Sunday, June 02, 2024

Elvis Costello and The Attractions: I Can't Stand up for Falling Down

Because of Ed Davey's innovative election strategy of being photographed falling off, or nearly falling off, as many things as possible, I've found myself thinking of this record.

I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down was originally recorded by the Stax artists Sam and Dave as a soul ballad in 1967.

But the version I know is this much more uptempo one recorded by Elvis Costello and the Attractions for their 1980 album Get Happy!! 

Released as a single, it reached no. 4 in the UK singles chart in February of that year. And it still sounds great.

As to Ed's falling-off-things strategy, I'm with Andrew Rawnsley:

There is method in his malarkey. Much of the battle for the Lib Dems is persuading the national media to pay them any attention. If he has to play the good-for-a-laugh centrist dad to get himself on TV and in the newspapers, he reckons the pratfalls are a sacrifice worth making. You aren’t going to see Sir Keir Starmer on a paddleboard. Since no one thinks Sir Ed is going to be prime minister, he doesn’t have to do the gravitas thing. He also looks like a man who is enjoying himself, which is more than can be said for the stolid electioneering of his rivals.

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