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Elvis Costello: Hammersmith Palais, London

Penny Valentine, Melody Maker, 10 February 1979

HAS Elvis Costello finally become an Establishment "star," or is he still mounting a concerted attack against the old-fart fortress? Taking the stage at Hammersmith Palais about an hour later than expected, Costello and the Attractions went through their 75-minute set in a way which at times owed as much to the simple Sixties beat group ethos – less the Beatles, more Freddie and the Dreamers – as it did to the Radar rationale: make Costello an enigma.

Total word count of piece: 540

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