Armed Forces In America (The Marketing of Elvis Costello)

[John Scot Sheets]

Armed Forces In America (The Marketing of Elvis Costello)

On March 11 1979, Elvis Costello and the Attractions played the IU Auditorium in Bloomington Indiana, on March 14 in Columbus Ohio, he hit the wall.

The part I remember the most was they had these green lights that shot horizontally across the stage instead of shining down on the band. Elvis ordered the audience to stand up, bass player Bruce Thomas executed an amazing cross-legged drop to the stage. PLOP! I think the band thought they were shaking us out of our malaise. I had no malaise, I had been standing since the first note, pissing off the older (he was 21, 22 max) guy with the frowning girlfriend sitting next to me. She was armed for bear, scowling and commenting on any lyric with a hint of political incorrectness. I helped her by singing along.

In March of 1979 CBS records was ready for Elvis to bring home the bacon, Armed Forces had just been released in January and the record company had high hopes for the critics darling, the album we got was an “American Version” with a different cover and track listing, just like The Beatles! The King was on a hot streak, having released three monster records in a short period of time; just like Dylan in 1964 through 1966! Of course Bob had a major crash and burn after a grueling tour promoting the best of his trilogy, and never reached that level of intensity again.

The key track on Armed Forces was What’s So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding which was written by producer Nick Lowe. This song had no keyboards and Elvis sang at the bottom of his register kind of in a Springsteen way, it was polished and shinny and had hit single written all over it. Properly promoted, all the Bob Seeger fans making the Journey from Kansas to Chicago could go New Wave dancing to it. I loved it, still do.

I had just shaken off prog, was too dumb to understand Jazz and loved The Sex Pistols, Television and Cheap Trick. I was the consumer CBS was looking for. None of my friends at Ball State would go to Bloomington with me to see Elvis, no one! I finally found a ride with some friends of friends of friends who were going to the show, the only catch was they had to go to Fort Wayne first to catch the ride to IU.

I spent two hours with these guys in a suburban Fort Wayne bedroom smoking hideous pot that looked like lawn clippings and listening to The Rocky Horror Picture Show LP on a close and play waiting for the ride to show up. All the while this kids mom was banging on the door threatening to kick us out, call the police and/or beat us up.

The Rubinoos opened the show, I thought they were pretty good. I think they even did a cover of Sugar Sugar by the Archies. The hottest new wave hits blasted from the PA in-between sets. I remember hearing Gary Gilmore’s Eyes. The place was packed, I was sitting by myself, all wound up after the long trip, and the guy and his date sitting next to me were almost too easy to offend.

The show was loud, fast and brief. The house lights came on right after the last note, I think he had a “no encore” rule. If you go to http://www.elviscostello.info/gigography.php every show the Artist has done is listed. These guys were on the road constantly from 1977 to March of 79 , how they ever had time to make three LPs is a miracle. I do give a lot of credit to Nick Lowe and his “bash it out and tart it up later” production technique, but no wonder things went bad.

I imagine a meeting in a boardroom at CBS going something like this.
Executive #1: Hey.... Elvis Costello got in a fight in a bar in Columbus Ohio with Bonnie Bramlett.
Executive #2: Bonnie Raitt?
Executive #1: No, Bonnie Bramlett, He and his band made fun of Steven Stills and then made a racial slur against Ray Charles.
Executive #2: I knew those punk rockers were bad news. Steve Stills, he’s a top money earner for us, we can’t make him mad. What was Ray Charles doing there?
And so on……..

This was Elvis’s motorcycle wreck, fighting with a girl and using the n-word to describe Ray Charles (who of course wasn’t there). Fighting with a girl?

Of course Elvis was not a racist, he had just produced the first album by the Specials, done a huge Rock Against Racism show in London, blah, blah, blah.

Armed Forces did go Gold in America in 1979 with sales in excess of 500,000. America yawned, put on a Toto record and went back to sleep.

Thanks for reading!
Comments are welcome!

John Scot Sheets

[Judith Lynne Hines Oliver]

Hey John!
Saw Elvis most recently May 16, 2008, with the Police in Orlando. In the $200+ ticket section people were so rude. I was standing thu Elvis, and people were bitching. They wanted to see the Police.
Also caught him a few times at House of Blues before. Better venue than Amway Arena.
Peter Murphy HOB July 6, 2008, Jannus Landing, Tampa June 25, 2009.
Sisters of Mercy last november was a bit disapointing at HOB. Great music, too much fog machine.
Morrissey... ALWAYS a great thing HOB 2X
DEPECHE MODE September 4, 2009 Fl St Fairgrounds Tampa ( if you liked them in the past, their newest cd is moresome.
There some great clubs in Orlando. the Social is prob the best for incoming and local bands.
Hey, Orlando even had the last Ramone standing for the 4 day fest the other week! (Markey)
My true favs are the Tiki people, like Michael McCloud in Key West (hokey, but very Key vibe). Hope to listen to him in a few days. (and sneak into the cemetary again for charcoal rubbings - apparenty you need a permit from the mayor - don't tell, community)
Happy Holidays!

[mike whybark]

Oh, MFT, for sure.

[Bill Zink]

I'll put my vote in for Get Happy.

[Ed]

Mike: "This site restarted my music buying, by the way. Mostly old stuff I never had on CD but also a few current artists." You mean the bootleg site or MFT? MFT certainly has gotten my music bug going better. And--if it were the bootleg site--wouldn't that be the beautiful irony of it all? It's listening to bootlegs that makes you want to get more.

[Ed]

My favorite part of the story was this: "listening to The Rocky Horror Picture Show LP on a close and play"--as in, one of those little toy record players? Wild detail if I understood it correctly.

[mike whybark]

Great story, Bob. One hopes one of the bootleggers actually succeeded.

[Robert Scally]

I attended the March 11 show in IU. It was quite an event.
Elvis and the Attractions blasted through what was supposed to be a 90 minute set in 70 minutes. I've recently read an interview with Mr. Declan McManus who stated that they were so coked up that they playing a warp speed.
During the show, I witnessed people being busted by IU campus police and taken away in handcuffs for trying to bootleg record the show as well as for smoking cigarettes.
At one point Elivis stopped the show, not realizing of what what was going on in the audience.
"This must be an edict college. You're all so POLITE" "We're going to sit down until you all rush the stage!"
EC and Attractions then sat down.
At this, the cops lost control of the crowd, which did not fill the auditorium. The stage was rushed.
EC, satisfied, leaped to his feet and played, if memory serves me correctly "Radio, Radio."
Immediately after the show, I went to the stage door with my friend Sarah Martin (an IU student) and several other EC devotees. As I recall this was a a Gothic style building made of stone with window at odd p[lace on the stage door side.
The crowd chanted "Elvis, Elvis, Elvis."
The attractions then appeared at the various window and pelted us with restaurant packages of honey and various flavors of jelly. To our back was tour bus that had as it's destination "Camp LeJune."
After a few minutes of this wild excitement, the stage door burst open.
A cadre of huge bouncer types with EC lifted up in the center (he was wearing a mirrored sunglasses version of his glasses and an overcoat) pushed me and several other folks to the ground as they manhandled him onto the bus.
This was one of the greatest concert experiences of my life.
On August 18th I was fortunate to see EC and Sugarcanes (with Lucinda Williams and T-Bone Burnett) at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. It was easily the best show of any style of music that I've seen in the past 15 years. The man can still make magic.

[mike whybark]

lessee now... I see My Aim is True, This Year's Model, and Armed Forces in iTunes (plus that bootleg). I -think- I may have Get Happy on vinyl. On the other hand, looking over the track list tells me I haven't ever spent much time listening to it. Into the queue it goes.

This site restarted my music buying, by the way. Mostly old stuff I never had on CD but also a few current artists.

[John Scot Sheets]

I'm in danger of ODing on EC, listened to Get Happy on the carride to work today. I'm with you JB great LP! Do you remember the TV ads for it?

[Jbarge]

I'd have to dig it up from the giant box of stuff in the attic.
By the way, you're on to something about your theory - once you decide there's not the tiniest possiblity of being commercially successful then you're free to make the most obnoxious/intense/bizarre/fill-in-your-adjective-here music you want, and pretty much that's what was happening 1980-84 hardcore-wise.
Naturally there are exceptions - Husker Du springs to mind.
For Whybark: Did you pass on Get Happy? I loved that album, it's my second fave after My Aim Is True.