Элвис Костелло және The Attractions тобының тарихы

UK musical group
the 1988 British television film by Tony Marchant

The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve (keyboards), Bruce Thomas (bass guitar), and Pete Thomas (drums). They also released one album (and two associated singles) as an independent entity, without Costello, in 1980. They have been called one of the best backing bands in rock history.

Backing for Costello's 1977 debut album was provided by the American West Coast band Clover. On the eve of that album's release, Costello formed his own permanent backing band, the Attractions, consisting of Steve Nieve (born Steve Nason; keyboards) from London, Bruce Thomas (bass guitar) from Stockton on Tees, and Pete Thomas (drums) from Sheffield. The two Thomases are unrelated. Bruce Thomas was the oldest group member (29 when he joined), with the most professional experience prior to being an Attraction. He had previously been a member of the band Quiver, who had released two albums on their own in 1971/72, as well as functioning as the backing band for several albums by the Sutherland Brothers. while Elvis Costello & The Attractions were playing a series of concerts with Dury before they recorded their first single, Nason innocently asked Dury "What's a groupie?" Dury immediately dubbed Nason "Steve Naive", and the name stuck (although the spelling was altered.) According to Pitchforks Tyler Wilcox, the band replaced the "middle of the road elements" of Clover to create a "minimal, hard edged sound befitting the burgeoning punk scene in England at the time". Costello and the Attractions made their live debut on 14 July 1977, shortly before the release of My Aim Is True (1977). A few live tracks were appended to the B side of Costello's single "Watching the Detectives", issued in October 1977, which Nieve performed on. In December 1977, the Attractions appeared with Costello on Saturday Night Live as a last minute replacement for the Sex Pistols. They played "Watching the Detectives" and began "Less Than Zero" before Costello abruptly cut the band off and counted them into the then unreleased "Radio Radio". The impromptu stunt angered producer Lorne Michaels and resulted in Costello's banning from Saturday Night Live until 1989. The Attractions' first album with Costello was This Year's Model (1978), but the band did not officially receive co billing credit until 1979's Armed Forces. Costello later stated that he and the Attractions reached a level of musical agreement during the recording of Armed Forces that would never be matched again. From there, the Attractions backed Costello on all of his albums and singles until 1984,

In early 1986, Costello released King of America, billed to the Costello Show and made largely without the Attractions, who played on only one track, as well as the non LP B side "Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo", billed to 'The Costello Show Featuring The Attractions'. Later that same year Costello reunited with The Attractions to record the album Blood & Chocolate, the final Attractions release for several years. The original group reunited for several tracks on Costello's 1994 album Brutal Youth and toured together over the next two years. They recorded one further album as a group (1996's All This Useless Beauty) but split for good in 1996. Nieve and Pete Thomas continued to back Costello through various touring and recording line ups, and are still members of his current backing group the Imposters. The split between Costello and Bruce Thomas, however, appears permanent. Bruce Thomas made a brief appearance with his former bandmates when the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, but when Costello was asked why Thomas did not play with them at the event, he reportedly replied, "I only work with professional musicians."

For Elvis Costello solo material, please see the Elvis Costello discography.