Elvis Costello on His Controversial “SNL” Performance (2015)

Elvis Costello made headlines when he stopped his 1977 “Saturday Night Live” performance to play a different song. He explained what happened to Howard Stern during his 2015 interview.
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[@harmonium8198]

I am one of those who DID see his 1977 SNL performance live. I was crazy for Elvis then (and still am a bit), and I was in the habit of watching SNL every week. It is perhaps difficult to conceive of now, when we have the internet and a thousand cable TV channels, and when Elvis accepts any and all invitations to speak to anyone about any subject, but back then it was a rare thing to see Elvis or to get any kind of substantive information about him. I had only just turned eighteen, MY AIM IS TRUE had only just been released in the U.S., and I had been listening to the album nonstop. It is difficult to convey how urgently important and how cool, how very, very cool, it was to see Elvis and the Attractions perform on American TV.

[@consequentlycostello]

THIS. And same! Brand new album, listening nonstop - couldn’t get enough. I also watched SNL every week and I definitely saw this one - I’ll never forget it! Still an EC fan after all these years.

[@markstevens1729]

Love the handle “Harmonium” b/c I love the band/song of the same name from 1974.

[@jonathanlocke6404]

I was watching as well. I had been waiting all week for this SNL, because the Sex Pistols were supposed to be the musical guest. Elvis was substituted when the U.S. wouldn't grant the Sex Pistols entry visas.

[@superorangeish]

When I watched that SNL episode, when it originally aired..I assumed that was " staged" and part of the schtick..anyone else thought that?

[@DG-ez4bo]

Yes

[@zaineridling]

Some people need to live forever. This is one of them. 💯💯💯

[@John94709]

Olivers Army has always been one of my favorite songs. I sing it sometimes while working alone in the shop.

[@BelleTolles]

I saw Elvis in Washington DC over 30 years ago, and the energy of his show was just amazing.

[@ecat7750]

I don't know how many bands and shows I've seen over the years. Over 100 acts easily. Elvis C live is in my top 5. Probably one of the most versatile voices in the business. From pop ballads, new wave, jazz and country songs...excellent.

[@biffdelmonte4139]

I saw the Attractions at the Broadway Theater in NYC in 1986. I've seen a couple hundred concerts, it's a top 5 for me as well.

[@miameramusic]

@@biffdelmonte4139 Wow. I can't tell you how envious I am, you are so lucky. Elvis is on my short list of legends I didn't get to see.

[@fishn365]

When the Beastie Boys appeared on SNL in 1999, started playing, and Elvis Costello took over, THAT, was legendary...

[@mrgmft5746]

@blaze One Listen close though. The Beastie Boys drummer slows down a bit in the song and Elvis gives him a look...

[@ktpinnacle]

Didn't think Boys had the chops until that night. They were great.

[@alexcaprio]

Costello was one of the nicest people I ever met

[@greensombrero3641]

Pump it up. Shipbuilding. Beyond Belief. Some of the standouts in my mind. Great band.

[@victhedude417]

I still to this day hope and hope he's about to play "Watching The Detectives."

[@billslocum9819]

"Radio Radio" is a song about radio programming anesthetizing the youth. It's really not anti so much as a commentary on a medium SNL was not a part of. SNL banned Elvis because Lorne Michaels doesn't like performers going off-script on live television. Ask Adrien Brody.

[@yummyyum36719]

It was anti Stevie Nicks.... and very much needed at the time... because she had...well...think of a disease...

[@sandraleepitts]

I was watching. And it changed my world . I was 11

[@davidzasloff8797]

I read somewhere that Elvis stopped at the beginning of "Less Than Zero" because it referenced a few things that Americans didn't know about (and because he wanted to promote his newest single, which hadn't been released in the US yet), and that the SNL team got upset because they then had to juggle everything else on that episode to fit it into the available time. Only a few seconds, but they still had to make sure the commercials got shown because sponsors had already paid for them. The story has changed since.

[@adrianmanship2546]

Radio Radio was the song they actually played ?

[@michaelwalsh1035]

I was 17 and was watching SNL for the performance. Hard to believe now, but SNL was one of the only places to see New Wave acts. We actually left the corner park, finished our underage beer drinking, went home and watched SNL.

[@paddyodriscoll8648]

I saw it on tv that night as well. I thought it was just them joking around. I didn’t even know anyone thought it was controversial.

[@miameramusic]

It's pretty hilarious. I didn't see it until they showed a "Best Of" montage years later.

[@stevenparadowski852]

I saw Elvis and the band ... small outdoor venue they played 2000 miles an hour for 2 1/2 hours ... it was one of the best concerts i have ever seen

[@jamesconnolly1201]

Steven Paradox ski I love how Fast they played in concert. That's why FOR YEARS, I BEEN BUYING GREAT SOUNDING CD BOOTLEGS AND VHS I CONVERTED TO DVD.

[@paulwells1990]

I remember watching SNL when that happened. I was 11 or 12. It totally changed my life. LMFAO 😆😆😆 THANK YOU ELVIS!!!

[@sandraleepitts]

I feel the same way same age

[@JohnSmith-op1tc]

I saw it in Saginaw, MI at Bill Macconnel's house. Please find him and confirm. Had bought or won "My Aim is True" and was a big fan, so knowing he was on meant watching. Sunday morning Free Press route be damned.

[@weeverob]

Living in Chicago, I saw it!

[@jacobzaranyika9334]

Thank you 🙏 Elvis Costello

[@smartkiltedman]

Two of my all time favorite people from two sides of the pond.

[@nealpatterson629]

At that time, Elvis Costello was being lumped in with the punk rock bands by the American media and punk bands had a reputation for doing outrageous things. When I saw him change songs on SNL, I just thought that was him trying to be outrageous. Actually, he was standing up for his integrity, which was a pretty punk rock thing to do.

[@ronloomis8245]

That appearance made me a Elvis Costello fan.

[@jamesconnolly1201]

Elvis was on SNL IN 1989 TO PROMOTE THE ALBUM...."Spike " He was also on Letterman from 1982-2003-4

[@ThomasMcCormack-rq9xg]

And on Johnny Carson around 1983..Joan Rivers hosted.

[@anythingandeverythingwithjp]

He's a Legend!

[@maxthepupp]

I've seen Elvis SO many times since 1979. And I've got a great story for every one of those shows. Rock on y'all.

[@jkn1960]

I watched it happen on SNL when I was 17. If I remember correctly the Sex Pistols were supposed to be the musical guests that night but couldn’t get their visas worked out in time. So Elvis and the Attractions had to step in. I was really looking forward to seeing the Pistols but I was not disappointed by Elvis.

[@CoCo-dn1ip]

Remember when Howard would “rage against the machine”. Now he is the machine

[@marshwetland3808]

Yes, EC, a lot of us were watching. SNL was a big thing and, to me, so was your music, and I loved the choice of song.

[@frankbieser]

I saw it when it aired. :-) I thought it was cool.

[@timsacco6g694]

I was 12 and remember watching this episode of SNL, you know back when it was good!, I did not know much about Elvis Costello, but I had heard of him, a few years later you could not go to a keg party without hearing him!, I've always liked his music

[@HailAnts]

I'd always heard that NBC didn't want him to do that song, _Radio Radio,_ because it was critical of the radio industry (which NBC had a big stake in)..

[@funnfootball4944]

Nice guy, one of the best.

[@The_Mimewar]

Elvis Costello, my musical hero!!

[@blitztim6416]

I remember seeing that at the time. It looked rebellious, then I thought, maybe it was staged. So it's nice to finally hear the story behind what really happened.

[@marshwetland3808]

I think Sinead wasn't staged, either.

[@eternallearner8185]

I saw it as attention seeking self publicity, and why not? it gave him good media interest, we are still talking about it!

[@ruiseartalcorn]

Awesome stuff :)

[@jorgejohnson451]

What song was he supposed to play and what song did he wind up playing?

[@marktestoni6483]

I saw it too it wss awesome

[@BelleTolles]

And Olivia Rodrigo takes his beat from Pump it up for that one song of hers, Brutal I think, and doesn't even credit him

[@harmonium8198]

Elvis' response to this: "This is fine by me . . . . It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did." Elvis noted that his own "Pump It Up" borrows from Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (in concert, EC has even been known to start singing lines of Dylan's song during "Pump It Up"), as Dylan's song borrows from Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business."

[@Labor_Jones]

Word of Mouth and Time and suddenly you have a 'powerful act of defiance' for being choosy and not having tact.

[@davidthomas6094]

Is it just me, or are they carefully avoiding naming any of the involved songs?

[@ianbauer4703]

Radio Radio

[@ellab8897]

Less Than Zero at first, then Radio Radio. I don’t think the two song titles were intentionally not mentioned - Alison was said freely - but I don’t know…

[@lilivonshtup3808]

I saw that show and at the time I thought he just changed his mind about what song he wanted to play.

[@endtimessupportgroup5685]

I knew he wasnt banned. That was bullshit.

[@sammencia7945]

1:28 "...At that time, each new song you write. This one is better than the last one." Well, EC actually WAS on a genius level roll of creativity from Aug 1977 to 1982. So each new song WAS better than the last one.

[@mattsilver2237]

A little cryptic. Elvis keeps talking about the record company - the point, I think, is that the song he chose yo play bashes radio - a record company wouldn't, especially in those days, have been happy about that. It was a gutsy thing to do, and hard to see why Elvis deflects that by saying that the company's beef is that he didn't play the original (mediocre by all standards) song.

[@kennethiman2691]

How did Stern become so famous when he won't let his guests speak? What a putz.

[@RobertLinthicum]

Agree

[@StratsRUs]

I thought this would be about the BIGGER controversy.

[@spankynater4242]

Elvis is saying that it really wasn’t that big a deal, but Howard keeps asking about how big a deal it was.

[@andrewwietecki1693]

"She", one of the best from Elvis C. Beautiful.

[@schrire39]

It is but it’s not his song.

[@andrewwietecki1693]

@@schrire39 I know

[@travisinthetrunk]

I think “controversial” should have been in quotes. How was that controversial?

[@MonkeyspankO]

Well, the boomers initially had good intentions and wanted to "stick to the man." The problem is they became exactly what they hated.

[@mrchopsticks3]

SNL tries to keep the show as structured as possible. When Elvis Costello went into business for himself, it was controversial to SNL, NBC and the record company.

[@fishn365]

When Elvis Costello decided to go against his record company's wishes, and not notify SNL or NBC of his change of songs, it led to he being banned for like 10 years. Most talk shows, and sketch shows, that have guests, sit down with that guest or their pr folks and go over what will be covered. So, for a pretty newish act, such as Elvis Costello and The Attractions to pull such a thing, it was pretty controversial to the higher ups.

[@kuhnhan]

@@gelp6801 Lorne Michaels even said that part meant nothing to him, but that he messed with the scheduling of the show that only kind of bothered him.

[@MrJasonmunoz]

By the time I heard “Allison” (not sure of the spelling), I thought it was a bit dated. I’m a fan because I heard him play “All this useless beauty” on I think Conan O’Brien, in the 1990s, maybe early aughts. It stuck with me. Still have it on some playlists.

[@ST-xg3gy]

He had the "Sonic Reducer" philosophy.

[@golds04]

Musicians musician 💯💯👊

[@greggbarrett7117]

I was watching

[@mountart2]

Funny how the record company wanted Elvis to play "Less Then Zero", a song about selling babies, was a better choice then "Radio, Radio" a song about the music industry!

[@CaptainCritical]

EC is one the coolest dudes ever.

[@MrRJS27]

That's what I remember about when he first came to the US--that he wanted to be disliked.

[@SonnyGTA]

Veronica…..Veronicaaaaaa

[@revminTphresh]

i was watchin, baby! raptly!

[@EverettBurger]

Happy birthday

[@TomKaszuba]

He rocked The Shaboo in 1978.

[@whisperingmike9424]

Radio radio. Olivers army.

[@clevertrevor7360]

Not as controversial as his remarks about Ray Charles and James Brown .

[@vcp93]

That was a great moment. But not as great as the Ashley Simpson moment on SNL. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kurtjohnson4816]

Love me some Elvis; Howard not so much.

[@MRVISTA-wz7vj]

He told a different story years ago. Then, he said he saw Jimi Hendrix do that once and he wanted to do the same. Storytellers rarely stick to facts bc they don't know any lol 🤷 🤣 😂 😆 😴

[@HyperCupcake88]

How to be cool: Steal the King's first name and wear sunglasses indoors.

[@montseret1]

Stern needs to wash his mouth

[@VintageWanderer]

Jimmy Hendricks changed songs too on tv by playing. Cream song.

[@AshedValkyrie]

Apex legends is fun

[@johnpandolfino8663]

It's self-indulgent

[@poolhall9632]

He’s a novelty and always will be.

[@wwbuirkle]

Novelty?Explain

[@adamp2029]

40 plus years of novelty?

[@marknewbold2583]

You're a music scholar, my friend

[@alexistrebexis3195]

I hate to say it, but I never got why people love Elvis Costello. Every time I hear him sing, it sounds so off key, off beat, and so all over the place. It’s just my opinion.

[@alexistrebexis3195]

@@BeatlesCentricUniverse maybe he writes good songs and lyrics, but his voice and tone is horrible man. He doesn’t have the voice to match his talent in song writing. You can’t say he’s got a great voice. Listen to his songs and tell me that. It’s like if my car mechanic wanted to sing.

[@surewhynot6040]

Beyond conceited

[@sim7409]

can't name one song o his

[@wwbuirkle]

Well he's a little more talented than Justin Beiber

[@sim7409]

@@wwbuirkle lol wow that's sayin alot

[@tabithaotablet9590]

I wonder if he knows any of yours?

[@seanm3226]

Sadly.

[@sim7409]

@Jayce Stewart nah SLAYER!!

[@jammer3618]

King of the wimps. Awipe.

[@patriciafeehan7732]

I was watching