The Face, August 1983: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Elvis Costello — The Face Interview </h3></center> | <center><h3> Elvis Costello — The Face Interview </h3></center> | ||
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Almost seven years ago now, the son of dance band singer Ross MacManus invented somebody called Elvis Costello. It was possible to do that in those days. 23-year-old Declan | Almost seven years ago now, the son of dance band singer Ross MacManus invented somebody called Elvis Costello. It was possible to do that in those days. 23-year-old Declan MacManus had a wife named Mary and a two-year-old son named Matthew. He had a comfortable, if uninteresting, job operating a computer in a West London factory. If Elvis Costello had anything to be angry about it was that no one wanted to buy his songs. | ||
He had been to the major record companies — carrying an acoustic guitar to his appointments. No more polite refusals through the post; he would sing the songs and solicit a direct response. But the deals he was offered were insubstantial. So he went to Stiff Records. He already knew Nick Lowe, the house producer. He met Andrew Jakeman — the ex manager of a pub rock group called Chilli Willi who now styled himself by the shark-like handle of Jake Riviera — and Barney Bubbles, formerly the director of Hawkwind's light show. | He had been to the major record companies — carrying an acoustic guitar to his appointments. No more polite refusals through the post; he would sing the songs and solicit a direct response. But the deals he was offered were insubstantial. So he went to Stiff Records. He already knew Nick Lowe, the house producer. He met Andrew Jakeman — the ex manager of a pub rock group called Chilli Willi who now styled himself by the shark-like handle of Jake Riviera — and Barney Bubbles, formerly the director of Hawkwind's light show. | ||
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It was as though he had to work up a head of spite to write and perform — and be was, after all, competing for attention with the Sex Pistols. He soon learnt to glare at the camera; soft lips grew taut from uttering lyrics so full of snarling though eloquent contempt. The vulnerable man of his early (and much later) recordings withdrew into a hard, defensive shell. He looked like Buddy Holly, but this wimp was going to write the book of hate. | It was as though he had to work up a head of spite to write and perform — and be was, after all, competing for attention with the Sex Pistols. He soon learnt to glare at the camera; soft lips grew taut from uttering lyrics so full of snarling though eloquent contempt. The vulnerable man of his early (and much later) recordings withdrew into a hard, defensive shell. He looked like Buddy Holly, but this wimp was going to write the book of hate. | ||
From his first album of songs — well-formed but sketchily presented — Elvis' music grew apace. He recorded his second album, ''This Year's Model'', with The Attractions, borrowing the stylings from English beat groups, dipping his pen in a deep pool of poison. By the time of his third album, strongly influenced by | From his first album of songs — well-formed but sketchily presented — Elvis' music grew apace. He recorded his second album, ''This Year's Model'', with The Attractions, borrowing the stylings from English beat groups, dipping his pen in a deep pool of poison. By the time of his third album, strongly influenced by ABBA, Elvis' ambitions were vaulting. ''Armed Forces'' established him as both a popular and credible artist. His work was visually stylish, musically adept and lyrically not quite mature but certainly adult. | ||
The critics threw bouquets, some of them barbed, but Elvis, as usual, remained aloof. Though he does take some notice. "I think they're sometimes a very good indication of your own vanities, because I think the critics themselves often tend to be quite vain; therefore they're very bitchy about... conceits... in either the writing or the performance. They're probably most accurate on that score." | The critics threw bouquets, some of them barbed, but Elvis, as usual, remained aloof. Though he does take some notice. "I think they're sometimes a very good indication of your own vanities, because I think the critics themselves often tend to be quite vain; therefore they're very bitchy about... conceits... in either the writing or the performance. They're probably most accurate on that score." | ||
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Suddenly the persona that had so enthralled the media had become a straight-jacket. Costello found himself unable to perform the same adroit manoeuvres in his career as Barney Bubbles and Jake Riviera had contrived for his public image. The time had come to get those famous tattoos removed and replaced by ones that read: rage and remorse. | Suddenly the persona that had so enthralled the media had become a straight-jacket. Costello found himself unable to perform the same adroit manoeuvres in his career as Barney Bubbles and Jake Riviera had contrived for his public image. The time had come to get those famous tattoos removed and replaced by ones that read: rage and remorse. | ||
Costello retired, hurt but still a little punchy, to | Costello retired, hurt but still a little punchy, to his corner. His subsequent career has been erratic, achieving musical peaks that he might never have otherwise attempted, but no longer so sure of its direction. He has produced records for The Specials, Squeeze and The Bluebells. He has marked time with his own albums such as the country songbook, ''Almost Blue'', and ''Trust'', a throwback to his earlier oeuvre. And he has produced his best work on ''Get Happy'' — a set of superb Sixties soul stylings on some of his most open, moving songs — and ''Imperial Bedroom'', an album that was "against rock 'n' roll; against the idea of an individual solo singer." | ||
''Imperial Bedroom''contained further departures in that it featured Elvis singing with an orchestra, an experiment repeated live with [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra|the Royal Philharmonic]]. The opinion of Ross MacManus — who has been singing for years in front of a more modest orchestra — goes unrecorded. But his son admits the experience was "nerve wracking. I'm not going to do it again." | ''Imperial Bedroom'' contained further departures in that it featured Elvis singing with an orchestra, an experiment repeated live with [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra|the Royal Philharmonic]]. The opinion of Ross MacManus — who has been singing for years in front of a more modest orchestra — goes unrecorded. But his son admits the experience was "nerve wracking. I'm not going to do it again." | ||
Over the past three years Costello has learnt to live with himself, as well as with a smaller audience than he once anticipated. He has put on weight, and permitted the occasional smile for the camera. Quite unexpectedly — so much so that only 15,000 were first pressed — he has just had a hit single. 160,000 copies were finally pressed of "Pills And Soap," a devastatingly bleak prognosis of Tory Britain. I wondered what sort of mood he was in when he wrote it. He didn't answer. | Over the past three years Costello has learnt to live with himself, as well as with a smaller audience than he once anticipated. He has put on weight, and permitted the occasional smile for the camera. Quite unexpectedly — so much so that only 15,000 were first pressed — he has just had a hit single. 160,000 copies were finally pressed of "Pills And Soap," a devastatingly bleak prognosis of Tory Britain. I wondered what sort of mood he was in when he wrote it. He didn't answer. | ||
"Lyrically speaking, it carried on in a sense from | "Lyrically speaking, it carried on in a sense from 'Shipbuilding.' The intention behind releasing it at such a time was that some people might sympathise with it. That's all. One of the funniest things I ever read in an interview was Sting saying 'We've got a really subversive song on our new album' — which was that song 'Invisible Sun'." | ||
He grins like a teacher who has caught out a bright pupil. "The first rule of subversive pop is: Don't say it's subversive!" | He grins like a teacher who has caught out a bright pupil. "The first rule of subversive pop is: Don't say it's subversive!" | ||
The interview that follows took place at F- | The interview that follows took place at F-Beat's West London offices. | ||
''It's obvious why you called yourself Elvis, but why Costello? | ''It's obvious why you called yourself Elvis, but why Costello? | ||
It's my great-grandmother's name. I had already started calling myself Costello anyway, because it ran easier on the phone — this was when I was working as a solo singer. There were too many hard consonants in the name | It's my great-grandmother's name. I had already started calling myself Costello anyway, because it ran easier on the phone — this was when I was working as a solo singer. There were too many hard consonants in the name MacManus to say on the phone. It was purely that — just convenience really. | ||
''Where were you born? | ''Where were you born? | ||
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''What sort of education did you have? | ''What sort of education did you have? | ||
Regular (Laughs). | Regular ''(Laughs)''. | ||
''Did you benefit from it? | ''Did you benefit from it? | ||
I don't know.. . I didn't like it very much — I don't think anybody likes school very much. I went to Catholic schools: I was taught by nuns for the first few years and then lay teachers until I was eleven; then I went to a secondary modern school in Hounslow until I was 16. Then I went to live in Liverpool for two years — I took my | I don't know... I didn't like it very much — I don't think anybody likes school very much. I went to Catholic schools: I was taught by nuns for the first few years and then lay teachers until I was eleven; then I went to a secondary modern school in Hounslow until I was 16. Then I went to live in Liverpool for two years — I took my 'A' levels there. | ||
''Why did you move there? | ''Why did you move there? | ||
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''Were you a mod? | ''Were you a mod? | ||
No. I was too young to be a mod. Everybody was more a sort of skinhead by then. I wasn't really a skinhead either, but that was the kind of skinhead music: | No. I was too young to be a mod. Everybody was more a sort of skinhead by then. I wasn't really a skinhead either, but that was the kind of skinhead music: ''Motown Chartbusters Vol. III'' and the ''Tighten Up'' records. They were the party records. So there was that stuff, and when I went to live in Liverpool everybody was more interested in American West Coast music. I struggled, rather than be out of step, to like that, but I was never totally convinced. And then I sort of gradually drifted back to liking soul music. Actually it was meeting Nick Lowe when the Brinsleys came to play in Liverpool that had a lot to do with it. That was kind of an eye-opener to me. I suddenly realised it was okay to like Lee Dorsey. Then when I came back to London when I was 18 I found there were a lot of bands playing short songs that didn't have any big, heavy messages and the players weren't necessarily virtuosos — 'cause remember there was a lot of music snobbery then. I ''hated'' all those bands like Yes and Caravan. I could not stand them. Nor heavy metal. | ||
''I was wondering really where you got your odd singing style from? It's very nasal and it has a lot of American inflections. | ''I was wondering really where you got your odd singing style from? It's very nasal and it has a lot of American inflections. | ||
That comes from the time when most of the music I liked was either R&B or white acts influenced by R&B, like Van Morrison. But my favourite singer other than the obvious ones was Rick Danko of The Band. He was my absolute hero. I always suspected white singers that sounded like they were trying too hard to sound like soul singers. I was never that struck on Joe Cocker or the Paul Rodgers type of I'm-a-soul-singer voice. But Rick Danko had a kind of unique style. It was kind of nasal and it had a little bit of what I now realise is Country in it, but at the time it was just so unusual to me, such a lovely relaxed falsetto. At one time, when I was about 18, The Band were it for me. I though they were the best. I liked them because they had beards. They didn't look pretty. It appealed to me that they looked really ugly. And they weren't boys. They were men, and all their songs seemed to be about olden days but they weren't dressing up as cowboys or anything. It wasn't phoney. | That comes from the time when most of the music I liked was either R&B or white acts influenced by R&B, like Van Morrison. But my favourite singer other than the obvious ones was Rick Danko of The Band. He was my absolute hero. I always suspected white singers that sounded like they were trying too hard to sound like soul singers. I was never ''that'' struck on Joe Cocker or the Paul Rodgers type of I'm-a-soul-singer voice. But Rick Danko had a kind of unique style. It was kind of nasal and it had a little bit of what I now realise is Country in it, but at the time it was just so unusual to me, such a lovely relaxed falsetto. At one time, when I was about 18, The Band were ''it'' for me. I though they were the best. I liked them because they had ''beards''. They didn't look pretty. It appealed to me that they looked really ugly. And they weren't ''boys''. They were men, and all their songs seemed to be about olden days but they weren't dressing up as cowboys or anything. It wasn't phoney. | ||
''What was your first stage appearance? | ''What was your first stage appearance? | ||
Phew!... In a folk club somewhere in London. I was about 16. | ''Phew!''... In a folk club somewhere in London. I was about 16. | ||
''As a singer/songwriter? | ''As a singer/songwriter? | ||
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''When you signed to Stiff there was a premium on youth, aggression and simplicity. Along with the name, did you have to change your personality? | ''When you signed to Stiff there was a premium on youth, aggression and simplicity. Along with the name, did you have to change your personality? | ||
No. I was pretty fed up of having waited around. Once I got into the recording studio I wanted to record more direct material so I put a lot of the songs on ice — some of which have surfaced in various shapes and forms. There was no real change of personality. Not at that point anyway. | No. I was pretty fed up of having waited around. Once I got into the recording studio I wanted to record more ''direct'' material so I put a lot of the songs on ice — some of which have surfaced in various shapes and forms. There was no real change of personality. Not at that point anyway. | ||
''There was the famous quote of yours about understanding no emotions other than guilt or revenge. That can't have been true. | ''There was the famous quote of yours about understanding no emotions other than guilt or revenge. That can't have been true. | ||
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''You recorded your first album with members of the American group Clover, and then you formed The Attractions. Was your keyboard player Steve Nason, or Steve Nieve as he's known, from the Royal College of Music? | ''You recorded your first album with members of the American group Clover, and then you formed The Attractions. Was your keyboard player Steve Nason, or Steve Nieve as he's known, from the Royal College of Music? | ||
Yes. He came to an audition along with Bruce Thomas. I borrowed Steve | Yes. He came to an audition along with Bruce Thomas. I borrowed Steve Goulding and Andrew Bodnar from Graham Parker's group and during the day we saw quite a lot of people but Steve and Bruce were the ones that stuck out. I had a new number called "Watching The Detectives" and it suited Steve because he was very fond of the reggae style. Pete Thomas had already been earmarked for the drums. He was playing with John Stewart in America and Jake had had the idea of getting him back over. He clicked right away, particularly with Bruce — not so much because of sympathy but more because of the clash of their styles, in that Bruce is a very melodic bass player and Pete is a very rhythmic drummer. That meant we could almost get away with being a trio, because an awful lot of the time I didn't play, and also a lot of what I did play, particularly early on, was just like white noise! I had no idea. I wasn't very experienced at all. Rather than making a bad job of trying to play well, I was quite happy to exploit the simple things I could do. | ||
''You mentioned "Watching The Detectives." Is it true that Stevie Wonder settled out of court for stealing the first eleven bars of the song for " | ''You mentioned "Watching The Detectives." Is it true that Stevie Wonder settled out of court for stealing the first eleven bars of the song for "Master Blaster"? | ||
No ''(surprised)''. I would have thought he should have paid Bob Marley! Is that a rumour? That's great! That's like the one about me once being a member of the Sex Pistols. I must remember that. | No ''(surprised)''. I would have thought he should have paid Bob Marley! Is that a rumour? That's great! That's like the one about me once being a member of the Sex Pistols. I must remember that. | ||
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''How would you describe your sense of humour? | ''How would you describe your sense of humour? | ||
I don't know. I've always thought there was more humour in our songs than people gave us credit for. Sometimes the tone of your records does a disservice to that. People got very tied up with the attitude of the first couple of records — the aggressive, angry chap — and by the time of ''Get Happy'' and ''Trust'' it was starting to work against us. Some of the songs still had that edge, but some — I was trying to get other things over but the way I was singing was defeating the object. | I don't know. I've always thought there was ''more'' humour in our songs than people gave us credit for. Sometimes the tone of your records does a disservice to that. People got very tied up with the attitude of the first couple of records — the aggressive, angry chap — and by the time of ''Get Happy'' and ''Trust'' it was starting to work against us. Some of the songs still had that edge, but some — I was trying to get other things over but the way I was singing was defeating the object. | ||
''Do you find yourself having to resist the urge to make a pun in your lyrics? | ''Do you find yourself having to resist the urge to make a pun in your lyrics? | ||
Yeah, they do get a bit irritating. I've tried to calm them down over the last couple of records 'cause I started to feel it was getting to be a habit after a while. Sometimes I write something and think 'can I get away with that?' There are certain lines when I look back... ''"A wave of her hand could be so tidal."'' It's just thrown away in the middle of one of the songs on ''Armed Forces.'' It's a really terrible pun! There's other ones that people criticise — like the one in "Possession" that goes "You lack lust/You're so lacklustre." What's wrong with that? It makes sense. It makes a point. | Yeah, they do get a bit irritating. I've tried to calm them down over the last couple of records 'cause I started to feel it was getting to be a habit after a while. Sometimes I write something and think 'can I get away with that?' There are certain lines when I look back... ''"A wave of her hand could be so tidal."'' It's just thrown away in the middle of one of the songs on ''Armed Forces.'' It's a really ''terrible'' pun! There's other ones that people criticise — like the one in "Possession" that goes ''"You lack lust / You're so lacklustre."'' What's wrong with that? It makes sense. It makes a point. | ||
''Your career took off spectacularly in 1978. You subsequently left your wife and took up with the American model Bebe Buell - | ''Your career took off spectacularly in 1978. You subsequently left your wife and took up with the American model Bebe Buell - | ||
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''But Get Happy wasn't a popular record there either. | ''But Get Happy wasn't a popular record there either. | ||
No — to be honest I think ''Get Happy'' suffered largely from the delay in time we took to release it, which I think minimised its commercial punch, aside from its contrast to the record that it followed up. I had a very radical change of attitude after ''Armed Forces'' — and all of the surrounding events, personal and professional. It's my least favourite record that we've made. | No — to be honest I think ''Get Happy'' suffered largely from the delay in time we took to release it, which I think minimised its commercial punch, aside from its contrast to the record that it followed up. I had a very radical change of attitude after ''Armed Forces'' — and all of the surrounding events, personal ''and'' professional. It's my least favourite record that we've made. | ||
''For those reasons? | ''For those reasons? | ||
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''The question is: do you regret this episode in your life? | ''The question is: do you regret this episode in your life? | ||
No. I make better records now. I think you learn from your mistakes and I made lots of mistakes in 1978/79. I think I'm a better person for it and I definitely make better records. ''Get Happy'' is five times the record ''Armed Forces'' was even though it was made under extreme self-inflicted emotional stress. It was a very extreme record from the point of view of the condition that I and the rest of the band were in... the aftermath of what happened in America and just generally very emotional, you know, shattered nerves. Too much drinking. That's why it sounds unfinished — because it's about all we were capable of doing. | No. I make better records now. I think you learn from your mistakes and I made lots of mistakes in 1978/79. I think I'm a better ''person'' for it and I definitely make better records. ''Get Happy'' is five times the record ''Armed Forces'' was even though it was made under ''extreme'' self-inflicted emotional stress. It was a very extreme record from the point of view of the condition that I and the rest of the band were in... the aftermath of what happened in America and just generally very emotional, you know, shattered nerves. Too much drinking. That's why it sounds unfinished — because it's about all we were capable of doing. | ||
''The story is that you went into Rock On before | ''The story is that you went into Rock On before Get Happy was made and bought £50 worth of old Motown, Stax and Atlantic singles. | ||
Yeah, I did. They were to refresh my memory about what I was trying to do: where the idea was stemming from. I had no intention of making a carbon copy of a Motown record, but I was re-immersing myself in the simplicity of it because you've got to understand . .. One thing I'll say about the ''Armed Forces'' thing is that from going over to America as a kind of quasi-punk group — at least in their eyes — we then tended to immerse ourselves in | Yeah, I did. They were to refresh my memory about what I was trying to do: where the idea was stemming from. I had no intention of making a carbon copy of a Motown record, but I was re-immersing myself in the simplicity of it because you've got to understand . .. One thing I'll say about the ''Armed Forces'' thing is that from going over to America as a kind of quasi-punk group — at least in their eyes — we then tended to immerse ourselves in ABBA and ''Low'' and ''Heroes'' Bowie; they were our major influences. We had worked our sound — with the organ to the front and lots of tremelo guitar — to death, and there were other groups coming up using that sound; some actually carbon copies. It got to the point where I felt the next record we made would end up sounding like a parody of ourselves. On the ''Armed Forces'' tour of America we had arrangements of half the songs on ''Get Happy'' in our old style. We went in to start recording and the result ''did'' sound like cliched new wave music. It would have come out sounding like a cross between ''Armed Forces'' and ''This Year's Model''. It would have been less well arranged than ''Armed Forces'' and slightly more maniacal, more out of control, because we were out of control by that point. I felt it wasn't right and I had the idea of taking a kind of soul base; literally taking the songs and saying 'okay, what song are we going to play this like? Let's play it like, say, "Time Is Tight".' On "Temptation" we actually used a rift that's very close to "Time Is Tight." Each song, I could go through and tell you which band we were being. Al Green on one, The Four Tops on another. | ||
''What about "Black And White World"? Was that dealing with the experiences you'd just had? | ''What about "Black And White World"? Was that dealing with the experiences you'd just had? | ||
No. It stemmed from watching old films. I suppose it came from watching a lot of TV on tour. I think I wrote it after seeing Ball | No. It stemmed from watching old films. I suppose it came from watching a lot of TV on tour. I think I wrote it after seeing ''Ball of Fire'' with Barbara Stanwyck. I probably wrote more obliquely about what happened in America. I didn't write any specific song about that. That's true. "Riot Act" was probably the closest one, 'cause actually when we made ''Get Happy'' I had no intention of making any more records. That was the last record. | ||
''What did you think you'd go and do? | ''What did you think you'd go and do? | ||
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''Would you have been prepared to give up music like that? | ''Would you have been prepared to give up music like that? | ||
I don't know. I did quit. Just after ''Get Happy'' came out we did a tour of England and I decided that I didn't want to go on any more and left the group. I just didn't see any point to it any more. | I don't know. I ''did'' quit. Just after ''Get Happy'' came out we did a tour of England and I decided that I didn't want to go on any more and left the group. I just didn't see any point to it any more. | ||
''This would have been just before you recorded the "New Amsterdam" EP, which was at the time a marked departure in style. | ''This would have been just before you recorded the "New Amsterdam" EP, which was at the time a marked departure in style. | ||
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''Your country album, Almost Blue, if it had been a major commercial success, would have established you with a large and potentially lifelong audience — that very loyal country music following. Did you have that in mind when you made it? | ''Your country album, Almost Blue, if it had been a major commercial success, would have established you with a large and potentially lifelong audience — that very loyal country music following. Did you have that in mind when you made it? | ||
I had in mind that it would probably reach a lot of people that don't buy our records normally, and also a lot of people who never listen to country records. Both things appealed to me quite a lot, apart from the fact that I was also totally bored with my own music and I wanted just to sing other people's songs. I was completely obsessed with country music at the time, although I hardly ever play country records now. I've exhausted that love — though I still have my particular favourites. There are other, darker things involved in that. It's a rather fatalistic type of music. I listen to that record now and think 'God! I was never this depressed, was I?' It is a very depressed sounding record. So maybe that was the aftermath of 1979, maybe that was the final exorcism of all the unhappiness. Not ''Get Happy'' — that was the reaction. And up to a point, ''Get Happy'' was very positive. The only record I really don't like from that time is ''Trust'' because I feel it's under-realised. There were some very good songs on it and some very bad songs, but overall we didn't follow it through to anything definite enough. What I like about ''Get Happy'' is that it's got a very radical attitude to the playing and to the production, whereas both those things were lacking in ''Trust''. | I had in mind that it would probably reach a lot of people that don't buy our records normally, and also a lot of people who never listen to country records. Both things appealed to me quite a lot, apart from the fact that I was also totally bored with my own music and I wanted just to sing other people's songs. I was completely obsessed with country music at the time, although I hardly ever play country records now. I've exhausted that love — though I still have my particular favourites. There are other, darker things involved in that. It's a rather fatalistic type of music. I listen to that record now and think 'God! I was never ''this'' depressed, was I?' It is a very depressed sounding record. So maybe that was the aftermath of 1979, maybe that was the final exorcism of all the unhappiness. Not ''Get Happy'' — that was the reaction. And up to a point, ''Get Happy'' was very positive. The only record I really don't like from that time is ''Trust'' because I feel it's under-realised. There were some very good songs on it and some very bad songs, but overall we didn't follow it through to anything definite enough. What I like about ''Get Happy'' is that it's got a very radical attitude to the playing and to the production, whereas both those things were lacking in ''Trust''. | ||
''What I was getting at about Almost Blue was - | ''What I was getting at about Almost Blue was - | ||
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''Is there an audience apart from that? | ''Is there an audience apart from that? | ||
Of course there is! Who buys Johnny Mathis records, that's what I'd like to know? Where do you meet them? There are millions of people out there. Even if your record gets to number one, even if you are | Of course there is! Who buys Johnny Mathis records, that's what I'd like to know? Where do you meet them? There are millions of people out there. Even if your record gets to number one, even if you are Kajagoogoo, there's still something like 70 percent of the population who have never heard of you. People overestimate the power... And there is always an audience out there, even if it's quite small. I mean we toured last year having watched at that point four, maybe five singles fail to make the Top 40. And yet at a time when bands that had had hits were having to cancel, we were still doing 75 percent to capacity audiences all over the country. If you sell 100,000 records, maybe they're the only 100,000 people in the country that like you, but that's still a lot of people. 20,000 is still a lot of people. It's a damn sight more than you reach playing your songs in your bedroom. You can get very spoilt by success, not least in that you think you have a God given right to an audience. If I really felt that there was someone doing what I do better than me, then I'd be worried. | ||
''Who is your biggest rival then? Who do you pace yourself against? | ''Who is your biggest rival then? Who do you pace yourself against? | ||
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''If you did something that no one around you liked, no one around you understood, who is the one person you would like to appreciate it? | ''If you did something that no one around you liked, no one around you understood, who is the one person you would like to appreciate it? | ||
Me. Because if everybody else hated it I'd have to re-assess it, but if I did genuinely believe in it then I'd have to go ahead with it. I have held out on things... ideas about the direction of a track, particularly on | Me. Because if everybody else hated it I'd have to re-assess it, but if I did genuinely believe in it then I'd have to go ahead with it. I have held out on things... ideas about the direction of a track, particularly on ''Imperial Bedroom'' — where I was making all the production decisions. It's very hard when you're judging your own work. Some of the things that I held out for — when everyone said I was wrong — six months later I found I ''was'' wrong! There's that song "Kid About It", which I insisted on singing in an entirely unsuitable octave. I was trying to get away from having one vocal feel throughout, the sort of one-man-tortured-by-his-art thing, so I went completely the other way and used overlapping vocals and conflicting styles to suggest there was more than one attitude going on inside the songs. Some of it worked perfectly well, a rather more theatrical way of singing, if you like, because I wanted to get away from that sort of ''soul'' singing and do something ''cooler'', in the old-fashioined sense. | ||
''You must have written around 200 or so songs by now. Which were the most personal? | ''You must have written around 200 or so songs by now. Which were the most personal? | ||
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They're all personal, really. They're all from a personal point of view. I very rarely write songs in a hackish kind of way — just toss them off like that. There are more of them that are personal than are not, so it's hard to pick out one. They're all from a personal point of view, that's why I never, ever said I'm a spokesman for a generation. I never said that — thank God! I never said I'm speaking for anybody else but myself. And if you disagree, you don't like what I say or you don't like the way I say it, there's plenty of other records to buy. | They're all personal, really. They're all from a personal point of view. I very rarely write songs in a hackish kind of way — just toss them off like that. There are more of them that are personal than are not, so it's hard to pick out one. They're all from a personal point of view, that's why I never, ever said I'm a spokesman for a generation. I never said that — thank God! I never said I'm speaking for anybody else but myself. And if you disagree, you don't like what I say or you don't like the way I say it, there's plenty of other records to buy. | ||
''Picking out a certain theme in your songs "Oliver's Army" | ''Picking out a certain theme in your songs "Oliver's Army," "Shipbuilding".. . Would you fight for your country? | ||
No. I'd fight for myself maybe, but I wouldn't fight for my country. | No. I'd fight for myself maybe, but I wouldn't fight for my country. | ||
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''Do you get many ideas from dreams? | ''Do you get many ideas from dreams? | ||
Not very often. Sometimes ideas, strange titles and things, just pop into my head. I woke up one night about six months ago and I had what sounded like the opening line of a Raymond Chandler book. "I had forgotten all about the case of the three pins until the brown paper parcel landed on my welcome mat." I wrote that down and went back to sleep. There's a song called "King Of Thieves" on the new album that came from that. | Not very often. Sometimes ideas, strange titles and things, just pop into my head. I woke up one night about six months ago and I had what sounded like the opening line of a Raymond Chandler book. ''"I had forgotten all about the case of the three pins until the brown paper parcel landed on my welcome mat."'' I wrote that down and went back to sleep. There's a song called "King Of Thieves" on the new album that came from that. | ||
''Do you believe in the supernatural? | ''Do you believe in the supernatural? | ||
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{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
{{tags}}[[Punch The Clock]] {{-}} [[ | {{tags}}[[Punch The Clock]] {{-}} [[The Attractions]] {{-}} [[Steve Nieve]] {{-}} [[Bruce Thomas]] {{-}} [[Pete Thomas]] {{-}} [[Nick Lowe]] {{-}} [[Jake Riviera]] {{-}} [[Stiff Records]] {{-}} [[Ross MacManus]] {{-}} [[Declan MacManus]] {{-}} [[Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers]] {{-}} [[Barney Bubbles]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] {{-}} [[Armed Forces]] {{-}} [[ABBA]] {{-}} [[David Bowie]] {{-}} [[The TKO Horns]] {{-}} [[Dexys Midnight Runners]] {{-}} [[Afrodiziak]] {{-}} [[Charm School]] {{-}} [[The Invisible Man]] {{-}} [[Pills And Soap]] {{-}} [[Hammersmith Palais]] {{-}} [[Twickenham]] {{-}} [[Merseyside]] {{-}} [[Birkenhead]] {{-}} [[Hounslow]] {{-}} [[Watching The Detectives]] {{-}} [[Master Blaster (Jammin')]] {{-}} [[Stevie Wonder]] {{-}} [[Bob Marley]] {{-}} [[Al Green]] {{-}} [[Elvis Presley]] {{-}} [[The Sex Pistols]] | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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[[image:1983-08-00 The Face cover.jpg|x230px|border]] | [[image:1983-08-00 The Face cover.jpg|x230px|border]] | ||
[[image:1983-08-00 The Face photo 01.jpg|x230px|border]] | [[image:1983-08-00 The Face photo 01.jpg|x230px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Photographs by Davies/Starr.</small> | |||
<br> | <br> | ||
{{Bibliography box}} | {{Bibliography box}} | ||
<center><h3> Punch The Clock </h3> </center> | <center><h3> Punch The Clock </h3> </center> | ||
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{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
<br> | <br><br><br> | ||
[[image:1983-08-00 The Face page 03.jpg|x120px|border]] | <small>Photographs by Davies/Starr.</small><br> | ||
[[image:1983-08-00 The Face pages 40-41.jpg|x120px|border | [[image:1983-08-00 The Face photo 03.jpg|x190px]] | ||
[[image:1983-08-00 The Face photo 02.jpg|x190px]] | |||
<small>Pages scans.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1983-08-00 The Face page 03.jpg|x120px|border|contents page]] | |||
[[image:1983-08-00 The Face pages 40-41.jpg|x120px|border|pages 40-41]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face_(magazine) Wikipedia: The Face] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face_(magazine) Wikipedia: The Face] | ||
*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/d-g/ | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/d-g/fa8308a.html elviscostello.info][http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/d-g/fa8308b.html {{t}}] | ||
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/littletriggers/15834125100/ Flickr: Stephen McCathie] | |||
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/littletriggers/15834125100/ Flickr: | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Face 1983-08-00}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Face 1983-08-00}} |
Revision as of 19:15, 19 March 2021
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