Posted by aubin on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 5:00 PM (EST)
Thirty years ago Elvis Costello got himself banned from Saturday Night Live. The circumstances were surprising considering how SNL presented itself as counter-cultural, but Costello had planned to perform "Radio Radio," his critical indictment of mainstream radio and the show immediately condemned the idea.
Eight seconds into the song Elvis promised, "Less Than Zero," the band stopped and performed "Radio Radio" anyway, earning him a ban from the show for more than a decade and proved that the man was cooler than Lorne Michaels. Television (102 comments)
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throw_aways (December 18, 2007)
i never got why he seemed so agry and nervous in that performance. now i do. bad ass
WorryRock (December 18, 2007)
I uploaded that video to youtube 2 years ago and it got removed.
Costanza (December 18, 2007)
so i found out everyone at my job does blow. Its a waiter gig and it pays pretty fat. better than most places anyway. last night at our xmas party i put so much of that shit up my nose i stayed up til 7. I think i'm smart enough to not make a problem out of it, but would you recommend me quitting and finding another job, just in case? man i was fucked up last night. like the managers were cutting lines on the toilet and handing all this snow out for free. man i was fucked up. 13+ Replies
JonathonFallow (December 18, 2007)
is this the anniversary of that date or is this just a history lesson or what the fuck? 5+ Replies
joeg (December 18, 2007)
love it. loved the infamous fear set even more. 8+ Replies
Skitzo (December 18, 2007)
so many cool elements of this story. elvis' drummer was wearing a shirt that said "thanx malc" on it, referring to sex pistols manager Malcolm McClaren. the pistols were originally booked for the music spot that night, would've been their first ever US gig. Malcolm only wanted the band to play the deep south and areas where they would have been really shocking at the time and never wanted the band to play in NY, but it was booked anyways. The day they were supposed to fly over for the show and tour, Malcolm reported that the band's passports got all messed up and they'd have to miss the gig. So Elvis was who they could get on short notice. Back in the late 90's - if i had to guess it would have been the 20th anniversary of the Costello snl thing - the Beastie Boys were on the show. Can't even remember what song they were doing, but their drummer was wearing show rest of comment 6+ Replies
24HourPriapism (December 18, 2007)
fucking love that performance. wasn't the next time he showed up on SNL the time he played radio radio again, with the beastie boys, on that 30th anniversary thing? 1+ Reply
JonnyJay (December 18, 2007)
Nah, he was invited back about ten years later when "Veronica" became a top 10 hit. 1+ Reply
I-type-poorly (December 18, 2007)
I remember searching all over online for this video three years ago. Now youtube makes it so easy. Youtube is awesome.
clamum (December 18, 2007)
Reminds me of Kurt Cobain playing Rape Me at the MTV Awards. 2+ Replies
iamnormie (December 18, 2007)
Sweet! I can't wait to own that when it comes out on the Season 3 dvd.
jacknife737 (December 18, 2007)
One of the best musical preformances in SNL history... Costello is great, as always. 1+ Reply
jacknife737 (December 18, 2007)
So anyways favorite "era" of SNL? 2+ Replies
hobbes (December 18, 2007)
did you know that the original Attractions went on to form The News (of Huey Lewis fame)?
gedgeispunk (December 18, 2007)
This rules! I think Elvis was a late substitution for the Sex Pistols. Hence the drummer's shirt.
MN_punkmaster-skaman (December 18, 2007)
Such an awesome video. Costello needs to do more stuff like that again.
Marizo (December 19, 2007)
So whats everybodies favorite SNL performance? 1+ Reply
oncepure (December 19, 2007)
All Time SNL Cast: Go! | Features
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