Day 281 – 3 October 2012

Artist: Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Album: Get Happy
Released: February 1980
UK Chart: 2
Wikipedia

Twenty tracks?!? Even with a couple of duffers in there it’s still terrific value for money. At school, I played bass in a succession of crappy bands, the kind where each line-up lasted one gig then morphed into something new, but equally poor. One Saturday afternoon (1981, perhaps?) in our local village hall, a collection of bands were setting up on stage ahead of a sort of “battle of the bands” style “treat” for local music fans. On the other side of the closed stage curtains, a carpet bowls tournament was drawing to a close. One of the participants, an elderly lady, poked her head through the curtains and, on seeing what we were up to said, “oh, my son’s in a band”. “Oh yeah?” we collectively responded, in a kind of “go away old lady” manner. “He’s the bass player in The Attractions. You know, with Elvis Costello?” Slightly more interest now stirring within my group of “musicians”. “He’s watching the carpet bowls just now, I’ll get him to come and have a word.” Thankfully, we were accompanied on this day by a “cool, down with the kids” teacher who was able to actually have a conversation with the carpet bowls spectator, who did indeed turn out to be the said Bruce Thomas, and spare us from an awkward few minutes of staring at our Doc Martens.

He never mentioned this episode in his autobiography.