Classic Clips: Dave Edmunds “Girls Talk” The Jools’ Annual Hootenanny – 31st December 2008

I have always loved this song, and here is a fabulous version on the Hootenanny. It is given the full treatment with horns, female backing vocals and, of course, a bit of boogie-woogie from Jools. This works very well, although the downside is that there is a bit less twang from the guitars than on the single version. Dave Edmunds seems to be really enjoying it, casting a knowing grin to his backing musicians at one point, and is basking in the limelight of this performance.

Edmunds is nearly thirty years older than when the song was originally released in 1979 but his voice still sounds good. A very rough rushed version, with just a vocal and guitar, had been given to him on a cassette by its writer, Elvis Costello, apparently in an act of drunken bravado. Nick Lowe’s biography ‘Cruel To Be Kind’ suggests that Costello perhaps thought that Edmunds’ production skills could work their magic on it, which indeed they did. Edmunds was very pleased with his version after not being that impressed with the tape, although he wondered if Costello was less so. Nevertheless, it wasn’t all bad for Costello- it showcased his songwriting to the world and he earned a few bob from its sales, as it got to number 4 in the UK singles chart. Legend has it that Edmunds once introduced the song at a gig with the words “Here’s a song by Elvis Costello, and he thanks you from the bottom of his wallet“.

The full-throated singing of it by Annie Lennox and Chris Difford in the audience pays tribute to the greatness of the song. There is also Craig Finn from The Hold Steady playing along, Ruby Turner loving it and (I think) comedian Arthur Smith rather recklessly shaking his thing to it. Hope he didn’t do himself an injury.

Edmunds also did a great version of ‘I Hear You Knockin’ ’ on the show, which is well worth checking out, as is the original video for the song with Edmunds and Rockpile having fun playing it on the roof of the Warner Brothers Records building in Manhattan.