A big night for Liverpool. This is the night that Julian Cope's idiot dancing caused him to crash into Pete Wylie and his buddy, birthday boy The Duke. The Duke, so named because of his love of the Thin White Duke, aka Duke, aka McCull, aka Mac, aka Ian McCulloch. Julian Cope, Pete Wylie and Ian McCulloch. Hey, let's form a band. We'll be The Crucial Three. And a legend was born. The Crucial Three never recorded but within eighteen months Pete Wylie's Wah! Heat, Julian Cope's Teardrop Explodes and Ian McCulloch's Echo & the Bunnymen were all making Single of the Week.
But that wasn't all.
According to Dave Haslam's Life after Dark this was the night that Big in Japan formed. They split up ffiteen months later with members going on to The Slits, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Pink Military Stand Alone, Pink Industry, Teardrop Explodes, Zoo Records, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Original Mirrors, Bette Bright's Illuminations, Stevie & the Secrets, Care, Lightning Seeds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The KLF (and the Timelords and all the rest of Big Bill Drummond's imaginary bands)
Wednesday June 1st Barbara Thompson's Paraphanalia
Wednesday June 8th Elton Dean quartet
(Elton Dean, Keith Tippett, Joe Gallivan and Hugh Hopper)
Friday June 10th XTC
+ (maybe) Vibrators
Wednesday 15th June Harry Miller's Isipingo
Sunday June 19th Stranglers
+ London
Liverpool Echo 10th and 15th June 1977
It looks as though the Stranglers gig was originally planned for the Empire but was moved to Eric's at short notice. The gig was dropped from the Empire's advertising between 10th and 15th of June.
Wednesday 22nd June Bobby Bradford Quartet with Trevor Watts
Friday 24th Desolation Angel
(Jack Kerouac in words & music)
Saturday 25th Ultravox
Wednesday 29th June 1977 Benny Carter
+ Ralph Sutton Quartet
Two weeks later Benny Carter was at the Montreux Jazz Festival where this was recorded:
and here's some Ralph Sutton, also from 1977
If you came expecting a load of punk enjoy this documentary
On 30th July, a week after the release of My Aim Is True, Elvis Costello was due to play Eric's. According to an NME article the Saturday gig was postponed to 2nd August.
In the afternoon Elvis performed for the cameras of Granada TV. This was the "private hire" on August 2nd.
Elvis & the Attractions may have performed just five songs - the four below plus Blame it on Cain.
There may have been more
left on the cutting room floor.
There is also footage of Nick Lowe (as Nick Lowe's Ghosts: Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello - guitar, Martin Belmont - guitar, Larry Wallis - guitar, Andrew Bodnar - bass, Pete Thomas - drums) at Eric's that day/night and according to a Sounds review Dave Edmunds Rockpile played too.
I think the tv recording session took place in the afternoon, then a full (?) show in the evening with invited press. There were reviews in the NME and Sounds (Sounds review below).
Watching the Detectives
my favourite moment at 3:02.
Elvis might have been the hottest ticket in town but his little fingers didn't blow her away.
No Dancing
Lip Service
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Alison (So it goes)
Bonus track: Karaoke cover of Oliver's Army by Ian, recorded at the Grapes in Mathew Street, a couple of doors down from Eric's.
Oliver's Army
The Grapes plays a part in the Costello Story for it was here in 1972 that young Declan met Nick Lowe before a Brinsley Schwarz gig at the Cavern.
Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds' Rockpile /
Liverpool
Y'know, for a buncha stiffs, these guys sure put on one
helluva LIVE show. Judging by the exceptionally high standards of musicianship
displayed by all three bands, I can safely say that Stiff Records have well and
truly cracked it.
First on was Elvis Costello, and let me say that if this guy
ain't the Next Big Thing then there's an awful lot to be desired as far as
brains go with regard to the general record buying public.
This man is highly talented and a genius, a fact which his
My Aim Is True LP bears out admirably. The hype goes: "there are only two
Elvis: one is fat and famous, the other is small and languishes in
obscurity." Well, I dunno about him being small, but Elvis Costello can
certainly no longer "languish in obscurity' with talent as rare as his.
His backing band are no mean animal either, and comprise
Pete Thomas on drums, Bruce Thomas (no relation) on bass, and Steven Young on
keyboards. Now, I don't know what kind of love-life our Elvis has been leading,
but if his lyrics are anything to go by, he sure has had a hard time. He's got
this complex which dwells upon his various inadequacies as a person, and this
comes out in songs such as "Miracle Man" and "Mystery
Dance." He's nothing if not candid about it, either.
There's a sinister side to his songwriting, too, as may be
found in "Watching The Detectives," for example, with love quickly
turning to murder for the characters in his song. He's not so much cynical
towards love, rather he's just sorrowful that it never seems to go right for
him. Still, better to have loved and lost...
Those of us who were sorry to see Elvis finish his set were
doubtless overjoyed to see him return as part of Nick Lowe's Band, straight
afterwards, a line-up which also boasted arch-hippie Larry Wallis, on guitar,
but he was pretty low down in the mix to make any real impression.
For some reason, the Lowe Band were on stage for a mere ten
minutes, which can't have made them many friends but then again, their music
can't have made them any enemies either. The three songs we were treated to
were all first-class, namely the oddly titled "Shake And Pop," the
autobiographical "Music For Money" and the dreamy "Endless
Sleep." But I think we deserve a bit more next time eh boys?
Now, whatever unrest may exist in the respective camps of
Lowe and Edmunds, everything seemed just fine tonight, with Nick Lowe jamming
along with his former colleagues Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams as
if the regrettable Swan Song affair has never taken place.
Eric's roof was well and truly brought down by some real
bona fide rock (pile) 'n' roll, and I am now convinced that Dave Edmunds is one
of THE R&R guitarists of all time (and he's doing it NOW instead of THEN),
and Rockpile are one of the best, yet sorely under-rated, rock bands this
boring country has got.
Songs such as Lowe's "I Knew The Bride" and
"Heart Of The City," Graham Parker's "Back To School Days,"
"I Hear You Knockin," "Mess Of Blues" and "Ju Ju
Man" were all performed with relentless energy and amphetamine overdrive,
and it all seemed so natural and easy, y'know? Like, Nick Lowe belongs in this
band, he really does. He's part of it. His leaving is like someone getting an
arm or leg cut off. It's gonna cripple Rockpile if they're not careful, which'd
be a real shame. I can only hope Nick Lowe thinks better of his decision — I
haven't enjoyed a concert as much in AGES.
