I am one of those who DID see his 1977 SNL performance live. I was crazy for Elvis then (and still am a bit), and I was in the habit of watching SNL every week. It is perhaps difficult to conceive of now, when we have the internet and a thousand cable TV channels, and when Elvis accepts any and all invitations to speak to anyone about any subject, but back then it was a rare thing to see Elvis or to get any kind of substantive information about him. I had only just turned eighteen, MY AIM IS TRUE had only just been released in the U.S., and I had been listening to the album nonstop. It is difficult to convey how urgently important and how cool, how very, very cool, it was to see Elvis and the Attractions perform on American TV.

Olivers Army has always been one of my favorite songs. I sing it sometimes while working alone in the shop.

Some people need to live forever. This is one of them. 💯💯💯

I saw Elvis in Washington DC over 30 years ago, and the energy of his show was just amazing.

I don't know how many bands and shows I've seen over the years. Over 100 acts easily. Elvis C live is in my top 5. Probably one of the most versatile voices in the business. From pop ballads, new wave, jazz and country songs...excellent.

I still to this day hope and hope he's about to play "Watching The Detectives."

I read somewhere that Elvis stopped at the beginning of "Less Than Zero" because it referenced a few things that Americans didn't know about (and because he wanted to promote his newest single, which hadn't been released in the US yet), and that the SNL team got upset because they then had to juggle everything else on that episode to fit it into the available time. Only a few seconds, but they still had to make sure the commercials got shown because sponsors had already paid for them. The story has changed since.

Costello was one of the nicest people I ever met

I remember watching SNL when that happened. I was 11 or 12. It totally changed my life. LMFAO 😆😆😆 THANK YOU ELVIS!!!

I saw it on tv that night as well. I thought it was just them joking around. I didn’t even know anyone thought it was controversial.

"Radio Radio" is a song about radio programming anesthetizing the youth. It's really not anti so much as a commentary on a medium SNL was not a part of. SNL banned Elvis because Lorne Michaels doesn't like performers going off-script on live television. Ask Adrien Brody.

When the Beastie Boys appeared on SNL in 1999, started playing, and Elvis Costello took over, THAT, was legendary...

I saw Elvis and the band ... small outdoor venue they played 2000 miles an hour for 2 1/2 hours ... it was one of the best concerts i have ever seen

I was watching. And it changed my world . I was 11

I was 17 and was watching SNL for the performance. Hard to believe now, but SNL was one of the only places to see New Wave acts. We actually left the corner park, finished our underage beer drinking, went home and watched SNL.

Thank you 🙏 Elvis Costello

Pump it up. Shipbuilding. Beyond Belief. Some of the standouts in my mind. Great band.

Two of my all time favorite people from two sides of the pond.

Awesome stuff :)

I saw it in Saginaw, MI at Bill Macconnel's house. Please find him and confirm. Had bought or won "My Aim is True" and was a big fan, so knowing he was on meant watching. Sunday morning Free Press route be damned.

Elvis was on SNL IN 1989 TO PROMOTE THE ALBUM...."Spike " He was also on Letterman from 1982-2003-4

Nice guy, one of the best.

He's a Legend!

I saw it too it wss awesome

Living in Chicago, I saw it!

I watched it happen on SNL when I was 17. If I remember correctly the Sex Pistols were supposed to be the musical guests that night but couldn’t get their visas worked out in time. So Elvis and the Attractions had to step in. I was really looking forward to seeing the Pistols but I was not disappointed by Elvis.

That appearance made me a Elvis Costello fan.

I'd always heard that NBC didn't want him to do that song, _Radio Radio,_ because it was critical of the radio industry (which NBC had a big stake in)..

Elvis Costello, my musical hero!!

Remember when Howard would “rage against the machine”. Now he is the machine

I've seen Elvis SO many times since 1979. And I've got a great story for every one of those shows. Rock on y'all.

I saw it when it aired. :-) I thought it was cool.

I was 12 and remember watching this episode of SNL, you know back when it was good!, I did not know much about Elvis Costello, but I had heard of him, a few years later you could not go to a keg party without hearing him!, I've always liked his music

At that time, Elvis Costello was being lumped in with the punk rock bands by the American media and punk bands had a reputation for doing outrageous things. When I saw him change songs on SNL, I just thought that was him trying to be outrageous. Actually, he was standing up for his integrity, which was a pretty punk rock thing to do.

Yes, EC, a lot of us were watching. SNL was a big thing and, to me, so was your music, and I loved the choice of song.

Musicians musician 💯💯👊

What song was he supposed to play and what song did he wind up playing?

I remember seeing that at the time. It looked rebellious, then I thought, maybe it was staged. So it's nice to finally hear the story behind what really happened.

Is it just me, or are they carefully avoiding naming any of the involved songs?

I was watching

By the time I heard “Allison” (not sure of the spelling), I thought it was a bit dated. I’m a fan because I heard him play “All this useless beauty” on I think Conan O’Brien, in the 1990s, maybe early aughts. It stuck with me. Still have it on some playlists.

Word of Mouth and Time and suddenly you have a 'powerful act of defiance' for being choosy and not having tact.

Veronica…..Veronicaaaaaa

He had the "Sonic Reducer" philosophy.

I saw that show and at the time I thought he just changed his mind about what song he wanted to play.

i was watchin, baby! raptly!

I saw it as attention seeking self publicity, and why not? it gave him good media interest, we are still talking about it!

And Olivia Rodrigo takes his beat from Pump it up for that one song of hers, Brutal I think, and doesn't even credit him

Happy birthday

1:28 "...At that time, each new song you write. This one is better than the last one." Well, EC actually WAS on a genius level roll of creativity from Aug 1977 to 1982. So each new song WAS better than the last one.

I thought this would be about the BIGGER controversy.

Radio radio. Olivers army.

I knew he wasnt banned. That was bullshit.

EC is one the coolest dudes ever.

He rocked The Shaboo in 1978.

I think “controversial” should have been in quotes. How was that controversial?

"She", one of the best from Elvis C. Beautiful.

A little cryptic. Elvis keeps talking about the record company - the point, I think, is that the song he chose yo play bashes radio - a record company wouldn't, especially in those days, have been happy about that. It was a gutsy thing to do, and hard to see why Elvis deflects that by saying that the company's beef is that he didn't play the original (mediocre by all standards) song.

Elvis is saying that it really wasn’t that big a deal, but Howard keeps asking about how big a deal it was.

How did Stern become so famous when he won't let his guests speak? What a putz.

That's what I remember about when he first came to the US--that he wanted to be disliked.

That was a great moment. But not as great as the Ashley Simpson moment on SNL. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Love me some Elvis; Howard not so much.

He told a different story years ago. Then, he said he saw Jimi Hendrix do that once and he wanted to do the same. Storytellers rarely stick to facts bc they don't know any lol 🤷 🤣 😂 😆 😴

Not as controversial as his remarks about Ray Charles and James Brown .

How to be cool: Steal the King's first name and wear sunglasses indoors.

Jimmy Hendricks changed songs too on tv by playing. Cream song.

He’s a novelty and always will be.

Apex legends is fun

King of the wimps. Awipe.

can't name one song o his

It's self-indulgent

Beyond conceited

I hate to say it, but I never got why people love Elvis Costello. Every time I hear him sing, it sounds so off key, off beat, and so all over the place. It’s just my opinion.

I was watching