5. Elvis Costello And The AttractionsArmed Forces
‘Accidents Will Happen’ is probably one of the most beautiful songs to get into the UK Top 10. There was a Stiff Records promotion, I don’t know if you could call it Situationist, where a few copies of ‘Accidents Will Happen’ were put out on the market with the cover printed inside out. So there was a white cover, and you look inside and there’s the artwork. On the song ‘Chemistry Class’ there’s a lyric about an accident and they go ‘accident, accident’, like they’ve spliced the tape and played it twice, another little trick. We know Elvis can be quite wordy at times, and sometimes you wish he’d just mumble a little bit. He gets close on ‘Accidents Will Happen’, tender lyrics, but also brutal, about people getting together and fumbling.
The hidden weapon in The Attractions is really Steve Nieve, but I think that perhaps one of the biggest influences on my songwriting is Bruce Thomas on bass. I would be learning the guitar and playing along, trying to play along, and then thinking, "Hang on, that’s not the root note. He’s playing something else entirely different." That gave me an insight into inversions. I think it was composed when they were all on speed in the United States listening to ABBA and krautrock. They’re just electrifying in any clips of them playing live at this time.
