Punch the Clock

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Punch the Clock is the eighth studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, released on 5 August 1983. Costello teamed with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley to create a more commercially oriented record, recording at AIR Studios in London with the help of the Afrodiziak backing singers and the TKO Horns.

Musically, the album mixes new wave, pop rock, R&B and soul. It has a polished sound that critics often compare to Costello’s Armed Forces era. A standout track is Shipbuilding, co-written with Langer and featuring a trumpet solo by Chet Baker; it offers a solemn take on the Falklands War. The album also includes Everyday I Write the Book, which became Costello’s first US Top 40 hit, and Pills and Soap, released under the pseudonym The Imposter on his IMP label, which reached the UK charts.

The title Punch the Clock comes from a line in the song The Greatest Thing, and the cover art was designed by Phil Smee. The album reached number 3 in the UK and number 24 in the US, and it was certified gold in both countries, helped by extensive promotion and touring with the TKO Horns and Afrodiziak.

Critically, responses were mixed to positive. Some praised Shipbuilding and Pills and Soap, while others felt the production was too slick. NME named it the best album of 1983, though many later reviews view it as more accessible but not as bold as Costello’s best work. Costello himself later described the record as dated and not as satisfying as his other albums.

Punch the Clock has been reissued several times with bonus tracks, including a 1995 release and a 2003 two-disc Rhino edition, plus a 2015 remaster.