Editing Elvis Costello (section)

==== ''Armed Forces'' ====
Costello and the Attractions recorded his third album, [[Armed Forces (album)|''Armed Forces'']], at Eden Studios in six weeks from August and September 1978.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=|pp=125–126}}<ref name="Costello-2002a">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Armed Forces liner notes|title-link=Armed Forces (album)|year=2002 |first=Elvis |last=Costello |type=booklet |publisher=[[Rhino Records]]}}</ref> It was again produced by Nick Lowe, but Costello himself provided greater creative control.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=126}} Like ''This Year's Model'', the album's influences came from the music Costello and the Attractions listened to while touring, from the [[Berlin Trilogy|Berlin-era records]] of [[David Bowie]] and [[Iggy Pop]] to [[ABBA]] and [[Kraftwerk]].<ref name="Costello-2002a" /><ref>{{Cite AV media|title=The First 10 Years Podcast Series|date=23 July 2007|last=Costello|first=Elvis|type=podcast|language=English|at=episode 6, at 5:30 minutes}}</ref> Costello later said that ''Armed Forces'' was his first album of songs he wrote with an awareness of having an audience. The album's lyrics reflected his experiences on the road in the US, as well his continued concern over the rise of far-right political groups in the UK;<ref name="Costello-2002a" />{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=300}} the album was originally to be called ''Emotional Fascism''.<ref name="Costello-2002a" /> Just before the album's completion in late September, Costello and the Attractions played to an audience of 150,000 in [[Brockwell Park]], south London, as part of the second [[Rock Against Racism]] music festival.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=128}} A few weeks later, they began six months of touring that included, for the first time, Japan and Australia, as well as the UK, Europe, Canada and the US.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=|pp=130, 131, 132, 137}}

Released in early January 1979, ''Armed Forces'' debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and spent 28 weeks on the chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/armed-forces//|title=Elvis Costello, Singles, Watchin' the Detectives [show Chart Facts]|website=Official Charts|access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref> In the US, it spent 25 weeks on the ''Billboard'' chart, peaking at number 10 in mid-March.<ref name="ECBillboard200" /> The US release replaced "Sunday's Best" with Costello's cover of Lowe's "[[(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding]]".{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=|pp=132, 137}}{{Sfn|Hinton|1999|p=435|pp=}} Costello's best-selling single, "[[Oliver's Army]]", was released in Britain in February.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=136}} Costello has said he wrote the song after his first visit to [[Northern Ireland]] and was inspired by seeing young British soldiers on the streets of [[Belfast]] as a part of [[the Troubles]].{{Sfn|Costello|2015|p=34-35}} The song reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/oliver's-army/|title=Elvis Costello, Singles, Oliver's Army [show Chart Facts]|website=Official Charts|access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref> It was also his biggest hit single in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], reaching number 4 on the Irish singles chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement|title=Search by Artist, [search on Elvis Costello]|website=The Irish Charts|access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref> The second single, "[[Accidents Will Happen]]", was released in early May.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=|pp=143, 145}} According to Costello, the song was written in response to his own marital infidelities. The song reached number 28 in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elvis Costello, Singles, Accidents Will Happen [show Chart Facts] |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/accidents-will-happen/ |access-date=12 February 2019 |website=Official Charts}}</ref> In the US, it reached number 101, missing the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] but charting higher than any previous Costello single.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=143}}

The concert tour promoting ''Armed Forces'' was marked by bad publicity.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=131, 135, 139, 140, 142}} Costello and the Attractions played some shows that audiences considered too brief and refused to return for encores.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=131, 139}} Audiences in Sydney, Australia, and Berkeley, California, responded by vandalising the concert venues.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=131, 139}} After a concert in Columbus, Ohio, on 15 March, Costello got into a drunken argument at a hotel bar with members of the [[Stephen Stills]] band and entourage. The argument culminated in Costello disparaging [[James Brown]] and [[Ray Charles]] with racially charged insults, in comments he would later call "the exact opposite of my true feelings".<ref name="GHRhino">{{Cite AV media notes|title=Get Happy!! liner notes|title-link=Get Happy!! (Elvis Costello album)|year=2002|first=Elvis|last=Costello|type=booklet|publisher=[[Rhino Records]]}}</ref> When Costello's comments were reported in the press a few weeks later, the bad publicity was sufficiently severe and widespread to be regarded, including by Costello himself, as the reason he never achieved the top-level commercial success in the US that had been predicted for him.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=143-144}}<ref name="Paumgartner" />{{Sfn|Costello|2015|p=339}}

In June, Costello had a hit as a songwriter when [[Dave Edmunds]] released his recording of "[[Girls Talk (Elvis Costello song)|Girls Talk]]", a song Costello had written but not yet recorded.{{Sfn|St. Michael|1986|p=54}} Edmunds' version reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 65 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/girls-talk/|title=Dave Edmunds, Singles, Girls talk [show Chart Facts]|website=Official Charts|access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=29 July 2023 |title=Dave Edmunds, Chart History, Hot 100 |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/dave-edmunds/chart-history |access-date=29 July 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419054455/https://www.billboard.com/music/dave-edmunds/chart-history }}</ref>