On this day, 27 Jan 1979, Elvis Costello and the Attractions played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens on their UK tour to promote the recently released Armed Forces album.
Support for the tour were New York punks Richard Hell and the Voidoids and punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
Armed Forces was the third studio album by Costello, released in the UK by Radar Records and in the US by Columbia in 1979. It was his second album with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. The album had the working title Emotional Fascism.
"I have loads of fond memories of playing in Cardiff. The first time I did a gig there was with Elvis Costello and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, who sort of invented punk. It was in Sophia Gardens in 1979 and we stayed in a place opposite the castle." - John Cooper Clarke,
Setlist
01. I Stand Accused
02. Lip Service
03. Girls Talk
04. Green Shirt
05. Party Girl
06. This Year's Girl
07. Lipstick Vogue
08. Watching The Detectives
09. Accidents Will Happen
10. Oliver's Army
11. Radio, Radio
12. You Belong To Me
13. Pump It Up
14. Mystery Dance - with Dave Edmunds
