Record Mirror, December 30, 1978

Bibliography   72 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UK & Ireland weeklies UK & Ireland magazines UK & Ireland newspapers US newspapers US rock magazines US music magazines US magazines US alternative weeklies European magazines European newspapers Canada  •  Mexico  •  Asia Australia  •  New Zealand South America  •  Africa Blogs  •  Fanzines  •  Books Online publications Record Mirror   1974 March 16 1977 March 19 1977 March 26 1977 April 16 1977 May 28 1977 July 16 1977 July 23 1977 August 6 1977 August 13 1977 August 20 1977 August 27 1977 September 3 1977 September 17 1977 September 24 1977 October 8 1977 October 15 1977 October 22 1977 November 5 1977 November 26 1977 December 3 1977 December 17 1977 December 31 1978 January 14 1978 January 21 1978 February 25 1978 March 4 1978 March 11 1978 March 18 1978 March 25 1978 April 15  1978 April 22 1978 May 20 1978 June 24  1978 July 8  1978 September 16  1978 September 30 1978 October 21  1978 November 18 1978 November 25 1978 December 30 1979 January 6 1979 January 13  1979 February 3 1979 March 3 1979 May 12 1979 May 19 1979 June 2 1979 October 13 1979 October 27 1979 December 15 1980 January 12 1980 January 19 1980 January 26 1980 February 2 1980 February 16 1980 February 23 1980 March 1 1980 March 8 1980 March 22 1980 April 12 1980 May 10 1980 August 23 1980 September 6 1980 October 4 1980 October 18  1980 December 6 1980 December 27 1981 January 3  1981 January 10 1981 January 17 1981 January 24 1981 January 31 1981 February 28 1981 March 14 1981 April 4 1981 June 13 1981 July 4 1981 August 8 1981 September 12 1981 October 3 1981 October 24 1981 November 7 1981 December 26   1982 January 9 1982 January 16 1982 March 27 1982 May 1  1982 June 5  1982 June 12 1982 June 19 1982 June 26 1982 July 3 1982 July 10 1982 July 24  1982 September 4 1982 September 18  1982 October 9 1982 October 16 1982 November 27 1983 January 1   1983 June 4  1983 July 2 1983 July 16 1983 July 30 1983 August 13 1983 September 10  1983 November 19  1983 December 10  1984 January 7   1984 March 24 1984 March 31 1984 April 14 1984 April 21 1984 May 5 1984 May 12 1984 June 2 1984 June 9   1984 June 16  1984 June 30 1984 October 20  1985 May 11  1985 June 15  1985 July 20  1985 September 21 1985 November 9  1985 December 7  1985 December 21  1986 February 22 1986 March 8 1986 April 26 1986 May 17  1986 May 31 1986 June 28  1986 July 12  1986 August 2 1986 August 23  1986 September 20 1986 November 8  1986 November 29  1986 December 6 1987 December 12 1988 February 27  1988 November 12 1988 December 17 1989 January 7  1989 February 4  1989 February 11 1989 February 18   1989 March 4  1989 April 29 1989 May 6  1989 May 13  1989 June 17 1989 July 1 1989 July 29 — Elvis — the red devil ... Alf Martin Elvis Costello And The Attractions Dominion Theatre, London I wish Elvis Costello would smile. Just to show he's enjoying it as much as us. Okay, so at first we didn't stand up and create a riot as he wanted. But that wasn't our fault. Every time someone as much as twitched they were asked not to move or to get back to their seats — but is the grimace on Elvis' face just a pose that he thinks he should live up to? The image, the pose, the straight suit. No flashy extras. Good songs, good music and a good show is definitely what you get. The only thing he'd treated himself to since his earlier days is an excellent lighting system. It's one of the best I've seen without using enormous effects or laser beams. The lighting engineer was spot on (oops) all the time. The only complaint I have is that I was stuck right up the very back, way into the gods, and Elvis' vocals got lost on some of the numbers. But the Attractions have never been better. America has knocked off the rough edges. Don't go to one of Elvis' gigs expecting anything else but music, because all you'll get are the songs and a few introductions. "Accidents Will Happen," "Red Shoes," "Watching The Detectives," "I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea," "Pump It Up" and a few from his new album, Armed Forces. No fits, no stops, no busts. The red spotlight lights up his face throughout the set, dragging out the devil in him. Spitting out the words as though they were the last he's going to utter. Bitter but sweet. He did one encore, "Radio, Radio" he could have done more. I hope he wasn't disappointed in us. I smiled at the end, because Elvis didn't. It's what I expected of him. Miserable bleeder. Supports were Richard Hell And The Voidoids, who went straight underneath me. They were the pits. John Cooper Clarke opened the evening. He's cut his set to about 20 minutes, left in the good stuff and he got the applause he deserved, even got an encore. I could have done with more of him and less (a lot less) of Richard Hell. Tags: The Attractions  •  Dominion Theatre  •  London  •  Accidents Will Happen  •  (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes  •  Watching The Detectives  •  (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea  •  Pump It Up  •  Armed Forces  •  Radio, Radio  •  Richard Hell & The Voidoids  •  John Cooper Clarke << >> Record Mirror, December 30, 1978 Alf Martin reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, possibly Monday, December 18, 1978, Dominion Theatre, London, England. Images File:1978-12-30 Record Mirror clipping 01.jpg  File:1978-12-30 Record Mirror clipping 02.jpg Clippings. File:1978-12-30 Record Mirror photo 01.jpg Photo. Cover and page scan. File:1978-12-30 Record Mirror page.jpg

External links

• Wikipedia: Record Mirror
• Flickr:  Stephen McCathie