Graeme Thomson - Complicated Shadows 2004
The latest in my series of features on the 30th anniversary of Elvis' appearances in Ireland is unlikely to be as pertinent as my previous efforts. They were , in the main, detailing of shows, in 1978 and 1981, which little had been known about. When it comes to 1983 we are arriving at a time where the shows were well reported , then and since. The basic details of both shows , in Belfast and Dublin, are on their wiki pages and, indeed, recordings of both are widely available. I'm, therefore , going to focus on the background and the times, with the emphasis on the visual aspect.
As the extract from Graeme Thomson's account of Elvis in '83 tells that was the year where the Elvis we know today more or less took shape. Indeed '83 would be the last time Elvis would develop and record a album he was entirely happy with (at the time) solely in the U.K. '84's Goodbye Cruel World would be the botched result of accepting the input of a producers etc. There after the albums would be developed abroad (Ireland and the U.S.), with the U.K. very much a mere location (up to 2001) of recording. Blood and Chocolate could be lumped in with GCW, a dashed off, partly brilliant effort as a sop to the industry after the more nuanced King Of America.
Events of the time, both general and personal, would shape Elvis' choices in '83 and the years after. Accounts at the time tell of his family life being relatively stable. Subsequent accounts tell of him doing things at the time to undermine that, ultimately leading to the end of his first marriage in 1984. At the same time, mere days after the Irish shows , Thatcher's Tory government was reelected , leading within years to Elvis' choosing to cease being a U.K. resident.
Which kind of brings us to Elvis in Ireland in June '83. The shows there were hastily cobbled together, partly to fulfill contractual obligations for some deferred shows and to run into a few UK shows which would break in the TKO Horns for the U.S. shows later in the summer.
In January '83 Irish dates in Feb. '83 were announced in Hot Press -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/IMAG1706-3_zpsd8572a66.jpg)
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/IMAG1709-1_zpse5421773.jpg)
Then they were postponed -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/IMAG1730-1_zpsd3e145f3.jpg)
With the new dates subsequently reported -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/IMAG1734-1_zps54c6f5a8.jpg)
Very little in the way of preview pieces appeared. This was in the Evening Herald ( Dublin)
http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... ne_3,_1983
![Image](http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/images/thumb/4/48/1983-06-03_Evening_Herald_clipping.jpg/451px-1983-06-03_Evening_Herald_clipping.jpg)
A profile in the Sunday Tribune ( Dublin) , May '83
http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... y_29,_1983
The Belfast 'papers had no mention of the shows - here are the front pages and entertainment sections the visitors may have looked at -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/newsletter83front001_zps7c79b627.jpg)
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/newletterentertain83001_zps702127fd.jpg)
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/telegraph83front001_zpsd53fff5a.jpg)
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/telegrapheneter83001_zps3730093d.jpg)
The Belfast setlist is on wiki -
http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... 03_Belfast
Ulster Boy from this forum was at the show -
http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... f=2&t=8741
I was at the Belfast gig, think I still have the ticket stub and a local newspaper's review somewhere. This gig was hastily arranged, I think, as a previous one from 1982 had been cancelled, certainly the merchandising (such as it was) was all Imperial Bedroom t-shirts, cos I bought one. Horrible, long-sleeved thing. The venue, Maysfield Leisure Centre, was basically a bare-brick sports hall. Was E&theAs first gig in Belfast since 1978 and I don't recall there being a huge crowd there - maybe 500 or so - and the PA played the then-unreleased Pills and Soap before the show. I remember the shock when the brass section came on, it seemed such a departure, but it was a brilliant gig. Haven't listened to the recording yet - only just recently realised there was one.
Mark Gilmore reviewed it for the fanzine ECIS -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/ecbelfast831001_zpsac178d55.jpg)
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/ecbelfast832001_zpsef2ea4c0.jpg)
This next day they got the train to Dublin , as photos in the U.S. program a few months later show -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/Punch2.jpg)
Elvis 'n co. are wearing the same gear as this photo that was on the back of the sleeve of Punch The Clock -
![Image](http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/images/thumb/c/c6/PTCbackcoverphoto.jpg/417px-PTCbackcoverphoto.jpg)
It was taken in St Stephens Green, Dublin on June 4th 1983. It would seem the photographer, Nick Knight, came down to Dublin with the musicians from the show in Belfast. Other photos from the same location appear in miniature in the booklet with the 1995 Demon/Rycko re-issue on PTC -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/Punch8.jpg)
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/Punch9.jpg)
Before or after being snapped in the 'Green, the visitors went to get some cake in, most likely, Bewleys on Grafton Street -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/Punch1.jpg)
The same scene this year-
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/002_zpsb8dc8777.jpg)
Steve posed at this statue in courtyard at the adjacent Clarendon Street entrance to St Teresa's Church
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/Punch3.jpg)
.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4672123589_0407d23100.jpg)
TV viewing in Dublin that night -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/IMAG1930-1-1_zps46e2c552.jpg)
Other attractions in Dublin -
![Image](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/charleshardin/IMAG1931-1-1-1_zps3e824b8d.jpg)
The Dublin show was extensively reviewed, as the links on the wiki page will tell you -
http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... -04_Dublin
That's all I have for now - more in the next few days!