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The Attractions were an English
backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...
for the English new wave musician
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
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.


History

Backing for Costello's 1977 debut album was provided by the American West Coast band
Clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...
. 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 A quiver is a container for holding arrows or Crossbow bolt, bolts. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were traditionally made of leath ...
, 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 The Sutherland Brothers (Gavin and Iain Sutherland) were a Scottish folk and soft rock duo. From 1973 to 1978, they performed with rock band Quiver, and recorded and toured as Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. Under this combined moniker, the gro ...
. These albums were credited to "The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver"; Thomas played on the early recordings credited to this group, including the minor American hit " (I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway", which peaked at No. 48 in 1973. He left the group before their biggest success, 1976's " Arms of Mary", a No. 5 UK hit and a No. 1 hit in many European countries. Thomas was also a member of Moonrider for their lone album in 1975, and recorded as a session musician for
Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...
in the early to mid-1970. Pete Thomas, who was born the same month as Costello, had recorded one album as a member of Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers. Only Nason, who had classical training, had never recorded or played with a rock band before. Just 19 when he joined the group, Nason was given the stage name "Steve Nieve" (pronounced as "naive") by
Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...
; 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 A groupie is a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is used mostly describing young women, a ...
?" Dury immediately dubbed Nason "Steve Naive", and the name stuck (although the spelling was altered.) According to ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
''s Tyler Wilcox, the band replaced the "middle-of-the-road elements" of Clover to create a "minimal, hard-edged sound befitting the burgeoning
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
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 ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' as a last-minute replacement for the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
. 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 Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...
and resulted in Costello's banning from ''Saturday Night Live'' until 1989. The Attractions' first album with Costello was ''
This Year's Model ''This Year's Model'' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 17March 1978 through Radar Records. After being backed by Clover (band), Clover for his debut album ''My Aim Is True'' (1977), Coste ...
'' (1978), but the band did not officially receive co-billing credit until 1979's ''
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
''. 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, with the exception of "New Amsterdam" (1980), a solo single recorded by Costello. On 1984's '' Goodbye Cruel World'' and its associated tour, Nieve was billed as "Maurice Worm". In 1980, the Attractions recorded an album of their own, entitled ''Mad About the Wrong Boy''. The album features original compositions by all three group members, and was produced by Roger Bechirian. Steve Nieve wrote the music for several songs under the pseudonym "Norman Brain"; for these songs, his then-girlfriend Fay Hart provided lyrics, leading to a writing credit of "Brain/Hart". The Brain/Hart composition "Single Girl" was released as the first single from the album, followed by the Nieve-composed "Arms Race" as the second single. Neither single charted. Due to their frequent use of pseudonyms and their associations with Bechirian, the Attractions were widely – but erroneously – rumoured to have been behind Blanket of Secrecy (BoS), a synthpop trio recognised at the time only by the pseudonyms 'Tinker', 'Tailor' and 'Soldier'. The group's lone album, ''Walls Have Ears'', was produced by Bechirian and issued in 1982. Guitarist Martin Belmont was briefly added to Attractions live line-up in 1981, but never recorded as an official member of the band. He did, however, make a guest appearance on the 1981 Costello single "From A Whisper to a Scream", which was also included on the album, '' Trust''. 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. When asked by Rolling Stone why Thomas did not play with them at the event, Costello replied, "I only work with professional musicians." He then went on to add "I have absolute respect for his playing on the records when he cared. He was certainly one of the best bass players around."


Discography

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


The Attractions / Costello albums

* ''
This Year's Model ''This Year's Model'' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 17March 1978 through Radar Records. After being backed by Clover (band), Clover for his debut album ''My Aim Is True'' (1977), Coste ...
'' (1978) * ''
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
'' (1979) * '' Get Happy!!'' (1980) * '' Trust'' (1981) * '' Almost Blue'' (1981) * '' Imperial Bedroom'' (1982) * '' Punch the Clock'' (1983) * '' Goodbye Cruel World'' (1984) * '' King of America'' (1986) ** " Suit of Lights" only * '' Blood & Chocolate'' (1986) * '' Brutal Youth'' (1994) ** Bruce Thomas only appears on five songs, with
Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,All This Useless Beauty'' (1996) * '' Spanish Model'' (
UMe ''Prunus mume'', the Chinese plum or Japanese apricot, is a tree species in the family Rosaceae. Along with bamboo, the plant is intimately associated with art, literature, and everyday life in China, from where it was then introduced to Kor ...
, 2021)


The Attractions non-Costello albums

*''Mad About the Wrong Boy'' ( F-Beat Records, 1980)


The Attractions non-Costello singles

*"Single Girl" b/w "Slow Patience" (F-Beat Records, 1980) *"Arms Race" b/w "Lonesome Little Town" (F-Beat Records, 1980)


References


Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Attractions Elvis Costello & the Attractions members English new wave musical groups Elvis Costello Musical groups established in 1977 Musical backing groups