Smash Hits, June 9, 1983

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 Smash Hits   1978 December 1979 January 1979 February 1979 February 8 1979 February 22 1979 April 5 1979 May 17 1979 November 29 1979 December 27 1980 January 10 1980 January 24 1980 February 7 1980 March 6 1980 March 20 1980 April 17 1980 May 15  1980 June 12   1980 September 4 1980 October 16 1980 December 11 1981 January 8 1981 January 22 1981 March 5 1981 June 11  1981 October 1 1981 October 29 1982 January 21 1982 April 15   1982 June 10 1982 June 24  1982 July 8 1982 August 5 1982 September 16   1982 December 9   1982 December 23 1983 March 17 1983 May 26 1983 June 9 1983 June 23  1983 July 7 1983 July 21 1983 August 4 1983 September 15 1984 January 5 1984 April 26 1984 June 21 1984 July 5 1984 August 16 1984 October 25 1985 April 24   1985 May 8 1986 February 26 1986 August 13 1986 August 27 1986 September 24 1989 February 22 1989 March 8 1989 May 16  1991 May 29 — Who's Who The 48 most famous faces in British pop Smash Hits Elvis Costello Singer/songwriter/occasional producer. Born Declan MacManus, 25/8/54. London, son of dance band singer Ross. Record collector and Beatles fan club member from an early age. Played in pub group Flip City in mid-'70s while supporting wife and child as a computer operator. Rejected by most record companies, found a home at Stiff in 1976. Manager Jake Riviera suggested change of name; launched on a punk-drunk London, swiftly gained a reputation for combining the fervour of the times with classic songwriting craft, as demonstrated on numbers like "Watching The Detectives" and "Oliver's Army." Seven years later his standing has increased but the hits are harder to come by, particularly in the USA where his lack of diplomacy (and refusal to do interviews) has won him all sorts of enemies. A master of the unexpected, he made a country album in Nashville in 1981. His mainstream records are still more furious and memorable than almost anybody's, but signs are he's mellowed in the years since 1977 when he told an interviewer: "the only emotions I really understand are guilt and revenge." What would you do if you were Prime Minister? Smash Hits Imagine it. Election day rolls around and YOU get voted in. What changes would you make to This Great Nation Of Ours? That's what we asked a few famous faces and got some surprising answers. Elvis Costello: "It Maggie wins again, I think I'd just take all the programmes off the air and just play Stevie Wonder's 'Heaven Help Us All' for the next 24 hours." Tags: Declan MacManus  •  Ross MacManus  •  The Beatles  •  Flip City  •  Stiff Records  •  Jake Riviera  •  Watching The Detectives  •  Oliver's Army  •  Almost Blue  •  Pills And Soap  •  The Imposter  •  Party Party  •  Margaret Thatcher  •  Tracie  •  Roddy Frame << >> Smash Hits, June 9 - 22, 1983 The Who's Who supplement includes a profile of EC. Bitz holds a contest to win a signed copy of "Pills And Soap." Smash Hits asks pop stars what they would do if they were Prime Minister. Images   Page scans and clipping. Pills And Soap Smash Hits One day, about four weeks ago. Elvis Costello decided he wanted one of his new songs released. Immediately. A week later "Pills And Soap" appeared, credited to The Imposter, in a limited edition of 15,000 available through Independent shops. As Elvis explained when he dropped in with a copy, "the track will be included on our next album but, as there's no firm release date set for either the album or the next official single, I wanted this particular song out now and I'll leave it to the listener to work out why." Elvis has signed six copies of the record to give away to Bitz readers. If you want to try and win one just write the answer to this question on a postcard or the back of an envelope. The Question: For which recent film did Elvis Costello write and record the title song? a) Party Party; b) Blade Runner; or c) Tootsie. Send your answer, to arrive no later than June 23, to Smash Hits Elvis Costello Competition, 52-55 Carnaby Street. London WIV 1PF. Photo 1 by Keith Morris. Photo 2 photographer unidentified. Cover and page scan.

External links

• Wikipedia: Smash Hits
• Brian McCloskey's Smash Hits archive