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Watching The Detectives (song)
"Watching the Detectives" is a 1977 single by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. Inspired by the Clash and Bernard Herrmann, the song features a reggae beat and cynical lyrics. Costello's fourth single overall, "Watching the Detectives" was his first hit single on any national chart, peaking at number 15 in the UK and also charting modestly in Canada, Australia and the United States. The song featured on ''Rolling Stone'''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 363. Background The song, with a lyric about a lover who would rather watch TV, sung over a simple reggae beat,Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p.101 was described by ''Rolling Stone'' as "a clever but furious burst of cynicism", and they also described the song as "indisputably classic".
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Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist, Best British Male Artist. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Costello number 80 on its Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Costello began his career as part of London's Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s. His critically acclaimed debut album ''My Aim Is True'' was released in 1977. Shortly after recording it, he formed the Attractions as his backing band. His second album ...
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Andrew Bodnar
Andrew Bodnar is an English bass player who grew up in Clapham, South London. He and drummer Steve Goulding (The Rumour, The Mekons, etc) met and began playing together as a rhythm section while still at school. They spent their teenage years auditioning and busking whenever they could, and were gigging around London with a cajun-influenced band called Bontemps Roulez just prior to forming The Rumour in 1975. Bodnar is probably best known for his membership with Graham Parker and The Rumour (1975-1980), for playing the distinctive reggae-flavored bassline on " Watching the Detectives" by Elvis Costello, and for bass playing and co-writing (with Steve Goulding and Nick Lowe) " I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" by Nick Lowe. Bodnar went on to become the Thompson Twins touring bassist, promoting their hit album 'Quick Step & Side Kick' during 1982-83 and since played live, or on recording sessions for many artists, including Angie Bowie, The Pretenders, and Tina Turner. He also ...
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My Aim Is True
''My Aim Is True'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, originally released in the United Kingdom on 22July 1977 through Stiff Records. After years of little success performing in Britain, Costello was signed to Stiff through the label's founders Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Recording sessions for the album took place at Pathway Studios in Islington, London, from late 1976 to early 1977, over the course of six four-hour studio sessions. Produced by Stiff artist and musician Nick Lowe, the backing band was made up of members of Clover, a California-based country rock act, who were uncredited on the original release due to contractual difficulties. Costello kept his day job as a data entry clerk during the sessions. At the time performing as D.P. Costello, Riviera suggested that Costello change his name to Elvis after Elvis Presley, and adjusted his image to match the then-rising punk rock movement. The music itself on ''My Aim Is True'' is ...
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History Detectives
''History Detectives'' is a documentary television series on Public Broadcasting Service, PBS. It features investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or connections to important historical events, and to answer specific questions brought to them about these artifacts. Common subjects are family heirlooms and historical structures. Its stated mission is "exploring the complexities of historical mysteries, searching out the facts, myths and conundrums that connect local folklore, family legends and interesting objects." Over its first decade, the series featured a team of several "detectives": originally Wes Cowan, Elyse Luray, Gwendolyn WGwen Wright, and Tukufu Zuberi, later joined by Eduardo Obregón Pagán, Eduardo Pagán. Following a hiatus, the program returned in summer 2014 in a different format, with hosts Zuberi and Cowan joined by Kaiama Glover, as ''History Detectives: Special ...
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Alison (song)
"Alison" is a song written by and first recorded by Elvis Costello in 1977 for his debut album ''My Aim Is True'' on Stiff Records. Costello claimed the song was written as an ode to a woman he saw working at a supermarket, though he has remained vague on the meaning. Though Costello's single never charted, it has become one of his most famous songs. Linda Ronstadt, who covered the song and released her version in 1979, had a moderate hit with it. There have also been several other cover versions of this song. Background The song "Alison" was included on Elvis Costello's debut studio album ''My Aim Is True'' as the fifth track, and was released in 1977. As "Alison" was recorded before the Attractions formed, his backing band on the track was Clover. Costello has divulged little on the meaning of the song other than to say that it is about "disappointing somebody" and to deny suggestions that the lines "''somebody better put out the big light''" and "''my aim is true''" refer t ...
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The Attractions
The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve (keyboards and ukulele), 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. Later in 1977, Costello formed his own permanent backing band, the Attractions, consisting of Steve Nieve (born Steve Nason; keyboards and ukulele) 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 t ...
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Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States. The weekly tracking period for sales was initially Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming, is readily available on a real-time basis, is also tracked on a Friday to Thursday cycle effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021 (previously Monday to Sunday and before July 2015, Wednesday to Tuesday). A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by ''Billboard'' on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday. The first number-one song of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 was " Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Ne ...
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UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling Single (music), singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and music streaming, streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV (Official UK Top 40), is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a Single (music), single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio ...
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Danger Man
''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. ''Danger Man'' was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. Series development The idea for ''Danger Man'' originated with Ralph Smart an associate of Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment. Grade was looking for formats that could be exported. Ian Fleming was brought in to collaborate on series development, but left before development was complete. Like James Bond, the main character is a globetrotting British spy (although one who works for NATO rather than MI6), who cleverly extricates himself from life-threatening situations and introduces himself as "Drake...John Drake." Fleming w ...
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James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is ''With a Mind to Kill'' by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total at the box office ...
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Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online magazine with weekly charts and occasional special print issues. In addition to the music industry, the magazine covered the amusement arcade industry, including jukebox machines and arcade games. History Print edition charts (1952–1996) ''Cashbox'' was one of several magazines that published record charts in the United States. Its most prominent competitors were '' Billboard'' and '' Record World'' (known as ''Music Vendor'' prior to April 1964). Unlike ''Billboard'', ''Cashbox'' combined all currently available recordings of a song into one chart position with artist and label information shown for each version, alphabetized by label. Originally, no indication of which version was the biggest seller was given, but from October 25, 19 ...
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Torn Curtain
''Torn Curtain'' is a 1966 American Political thriller, political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. Written by Brian Moore (novelist), Brian Moore, the film is set in the Cold War. It is about an American scientist who appears to defector, defect behind the Iron Curtain to German Democratic Republic, East Germany. Plot In 1965, Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman), a US physicist and aerospace engineering, rocket scientist, is traveling to a conference in Copenhagen with his assistant and fiancée, Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews). Armstrong receives a Radiogram (message), radiogram to pick up a book in Copenhagen; it contains a message which says, "Contact in case of emergency." He tells Sherman he is going to Stockholm, but she discovers he is flying to East Berlin and follows him. When they land, he is welcomed by representatives of the East Germany, East German government. Sherman realizes that Armstrong has defector, defected, an ...
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