Radio, Radio

"Radio Radio" is a song written by Elvis Costello and performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The music originated as a Bruce Springsteen-inspired song called "Radio Soul" that Costello had written in 1974. In 1977, Costello reworked the song to feature a more aggressive arrangement and more direct, sarcastic lyrics that criticized the commercialism of English radio. Costello and the Attractions recorded the song around the time of his second album, This Year's Model.

"Radio Radio" was released as a standalone single in the United Kingdom in October 1978, reaching number 29. The track was appended onto the US version of their second album, This Year's Model, released earlier that year. The song has since seen critical acclaim, being marked as one of Costello's best by many writers and appearing on several compilation albums.

"Radio Radio" originated as a song titled "Radio Soul", which Costello had written in 1974 while a member of the pub rock band Flip City. "Radio Soul" featured a softer arrangement and, alongside an early version of "Living in Paradise", was one of the songs that Costello had sent to A&M Records before he got a record deal. Lyrically, according to Costello, this early version was about "the idea that the radio broadcasting from within you was ultimately of more value than the radio in the dashboard or the wireless on the shelf". Costello described the song as a "shameless imitation" of Bruce Springsteen's songs from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. He explained,

When I was sitting at home in England in 1975, in the thrall of Bruce Springsteen, he sort of made it feel like a big dream in America where a radio was playing and it was always the perfect song. And even though there's sadness in the song, I wanted to believe that somewhere it was like that and it wasn't like it was in the suburbs, where you couldn't hear any music you liked half the time. So that was a wishful song.

Provoked by the BBC's attempted censorship of the Sex Pistols song, "God Save the Queen", Costello revived "Radio Soul" in 1977 as "Radio Radio", a more cynical critique of the commercialization of English radio. Costello explained that these new lyrics reflected the moment when "you get into the business of making records and you realize what it's really about is some guy going off with a big sack of money to give it to somebody with hookers and cocaine so that they play your record enough times that people get batted to death with it and that makes it a hit". He later described English radio as "a smug, soothing appeaser". When asked about the song's relevance in 2003, Costello stated:

"Oh, you might as well just admit now that radio has nothing to do with music anymore—it's in the advertising business. There's a real skill to programming in an intelligent way, but nobody does that anymore. It's all done by computer, by committee. Radio is absolutely the enemy of music. They are my sworn and mortal enemy, and I will have nothing to do with them."

Costello and the Attractions famously performed the song live on the American television show Saturday Night Live in 1977; originally scheduled to perform Costello's debut single "Less Than Zero", Costello abruptly switched songs live against the wishes of his record company and SNL, resulting in a temporary ban from the show.

Recorded either during the sessions for This Year's Model or slightly afterward, "Radio Radio" was released as a standalone single in October 1978. The single peaked at number 29 in the UK and number 93 in Australia. Costello attributed the relative lack of chart success to radio censorship, explaining, "Radio One realized it was anti-radio and not pro-radio when they listened to the lyrics of the verse instead of just the chorus, radio play stopped overnight and the record dropped like a stone. It was steaming away up until then".

The song was also added to the American release of This Year's Model, replacing "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally". Costello speculated that this was a reaction to the notoriety the song had achieved from its appearance on Saturday Night Live. The song was also accompanied by a music video.

Since its release, "Radio Radio" has appeared on several compilation albums, including The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977–86, The Very Best of Elvis Costello, and The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years. The song also appeared on live albums Live at Hollywood High and Live at the El Mocambo.