THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

836-Elvis Costello and the Attractions-Oliver’s Army.

1979-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 1.53. A deceptively jolly ‘ABBA’ type tune, that hides a sinister message.

Elvis Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus, on August 25th, 1954, in Paddington, London, England. His father Ross MacManus (1927-2011) was a Jazz trumpeter, and vocalist, who recorded using the stage name ‘Day Costello,’ the ‘Elvis’ part of his name is in tribute to Elvis Presley (1935-1977) (see also best songs 954-664-442 and 194.) In 1974 using the stage name ‘D.P. MacManus, Costello’s first broadcast recording was with his father in a television commercial for ‘R. White’s Lemonade’ (‘I’m a Secret Lemonade Drinker,’) His father sang the song, and Costello sang backing vocals, the advertisement won a silver award at the 1974 ‘International Advertising Festival.’ Elvis Costello began his music career playing what would be described as ‘Pub Rock,’ and ‘Punk Rock,’ before moving in to ‘New Wave,’ and ‘Power Pop.’

The discography of Elvis Costello includes 32 studio Albums released between 1977-2022, and 62 singles issued between 1977-2023, there are also 16 official compilation Albums, and six live Albums available. In the UK, he has never had a Number 1 Album, or single, but 26 of his Albums have made the top 40, and 17 of his singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Oliver’s Army,’ charting the highest at Number 2. In America on the Billboard charts, 16 on his Albums have made the top 40, with ‘Armed Forces,’ from 1979, peaking the highest at Number 10, while two of his singles have charted within the Billboard Hot 100, with ‘Veronica,’ which he co-wrote with Paul McCartney, charting the highest at Number 19, in 1989.

‘Oliver’s Army’ which was written by Elvis Costello, and co-produced by Costello, and Nick Lowe, (see also best songs 273) who co-produced all of the first five Elvis Costello studio Albums, was the first of two singles released from Elvis Costello’s third studio Album ‘Armed Forces,’ from January 1979. This was also the second studio Album that included the musicians who were known as the ‘Attractions,’ playing on all of the tracks. The ‘Attractions’ were Steve Nieve, (keyboards) Bruce Thomas, (bass) and Pete Thomas, (drums) the two Thomas’ are not related. In total the ‘Attractions’ would back Costello on 10 studio Albums between 1978-1994, the ‘Attractions’ also released the Album ‘Mad About the Wrong Boy,’ in 1980, without Costello.

Nick Lowe who co-produced ‘Oliver’s Army,’ has said that Costello was going to dump the song when they first started recording it,’We went through it all afternoon, and it just wasn’t happening at all. Elvis didn’t like it, and he was getting more and more shirty. Then out of the blue Steve Nieve said,’What about if I do a sort of Abba (see also best songs 44) piano part on it.’ We knew their records were good, but no one wanted to own up to it. Nieve did the piano part, and suddenly the thing went from black-and-white to fireworks.’

‘Oliver’s Army’ was written by Elvis Costello after he had visited Belfast, in Northern Island, for the first time. He was shocked to see such very young soldiers from the British Army walking around with machine guns. It was a time of great unemployment, especially in the North of England, and Costello is saying that the only real option that young men had at that time to avoid unemployment was to join the army. The songs title is a reference to the English statesman, politician, and soldier Oliver Cromwell, (1599-1658) who established the first professional, properly trained, fighting force, who were known as the ‘New Model Army,’ who fought the ‘English Civil War,’ (1642-1649) against the Royalist army of King Charles 1 (1600-1649.)

The lyrics ‘With the boys from the ‘Mersey’ and the ‘Thames’ and the ‘Tyne,” refers to the rivers of the three largest population centres on the coasts of England, which are, Liverpool, London, and Newcastle. These areas were economically depressed at the time when Costello wrote ‘Oliver’s Army,’ and it was where the Army did much of it’s recruiting from. Also mentioned in the song is the ‘Murder Mile,’ which is a section of Northern Belfast, where Protestant loyalists routinely snatched Catholics off the streets in the 1970’s, to face torture, and painful deaths. The most controversial line in the song is the phrase ‘White Nigger,’ which up until recent years remained uncensored on radio stations. Elvis Costello has explained that the use of the ‘N’ word was in no way racist, as in the context of ‘Oliver’s Army,’ ‘White Nigger’ is a derogatory slang term used by a British private soldier for Irish Catholics.

On a lighter note, Elvis Costello has said,’Oliver’s Army became our biggest hit single, stalling at Number 2 on the charts, while records by Blondie, Boney M, and the Bee Gees, all overtook us at the top of the hit parade. I thought briefly about changing my name to something beginning with ‘B.’

‘But there’s no danger, it’s a professional career, though it could be arranged with just a word in Mr. Churchill’s ear. If you’re out of luck or out of work, we could send you to Johannesburg.’