Personnel:
Elvis Costello: vocals, guitar
Steve Nieve: keyboards
Pete Thomas: drums
Bruce Thomas: bass guitar
Recorded at Eden Studios London, November 1977-January 1978
Produced by Nick Lowe
UK release date: 17 March 1978
US release date: May 1978
Highest chart places: UK: 4, US: 30
Running time: 35:58
Almost as soon asMy Aim Is True had been released, Elvis was both auditioning his new band and writing songs for his next album. Clover was unable – or unwilling – to become Elvis’ backing band, and the idea to commandeer Graham Parker’s rhythm section (Andrew Bodnar and Steve Goulding) was discussed but never acted upon. Elvis would still use Bodnar and Goulding to help audition prospective band members, though the drummer’s stool wasn’t vacant for long: Elvis had been impressed with drummer Pete Thomas, who first played with Chilli Willi and The Red Hot Peppers until 1975, and was filling time as the drummer in John Stewart’s band in Los Angeles. Riviera had also been the manager of Chilli Willi and convinced Pete to return to England to work with Wilko Johnson, formerly of Dr Feelgood. It turned out to be a ruse: Riviera used Johnson as a way to get another record company to pay for Pete’s transatlantic flight. Within a week of his return, Pete became the drummer in Elvis’ new band.
For the other two vacancies, an ad was placed inMelody Maker on 4 June 1977: ‘Stiff Records Require Organist/Synthesiser Player and Bass Player – both able to sing for rocking pop combo. Must be broad-minded. Young or old’. One of the first bassists to call up the offices to apply was Bruce Thomas, who had an impressive resume: he had first worked with Paul Rodgers in The Roadrunners in 1967, before moving on to such bands as Bodast (with Steve Howe) and Quiver (with Tim Renwick), even recording with Al Stewart. Elvis was hesitant but was eventually convinced by Stiff ’s secretary to give Bruce a chance; with his first choice, Paul ‘Bassman’ Riley (Pete’s fellow Chilli Willi bandmate), unavailable to join a band at the moment, Elvis conceded to an audition with Bruce, who purchased all of Elvis’ singles and learned them note-for-note, but wasn’t quite as sure-footed when he launched into two unrecorded songs, ‘No Action’ and ‘Watching The Detectives’. Elvis recognised Bruce’s ‘fondness for venturing up the neck of his instrument to registers unfamiliar to other bass players’, and hired him.
The only remaining position to fill was the keyboardist. Elvis was determined to only have one guitarist – himself – with the other musicians filling out the sound. After auditioning several keyboardists to no success, Steve Nason showed up and ‘was easily the most impressive candidate at the auditions. He had asked to stay to hear the other players and later been discovered curled up asleep among the amplifiers, having quietly demolished a bottle of sweet cooking sherry’. Nason was quickly rechristened Steve Naïve but eventually evol
