Elvis Costello's 8th studio album (and his 7th with the Attractions) was released on 5 August 1983.
After 1982's critically-acclaimed (but poorly selling) Imperial Bedroom, Costello was determined to release a more popular album and brought on producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (who'd had success with Madness and Dexy's Midnight Runners). Costello wrote much of the material while on tour, "road-testing" the songs as the band performed them ("Mouth Almighty", "Everyday I Write the Book", "The Comedians", "Pills and Soap", and "The World and His Wife" all debuted during live shows in December 1982).
The recording sessions included backing singers, horns and strings, including Chet Baker on "Shipbuilding" (which Costello had written with Langer and had been a hit for Robert Wyatt in 1982).
While Costello's calculation to make a hit record paid off (Punch the Clock peaked at #3 in the UK and #24 in the US and included his first US Top 40 single, "Everyday I Write the Book"), it was poorly reviewed and Costello himself later expressed regret for chasing musical "fads."
