Dangerous Amusements is a podcast where we chat about the music of Elvis Costello. On each episode, a guest talks all things EC with Stu Arrowsmith and helps to compile the ultimate Elvis Costello playlist. Check out the Dangerous Amusements website - dangerousamusements.co.uk - and find us on Twitter and Instagram. Credits: Presented and produced by Stu Arrowsmith. Theme music performed by Gary Mulcahy. Artwork by Gary McGillivray. Voiceover by Jude Vause-Walsh.
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70@70 finale: Mark Billingham
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1:17:17
On Elvis Costello's 70th birthday, we reach the finale of the 70@70 series. Best-selling author, musician and actor Mark Billingham joins me to discuss the top 10 in my countdown of 70 essential Costello songs.
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70@70 part six: Libby Cudmore
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1:12:34
Author Libby Cudmore joins me for the penultimate episode of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series. We've reached the top 20 now in my rundown of 70 essential Elvis Costello songs to celebrate his 70th birthday. Libby offers her take on the tracks I've chosen from 20-11.
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70@70 part five: Steve Mandel
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1:15:57
For the fifth part of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series, it's my great pleasure to be joined by producer, engineer and Costello collaborator Steve Mandel. We chat about songs 30-21 on my rundown of 70 essential Elvis songs to mark his upcoming 70th birthday.
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70@70 part four: Paul Stokes
1:14:50
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1:14:50
It's a warm welcome back to the podcast to music journalist Paul Stokes for the fourth instalment of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series. We're at the midway point of my countdown of 70 essential Costello songs to celebrate his upcoming 70th birthday. Paul and I discuss numbers 40-31 on the playlist.
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70@70 part three: Allison Rapp
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1:10:26
Music writer Allison Rapp is my guest for the third instalment of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series. I've put together a list of 70 essential Elvis Costello songs to celebrate his 70th birthday in August 2024. In this episode, Allison and I chat about tracks 50-41 in the countdown. Make sure you check out Allison's terrific show The Big Yellow Podcas…
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70@70 part two: Connor Ratliff
1:31:43
1:31:43
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1:31:43
Comedian, actor and writer Connor Ratliff joins me for the second episode in the Elvis Costello 70@70 countdown. To mark Costello's 70th birthday in August 2024, I've picked out 70 of his most essential songs. Connor and I discuss numbers 60-51 in the countdown.
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70@70 part one: Tom Doyle
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1:26:08
This is the first of seven episodes counting down the Elvis Costello 70@70. To mark Costello's 70th birthday in August 2024, I've picked out 70 of his most essential songs. Joining me to discuss the first 10 songs in the countdown is music writer, author and musician Tom Doyle.
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A new series coming your way for summer 2024.
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Simon Garfield
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1:15:07
Acclaimed author and journalist Simon Garfield says of his love of Elvis Costello’s music, “no other artist has had such a deep or sustained impact on me or introduced me to such a wide range of music”. He has been a fan of Costello since hearing the Honky Tonk demos and attending early gigs at the Dominion as a teenager. Simon has gone on to inter…
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Photographer Tony Sacchetti has been taking pictures ofElvis Costello onstage and off it for more than 40 years. His shots have appeared everywhere from Costello fanzines and his fantastic Instagram page to official Elvis album booklets. Tony tells me about the art of music photography, covering memorable Costello gigs and his interactions with Elv…
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Jeremy Dylan
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Jeremy Dylan is a film maker, record producer, artist manager and journalist.He's also a huge fan of Elvis Costello.We chat about Jeremy's love of Elvis's music and his experience of interviewing the man himself for a documentary film.Along the way, Jeremy shares fascinating insights into working with a host of key Costello associates, including Pe…
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BBC broadcaster Becky Want has interviewed a host of illustrious names during her career in radio and television, including her hero, Elvis Costello. In this episode, Becky recalls her experiences of interviewing Elvis and having the opportunity to ask him about her favourite album, Painted From Memory. She tells me about some of her favourite Cost…
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Jeff Slate
1:11:47
1:11:47
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1:11:47
Singer/songwriter and musician Jeff Slate joins me ahead of the release of his new album, The Last Day of Summer. We chat about his love of Elvis Costello's music and its influence on his own songwriting. Jeff recalls the many and varied Costello gigs he's attended over the years and picks out some of his favourite EC songs. Jeff tells me about rec…
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Courtney E Smith
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My guest is writer, editor and podcaster, Courtney E Smith. The host of Songs My Ex Ruined discusses her love of Elvis Costello’s music and selects some of her favourite EC tracks for the playlist. Courtney recalls meeting Elvis during her time at MTV and sharesher memories of some incredible Costello gigs, including VH1’s Decades Rock Live and his…
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Something a bit different to kick off 2024. This is a mini episode reflecting on how a stunning duet by Elvis Costello and Elton John introduced me to the wonderful music of David Ackles. They performed a beautiful version of Ackles' Down River on Spectacle, backed by James Burton, Allen Toussaint, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher. In this episode, I…
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Kenton Hall
1:12:26
1:12:26
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Kenton Hall is a man of many talents: songwriter, musician,actor and director. He’s also a huge Elvis Costello fan. In this episode, Kenton tells me how he discovered Costello’s music, what it means to him and how it has influenced his own songwriting. We chat about some of his favourite Elvis records, memorable gigs and how Steve Nieve came to rec…
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Music writer Tim Riley is the author of acclaimed booksabout the Beatles, John Lennon and Bob Dylan, among others. He’s also closely followed the career of Elvis Costello andtells me about the impact the early Elvis records had on him. We discuss memorable Costello gigs, Elvis’s talent for interpretation, his collaboration with Paul McCartney and t…
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Jorge Farah
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Writer and editor Jorge Farah describes Elvis Costello’s music as “the soundtrack to my life”. In this episode, we discuss how he came to be a Costello fan, chat about some of his favourite records and how he came to be one of the author’s of the popular Trunkworthy feature, The Elvis Costello Song of theWeek. In addition, Jorge recommends some of …
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A L Kennedy is an award-winning author, playwright, comicand performer. Among her acclaimed works is a collection of short stories named after the Elvis Costello song, All The Rage. In this episode, she tells me about her love of Costello’s music and his use of language. We also dig deep into Tramp The Dirt Down with afascinating reflection on Brit…
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New York Times features editor Jim Windolf is the man behind the legendary Costello’s 500 feature for Vanity Fair. In the landmark November 2000 essay, Elvis identified 500 albums “essential to a happy life”, from ABBA to Zamballarana. In this episode, Jim recalls his inspiration for the feature and the process of working on it with Costello. He al…
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This is a quick plug for an appearance I’ve made on another show. It’s an absolute thrill and honour to be a guest on one of my favourite podcasts, Life Goals with Theo Delaney. I chat to Theo about football and music, picking eight goals and songs that mean a lot to me. As you’d expect, Elvis Costello features among my choices… I loved doing this,…
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Connor Ratliff
1:42:52
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Connor Ratliff is an actor, comedian and host of the acclaimed Dead Eyes podcast. He is also an Elvis Costello fanatic. In this episode, Connor tells me how he came to Costello's music in the 1990s, his Elvis "parlour games" and we dig into some of his favourite EC songs. We also chat about watching Costello live and what is was like to be on the f…
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Music journalist Allison Rapp has written extensively about Elvis Costello’s music. She’s reviewed a wide variety of EC gigs, including 2023’s residency at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, and a memorable performance at the opening of the Bob Dylan Center. Allison also revisited My Aim Is True on the 45th anniversary of its release for Ultimate Cl…
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Acclaimed author Bill Schweigart takes time out from releasing two books in a month to chat about Elvis Costello’s music. Bill became a Costello fan with the release of Spike and tells me what the music means to him. He also picks six songs for the playlist, including the track he loved and had to give away. We also talk about standout gigs, how El…
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A tribute to Burt Bacharach following his death a few days ago in February 2023. In this episode, I look back at his collaborations with Elvis Costello and celebrate the music they made together. I also revisit the thoughts of previous guests on the show about what different Bacharach/Costello songs mean to them.…
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Singer/songwriter Emma Swift counts Elvis Costello among her musical heroes and describes his songs as “a gateway into another kind of life”. Emma released Blonde on the Tracks, her acclaimed album of interpretations of Bob Dylan songs in 2020. In 2022, Costello picked out one of those recordings for inclusion on his jukebox for the opening of the …
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Mark Lamarr
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Top comedian and broadcaster Mark Lamarr joins me to open the fifth series of the podcast. Mark has starred in some of the defining UK television shows of the last three decades, including The Word, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Shooting Stars. His acclaimed radio shows have showcased the depth of his love of music. Mark picks out some of his favour…
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In this second part of my conversation with producer and engineer, Steve Mandel, we chat about Wise Up Ghost, the album he created with Elvis Costello and The Roots. The record was released to critical acclaim in September 2013. It was produced by Costello, Questlove and Mandel, with Steve credited as a songwriter on all but one of the dozen tracks…
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Steve Mandel (part one)
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Steve Mandel is an audio engineer, producer and songwriter highly regarded for his work with The Roots. He first encountered his hero, Elvis Costello, while working on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on which The Roots were the house band. Steve suggested they perform an old arrangement of Costello’s High Fidelity and took a stash of albums for…
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Author and linguist Remedy Robinson hosts the brilliant Costello-themed podcast, Slow Drag With Remedy. Each episode is an “exploration and appreciation of the genius words, phrases and references found in each song credited solely to Mr Elvis Costello”. We chat about her love of Elvis’s lyrics and how that led to her launching the show. Remedy tel…
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My Aim Is True with Richard Crouse
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22 July 2022 is the 45th anniversary of Elvis Costello’s acclaimed debut album, My Aim Is True. Married father-of-one, Declan MacManus, was a computer operator from London and a prolific aspiring songwriter. Signed to Stiff Records, MacManus cut his first professional album at Pathway Studios, backed by Clover and produced by Nick Lowe. He never lo…
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Science fiction author, critic and academic, Professor Adam Roberts, has been an Elvis Costello fan since hearing Blood and Chocolate. Our conversation about his love of Elvis also takes in poetry, the philosophy of Hegel and sex dungeons. Adam has picked out six of his favourite Costello songs for this season’s playlist and you can read his 2022 a…
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In this second part of my conversation with producer Sebastian Krys, we chat about some of his favourite Elvis Costello songs. Sebastian picks out six Costello tracks for my playlist, including the recent song that stopped him dead in his tracks when Elvis sent him the demo. We also discuss some of the great EC gigs he's attended. Follow Dangerous …
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Sebastian Krys (part one)
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Sebastian Krys is a multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning producer and engineer.He’s worked with an incredible array of great artists, including Gloria Estefan and Shakira, and has co-produced Elvis Costello’s records since 2018’s Look Now.In part one of this two-part conversation, Sebastian tells me about his career in music and his ongoing col…
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BONUS - classic Costello covers
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1:09:33
As well as being a brilliant and prolific songwriter, Elvis Costello is a master of interpreting songs written by other people.In this bonus episode of the podcast, we put aside our playlists and the usual format to focus on some of the great Costello covers.To do that, I’m delighted to welcome back to the show a director, podcaster and radio host:…
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Author and music writer Libby Cudmore has been an Elvis Costello fanatic since being given a mix-CD containing Crimes of Paris.In this episode, Libby tells me how her love of Costello’s music has developed into an obsession and why you don’t want to be next to her at an EC gig.We chat about how Elvis’s music has inspired Libby’s work as a crime wri…
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Ian Winwood
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Music journalist and author Ian Winwood is an Elvis Costello obsessive. We chat about how his love of EC’s music began, the many and varied gigs he’s been to and why a Costello song was the soundtrack to his wedding day. Ian also picks out five of his favourite Elvis songs to add to my Ashtrays of Emotion playlist. We also talk about Ian’s terrific…
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Pam Thurschwell is an academic, author and self-confessed “Costello trainspotter”. She tells me how early Costello songs like Green Shirt put their fingerprints on her teenage imagination, leading to a lifelong love of Elvis’s music. We discuss the articles Pam has had published about EC’s music and revisit some of the many Costello gigs she’s been…
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I’m joined by Neal Davies for the final episode of 2021. Neal tells me about the book he’s writing about Elvis Costello in the mid-‘80s: King of America, Blood and Chocolate, the pseudonyms and the questions of identity. We chat about his interview with Bruce Thomas and show some love to Goodbye Cruel World. Along the way, Neal recalls the dozens o…
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Composer and musician Chris Mercer joins me to talk about the music of Elvis Costello. Chris recalls buying his first Costello album and how it completely changed his musical standards. We explore the “intricate, dense” lyrics of the EC songbook and why Chris considers Elvis to be one of the great melodists of our time. The host of the brilliant Ta…
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As a member of the TKO Horns, Geoff Blythe toured with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and performed on several tracks on the 1983 album, Punch the Clock. Geoff tells me about the sessions, going on the road with the Attractions and recording the promo video for Let Them All Talk. Along the way, Geoff recalls recording with Nick Lowe and Allen T…
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What a treat it was to catch up with award-winning author and former UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson to talk about his love of Elvis Costello’s music. An EC fanatic since hearing (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes, Alan tells me why he feels such an affinity with the man he credits with his personal lifetime achievement award. We chat about some o…
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Kitten Kuroi is a singer, songwriter and activist who has performed live with Elvis Costello and the Imposters on a number of tours. She also recorded vocals for the 2018 album, Look Now, which won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Kitten tells me about her earliest musical influences and how she came to Elvis…
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Glen Colson
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Legendary music PR Glen Colson worked on Elvis Costello’s record releases and tours in the late-1970s. Glen tells me all about those early days – the stunts, the arrests, the tours and the music. We chat about life at Stiff Records and the assorted cast of characters Glen’s encountered during his career, including Ian Dury, Nick Lowe and Syd Barret…
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Georg Purvis is the author of On Track: Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Having previously published books on Pink Floyd and Queen, Georg explores every song and album recorded by Costello between 1977 and 1986. In this episode, Georg tells me about writing the book and his own experiences as an Elvis Costello fan. He picks five of his favourite…
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Artist and painter WS Cranmore is my first transatlantic guest on the podcast. skOt recalls hearing Elvis Costello’s music for the first time and tells me how one of EC’s songs changed his life. We discuss Costello’s album artwork and the key to creating a memorable LP or single sleeve. skOt also tells me of his shock when Elvis got in touch to buy…
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Music journalist Paul Stokes (NME, Q, MOJO, BBC Radio 6 Music) takes us on a trip down Rocking Horse Road as we talk about his love of Elvis Costello’s music. We chat about the Costello record that changed his life and look back at some of the many Elvis gigs he’s been to over the years. Paul tells us about his experiences of interviewing EC for di…
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Jason Carty is one half of the terrific Beatles podcast, Nothing Is Real. A winner of the coveted Beatle Brain of Ireland competition with his co-host, Steven Cockroft, Jason is also a huge Elvis Costello fan. We discuss some of Jason’s favourite Costello songs, the many and varied EC gigs he’s attended and he recalls meeting the man himself during…
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Boyd Hilton is a top TV and film journalist, entertainment director for Heat magazine and contributing editor at Empire. He’s also a huge Elvis Costello fan. In this episode, Boyd picks five EC songs for our playlist, recalls his earliest Elvis experiences and tells us about transatlantic trips to watch Costello live. We also discuss Costello’s sti…
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I'm delighted to welcome comedian, actor, writer and TV presenter Jo Brand to the podcast. We talk about her love of Elvis Costello's music and discuss the five songs she's added to our Dragging the Lake playlist. Jo tells me about appearing alongside Elvis on the BBC's Fantasy Football League and demonstrating her Costello party piece on televisio…
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