version)	Elvis Costello	3:47
3.	Talking In The Dark	Elvis Costello	1:55
4.	Big Boys (Alternate Version)	Elvis Costello	2:54
5.	Clean Money	Elvis Costello	1:57
6.	Wednesday Week	Elvis Costello	2:03
7.	My Funny Valentine	Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart	1:28
8.	Accidents Will Happen (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:18
9.	Mystery Dance (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:01
10.	Goon Squad (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:42
11.	Party Girl (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:19
12.	Stranger In The House (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:52
13.	Alison (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:08
14.	Lipstick Vogue (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	4:26
15.	Watching The Detectives (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	5:51
16.	You Belong To Me (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:38
17.	Chemistry Class (Live, Feb 28, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:34

The Complete Armed Forces (2020 super deluxe edition)

Armed Forces (12")

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Accidents Will Happen	Elvis Costello	3:02
2.	Senior Service	Elvis Costello	2:18
3.	Oliver's Army	Elvis Costello	3:01
4.	Big Boys	Elvis Costello	2:57
5.	Green Shirt	Elvis Costello	2:43
6.	Party Girl	Elvis Costello	3:23

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Goon Squad	Elvis Costello	3:15
2.	Busy Bodies	Elvis Costello	3:36
3.	Sunday's Best	Elvis Costello	3:22
4.	Moods For Moderns	Elvis Costello	2:50
5.	Chemistry Class	Elvis Costello	2:58
6.	Two Little Hitlers	Elvis Costello	3:13
7.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:32

Live At Hollywood High & Elsewhere (12")

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Accidents Will Happen (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:29
2.	Mystery Dance (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:03
3.	Goon Squad (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:49
4.	Party Girl (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:57
5.	Stranger In The House (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	4:02

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Alison (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	3:05
2.	Lipstick Vogue (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	4:18
3.	Watching The Detectives (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	6:00
4.	You Belong To Me (Live, June 4, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:39
5.	Chemistry Class (Live, Feb 28, 1978)	Elvis Costello	2:44

Europe '79 - Live At Pinkpop (12")

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Goon Squad	Elvis Costello	2:51
2.	B Movie	Elvis Costello	2:30
3.	Green Shirt	Elvis Costello	2:49
4.	(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea	Elvis Costello	3:58
5.	Opportunity	Elvis Costello	2:34
6.	So Young	Joe Camilleri, Jeff Burstin & Tony Faehse	3:36
7.	High Fidelity	Elvis Costello	3:28

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Lipstick Vogue	Elvis Costello	4:10
2.	Watching The Detectives	Elvis Costello	6:02
3.	Big Boys	Elvis Costello
4.	Pump It Up	Elvis Costello	5:20
5.	You Belong To Me	Elvis Costello	3:46
6.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:44

Sketches For Emotional Fascism (10")

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Clean Money	Elvis Costello	2:00
2.	Talking In The Dark	Elvis Costello	1:58
3.	Wednesday Week	Elvis Costello	2:05
4.	Tiny Steps	Elvis Costello	2:43

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Crawling To The U.S.A.	Elvis Costello	2:55
2.	Big Boys (Alternate Version)	Elvis Costello	2:55
3.	Green Shirt (Demo Version)	Elvis Costello
4.	My Funny Valentine	Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart	1:33

Riot At The Regent - Live In Sydney '78 (10")

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Oliver's Army	Elvis Costello	3:29
2.	Waiting For The End Of The World	Elvis Costello	4:39
3.	Big Boys	Elvis Costello	2:51

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	This Year's Girl	Elvis Costello	3:24
2.	You Belong To Me	Elvis Costello	4:55
3.	Pump It Up	Elvis Costello	5:47

Christmas In The Dominion - Live 24th December '78 (10")

Side 1
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes	Elvis Costello	3:13
2.	No Dancing	Elvis Costello	3:06

Side 2
	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	I Stand Accused	Tony Colton & Ray Smith	3:00
2.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:46

Oliver's Army (7")

	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Oliver's Army	Elvis Costello	3:00
2.	Big Boys (Demo Version)	Elvis Costello	3:00

Accidents Will Happen (7")

	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Accidents Will Happen	Elvis Costello	3:01
2.	Busy Bodies (Alternate Version)	Elvis Costello	3:47

American Squirm (7")

	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	American Squirm	Nick Lowe	2:31
2.	(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?	Nick Lowe	3:22

Original discography pages

• Home Page discography page  •  A01  •  A02
• Singles: S01  •  S02  •  S03  •  S04  •  S05  •  S06  •  S07  •  S08  •  S09

External links

• Allmusic  •  Wikipedia
• Discogs  •  musik-sammler.de
• RobertChristgau.com
• Dallas Morning News
• Elvis Costello Reissues: Armed Forces
• Amazon  •  Amazon.uk