Armed Forces (album)

Armed Forces (album)

Armed Forces is Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. It was released in the UK by Radar Records and in the U.S. by Columbia in 1979 (see 1979 in music). The American version deleted "Sunday's Best" and substituted Costello's version of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," which had been released the previous November as the B-side of Nick Lowe's "American Squirm" single, at the end of side two. The album had the working title Emotional Fascism.

Initial pressings of the album in the UK and U.S. included a promotional three-song single, Live at Hollywood High, which was recorded on 4 June 1978 (1978-06-04). The live tracks, also produced by Nick Lowe, are "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison," and "Watching the Detectives". The UK edition also included 4 postcards featuring pictures of the band.

In 2000 Q magazine placed Armed Forces at number 45 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked at number 482 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and then in 2012, moved it to number 475 on its updated list.

In the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Elliott's brother, Michael (played by Robert MacNaughton), sings "Accidents Will Happen" in the family kitchen after coming home from school.