I think this song goes much further than criticising Oswald Mosley himself and is more to do with Costello's contempt for public tolerance for the Fascist presence in Britain and amorality in general. Hence Costello mockingly depicts Oswald as a gleeful pervert who tortures, rapes, commits incest and murders, and when it makes the news it only seems to fit in with the general direction of an increasingly nihilistic, apathetic, hedonistic nation. This song also marked the inspiration for Bret Easton Ellis's novel 'Less Than Zero' which has extremely similar themes to it.
I think this song goes much further than criticising Oswald Mosley himself and is more to do with Costello's contempt for public tolerance for the Fascist presence in Britain and amorality in general. Hence Costello mockingly depicts Oswald as a gleeful pervert who tortures, rapes, commits incest and murders, and when it makes the news it only seems to fit in with the general direction of an increasingly nihilistic, apathetic, hedonistic nation. This song also marked the inspiration for Bret Easton Ellis's novel 'Less Than Zero' which has extremely similar themes to it.
@GimpChimp Yes you are spot on. Great cultural references noted in your insightful comment from 17 years ago.
@GimpChimp Yes you are spot on. Great cultural references noted in your insightful comment from 17 years ago.