wahey...

[KillerBaboon]

So I'll be writing, producing and presenting an hourlong radio special on Mr EC this December. It'll be aired across Dublin, but it will also be available online... I'm pretty delighted with this, can't wait to get cracking on it!

I'm thinking of taking an approach centred around how his music developed along with him, and always reflected what was going on with him at the time, but that may be a tiny bit too obvious. Anyway, I have two or three weeks before I start scripting, I'm thinking I may re-read Complicated Shadows and all the liner notes to see if any more original approaches pop up... are there any other good books or websites anyone would care to suggest?

[verbal gymnastics]

Welcome KillerBaboon.

It depends on what angle you wish to take. Are you going to interview people who Elvis has worked with past and present? Is this being done from a fan's perspective? Who is your target audience?

Good luck with your project though - it sounds exciting.

[KillerBaboon]

It's going from a fan's perspective, and it's targeted at a young enough listenership... I'm going to try to make it an introduction to EC, to open him up to people who don't know much of his stuff apart from She, but I don't want to make it too on-the-surface either. I'll basically spend some time thinking and see what I come up with!

[johnfoyle]

Welcome and good luck with the programme. I am, of course, way too subjective on the matter to figure out how you'll get a listener in Dublin interested in Elvis. In fact I'm down right mystified as to how to do it. He has absolutely zero presence here. His recent comment to me, in Amsterdam after a show, that he will only ever play Dublin again ' when hell freezes over’ means that is likely to continue.

Maybe that might be a hook for a programme - Why Elvis Loathes The Town He Used To Like. All kinds of theories may occur to those of us familiar with his recent life. These range from the melodramatic (the location of his failed relationship with his last partner) to the boringly pragmatic (he was a tax free artist when he lived here, complicating any present day earning opportunities) .

Whatever the reasons I still feel he has a residual affection for Dublin. I think back to that echoey audience recording of him with the Brodsky Quartet in Australia last January. Singing Paddy Kavanagh's Raglan Road there is poignancy about the way he sings 'On Grafton Street......'.

So you never know................

[KillerBaboon]

Hmm... I never thought of that approach at all. It at least explains why he hasn't been seen around here since the National Stadium gig a few years back. What was I thinking missing that? Honestly, Aidan.

I'm surprised at the turnaround in his attitude towards here. I know he used to love it so much, living in Carrickmines (maybe the M50 scared him off), but the reasons you suggested, particularly the ones related to Cáit, could be pretty much on the ball. I still can't bear to walk around Lucan, as it is the home of my most recent ex, and the memories are a bit much. I'm constantly surprised by the lack of presence he has here, though, given all the years he used to claim Irishness, and given how we'll generally give attention to any band who have an Irish connection. But now not even Tom Dunne will give him a spin, which is an awful shame.

My Leaving Cert two years ago coincided with my discovery of EC, not entirely coincidentally either, so that's something I was thinking. Everyone can relate to exam stress, and as I told your brother, the programme will be aimed at a student audience. I could stand on a podium in my college and ask who likes Elvis Costello, I'd get hardly a whisper in return. Hopefully when this airs, maybe one or two people will say "That's pretty excellent stuff" and take some interest. Hopefully.