In 1972, Elvis Costello was in the Liverpool band Rusty before he broke out with The Attractions. He toured with Rusty but never recorded a music — until now. In a statement, the legend (who is also British royalty and was battling cancer only a couple of years ago) has announced his debut EP with the group, arriving next month.
“In 2021, my pal and singing partner in the Liverpool clubs, Allan Mayes wrote to me from his home in Austin, Texas. He wanted to remind me that it would soon be fifty years since I joined his band, ‘Rusty,’ just after our first meeting at a party on New Year’s Eve, 1971,” Costello wrote. “The group was then a quartet, with Allan’s school friend, Alan Brown ‐ who would play bass until he left for university later that year — and there was also another vocalist called ‘Dave.’ whose main credentials as a singer were the ownership of a microphone and tambourine. A month later, after a couple of pretty ragged gigs, Allan and I became the only vocalists and there was not a tambourine in sight. Show business is a cruel game.” His statement details at length his experience with Rusty; read it in full on his website here.
Check out the artwork for the EP below.
The Resurrection Of Rust is out digitally on 6/10 via EMI/Capitol.
