Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

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krm
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Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

Post by krm »

I recently foud this very early interview w EC. From swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet. Published 1977 April 26th.

EC_Aftonbladet_liten.jpg
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Aftonbladet FOLK I FARTEN Tisdagen den 26 april 1977

Elvis COSTELLO - datateknikern som vill bli Englands nye rockkung

LONDON Det här är Elvis Costello. Han är 22 år och satsar på att bli en av de mer kända rocksångarna i England. Men än så länge jobbar han som datatekniker och har inget eget band. För ett par veckor sedan kom Elvis första single. Den fick fin kritik i tidningarna och spelas ofta radion. Med den starten är både Elvis och hans skivbolag nöjda. Trots att Elvis Costello bara är 22 år är han ingen nybörjare i branschen. Under många år har han sjungit på klubbar och pubar i London med omnejd. Han skriver sina låtar själv och musikaliskt finns det stor likheter mellan Elvis Costello och Graham Parker. Som en av de stora engelska musiktidningarna skrev häromveckan när Elvis första single, "Less Than Zero" just släppts:
INGEN-KOPIA "Elvis Costello är en trevlig bekantskap som låter ungefär som en blandning mellan Graham Parker och Bruce Springsteen plus lite calypsorytmer",
Skriv bara inte att jag är en Graham Parker-kopia, Vi har spelat på ungefär samma ställen under flera år och nu har han blivit känd. Att våra röster påminner om varandra gör inte mig till kopia av honom.
När vi träffade Elvis nere i det lilla skivbolaget Stiffs källare i Londons utkanter hade vi knappt hört honom sjunga. Så Elvis gick och hämtade sin gitarr och spelade "Less Than Zero" för oss. Utan tvekan är Elvis Costello en högklassig musiker. Han är en skicklig gitarrist och en mycket god sångare. Men vad som är mer ovanligt är att han vill något med sin musik också. Politiskt hör Elvis hemma på Labours vänsterkant. Han röstar på partiet och är allvarligt bekymrad över fascistorganisationen National Fronts framgångar i England under den senaste tiden,

LÅT OM NAZIST
Låten ”Less Than Zero" handlar just om de här sakerna.. Huvudpersonen i sången är en Mr Osvald. I verkligheten heter han Osvald Mosley och var nazistledare i England före andra världskriget. När kriget bröt ut och tiderna blev kärvare för nazister i England lämnade Osvald Mosley landet för att till slut slå sig ner i Sydamerika. Men nu har han kommit tillbaka och vädrar morgonluft. Han intervjuas i TV och får ge sin syn på händelserna i ett England hårt drabbat av ekonomisk kris och arbetslöshet.
Elvis: Tyvärr kunde jag inte skriva ut hans efternamn i låten också för då skulle den blivit bojkottad av BBC. Därför var jag också tvungen att göra texten lite mer invecklad än vad jag egententligen skulle velat. Att bli bojkottad av BBC gör att nästan inga får höra skivan Och följaktligen når man ingen. -- Detta är en del av det engelska hyckleriet Om några omogna ungar bär hakkors för att chockera blir det ett fruktansvärt liv. Men när gamla nazister kommer tillbaks och fortsätter predika judehat och fascism, då reagerar ingen. När Elvis skriver en låt börjar han alltid med texten. Det är den han jobbar med, sitter och filar på orden och vidareutvecklar. Sedan kommer musiken automatiskt.

TV GER IDÉER
Han gör inte mycket väsen kring sig, Elvis. Han umgås inte med annat branschfolk, på kvällarna sitter han mest hemma och tittar på TV:
-- Det är från TV jag får en stor del av min inspiration. TV visar sina tittare vad de ska tycka, för att jag ska kunna motverka det måste jag kolla in TV-programmen. Det dröjde länge innan Elvis kom i kontakt med något skivbolag som ville satsa på honom: Jag tror jag har varit på de flesta här i London. Men de kräver alla en dyr och perfekt inspelad demonstrationstape innan de ens pratar med en. Och att fixa sådana grejor är fruktansvärt dyrt.
Därför kommer man in i en ond cirkel. Utan pengar så är det ingen som vill satsa på en. När han sedan fick kontrakt med Stiff var det ingen tillfällighet. Stiffs motto är: ”Vi är branschens begravningsentreprenörer, Ni gräver upp dem och vi spelar in dem"
--- När jag såg det tänkte jag att där måste jag också ha en chans, säger Elvis. Elvis musikaliska målsättning är att renodla enkelheten utan att göra dålig musik. På sin LP-skiva använder han till exempel bara bas, gitarr, trummor och en gammal Vox-orgel. Skivan släpps om någon vecka.

SOLO UNDER 30 SEK
---- Jag låtsas inte som om jag bara kan tre ackord. men ändå vill jag göra musiken enkel. En sak som jag till exempel hatar är långa gitarrsolon. Det finns ingen som kan spela ett solo bra längre än 30 sekunder, Men min verkliga målsättning är att bryta vanligt folks apati och kanske kunna ge dem lite inspiration att göra något av sina liv.


Gunnar Wesslén

Elvis Costello, 22. Ser timid och blyg ut. På scenen och på skiva blir han en blandning mellan Bruce Springsteen och Graham Parker med lite calypsotakter inblandat
BILD: ULLA LEMBERG


*************

Elvis COSTELLO - computer technician who wants to be England's new rock king

LONDON
This is Elvis Costello. He is 22 years old and is committed to become one of the more famous rock singers in England. But so far, he works as a computer technician and has not a band of his own. A few weeks ago, Elvis first single came out. It got a lots of reviews in the newspapers and is often played on the radio. With that start, both Elvis and his record company are pleased. Although Elvis Costello is only 22, he is no beginner in the industry. For many years, he has been singing at clubs and pubs in London and the surrounding area. He writes his songs himself and musically there are great similarities between Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. As one of the great English music magazines, this week, wrote when Elvis's first single, "Less Than Zero" was released:
NOT a COPY "Elvis Costello is a nice acquaintance that sounds like a blend between Graham Parker and Bruce Springsteen plus little calypso tunes",
Just do not write that I'm a Graham Parker copy, We've been playing in about the same places for several years and now he has become famous. That our voices recall each other do not make me a copy of him.
When we met Elvis down in the small record company, Stiff's cellar in London's outskirts, we had barely heard him singing. So Elvis went and fetched his guitar and played "Less Than Zero" for us. Without a doubt, Elvis Costello is a high-class musician. He is a skilled guitarist and a very good singer. But what's more unusual is that he wants something with his music as well. Politically, Elvis is at home on Labor's left side. He votes on the party and is seriously concerned about the fancies of National Fronts successes in England recently,

SONG ABOUT A NAZI
The song "Less Than Zero" is about these things. The main character of the song is a Mr. Osvald. In reality he is called Osvald Mosley and was a Nazi leader in England before World War II. When the war broke out and times got tougher for nazis in England, Osvald Mosley left and landed to end up in South America, but now he has come back and is waiting for morning air. He is interviewed on television and allowed his views on events in England to be severely affected by economic crisis and unemployment.
Elvis: Unfortunately, I could not print his last name in the song, too, for then it would have been boycotted by the BBC. Therefore, I also had to make the text a bit more complex than what I really wanted. Being boycotted by the BBC means that almost no one can hear the record and consequently reaches nobody . - This is part of the English hypocrisy. If some untimely kids wear zwastikas to shock, it will be a terrible life. But when old Nazis come back and continue to preach Judaism and fascism, no one reacts. When Elvis writes a song, he always begins with the text. It is the one he works with, sits and files in order and further develop it. Then the music comes automatically.

TV GIVES IDEAS
He does not make a lot of noise and media, Elvis. He does not hang out with other industry people, in the evenings he is most at home and watching TV:
- It's from TV I get a lot of my inspiration. TV shows its viewers what they think, so to be able to counter it, I have to check out the TV shows. It took a long time before Elvis came into contact with any record company that wanted to sign him: I think I've been to most of these in London. But they all require an expensive and perfectly recorded demonstration tape before they even talk to anyone. And fixing such things are terribly expensive.
Therefore, you get into a vicious circle. Without money, nobody wants to sign you. When he got a contract with Stiff, it was no coincidence. Stiff's motto is: "We are the industry's funeral contractors, you dig up them and we record them"
--- When I saw it, I thought that I should also have a chance, says Elvis. Elvis's musical goal is to streamline simplicity without making bad music. On his LP, for example, he uses only bass, guitar, drums and an old Vox organ. The disc will be released in a week.

SOLO UNDER 30 SEK
---- I'm not pretending I can only play three chords. But still I want to make the music simple. One thing I hate for example is long guitar solon. There is no one who can play a solo good for longer than 30 seconds, but my real goal is to break the usual apathy of ordinary people and maybe give them some inspiration to do something with their lives.


Gunnar Wesslén

Elvis Costello, 22. Looks timid and shy. On stage and on disc, he becomes a blend between Bruce Springsteen and Graham Parker with some calypso acts involved
PICTURE: ULLA LEMBERG
johnfoyle
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Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

Post by johnfoyle »

https://www.etc.se/kultur-noje/historie ... usiknordar


GUNNAR WESSLÉN ( in November 2015)

(extract - Google translation)

I have a special relationship with Elvis Costello. The spring of 1977 I was sent to London by Aftonbladet together with photographer Ulla Lemberg. My mission was to portray the punk scene in England.

The record company Stiff Records had a number of interesting artists reported. I got to see the list of their musicians and bands and stuck directly to the unlikely name Elvis Costello, which was then unknown to people outside the inner circle.

I met him in the middle of the day at a pub in Islington, London.

But there was a problem. Costello's first album, My Aim Is True, was not yet released so how could I know how he sounded? Costello, however, had a solution; To the pub he took his guitar, and to my delight, Ullas and the other pubgirls, he started playing.

He started with an unplugged version of "Less Than Zero" and then continued with "Alison". It was completely brilliant and it was quite quiet at the pub.

This has to be one of the first interviews made with Elvis Costello, which was surprisingly silent. He did not want to tell him that he was actually officially named Declan MacManus and that he was a first and second pop and music hitman. He did his utmost to appear more exciting and mysterious than that.
johnfoyle
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Re: Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

Post by johnfoyle »

The original account says Elvis sangs songs for the reporter in 'Stiff's cellar in London's outskirts'. That is , presumably , Alexander Street , in Notting Hill, London. The 2015 account says the singing happened in 'a pub in Islington'. That is , of course , a different area. Pathway Studios were on Grosvenor Avenue , Islington. Maybe the encounter was , therefore , initially there before moving on to a nearly pub. Perhaps this is the same pub where Wreckless Eric was taken 'for a few drinks' while Elvis trotted out a load of demos , successfully putting paid to Stiff's plans to launch Elvis & Eric with a joint album.
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krm
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Location: Sweden Skåne

Re: Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

Post by krm »

I dug up another EC interview from the same journalist.Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet again,from an article sep3, 1979.

Gunnar Wesslén writes and google translates:
excerpt:
"...I had never heard him, his first single, Less Than Zero had come out a few days before and on the record company Stiff, where we met, the gramophone had broken.
But it was easily remedied, Elvis went and picked up an acoustic guitar and sang ~ Less Than Zero for us. The sound bounced against the concrete walls in the basement where we sat and I was very impressed. Much more impressed than when I heard the album later.
The only reason I asked to meet him was that I heard his name, and who can resist the name Elvis Costello? We sat for a long time and talked, moving after a while to a nearby pub. Elvis told about TV. People's contact problem, about fascism, about the Social Democrats, he belonged to their left wing."
EC_Aftonbladet_3sep79_reduced.jpg
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complete article will be transcribed and translated...later :-)
sulky lad
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Re: Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

Post by sulky lad »

Looking forward to this, thanks K :D
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krm
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Location: Sweden Skåne

Re: Early EC interview in Swedish newspaper

Post by krm »

sulky lad wrote:Looking forward to this, thanks K :D
wiki delivers!
http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... er_3,_1979
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