Bruce Thomas

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Bruce Thomas (born August 14, 1948 in Stockton-on-Tees, England) is best known as bassist for The Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello on stage and record.

Thomas was already a 10-year veteran of the British music scene before he hooked up with Costello, having played with such short-lived bands as The Roadrunners (with Paul Rodgers), Bitter Sweet, and Bodast in the late 1960s and recording with Quiver, Moonrider and Al Stewart in the early 1970s.

But it was his work with Costello that brought Thomas his greatest fame. Between 1977 and 1987, Elvis Costello & The Attractions released nine albums, including This Year's Model (1978), Punch The Clock (1983), and Blood and Chocolate (1986), and toured extensively.

After Costello's initial split with The Attractions in 1987, Thomas recorded with such other artists as Billy Bragg, John Wesley Harding, and Suzanne Vega. In 1990 he released his first book The Big Wheel, an autobiography in which the key characters are recognizable without ever being identified by name. Costello, for instance, is called "the Singer." Apparently annoyed by his depiction in the book, Costello responded with the song "How To Be Dumb" on his album Mighty Like a Rose (1991). Costello has described his relationship with Thomas during this period as "pretty non-existent."

Despite this estrangement, Costello was persuaded by co-producer Mitchell Froom to invite Thomas to play on the album Brutal Youth (1994). The reunited Elvis Costello & The Attractions followed the album with a tour and the album All This Useless Beauty (1996). Toward the end of a second tour, Costello announced that he would be splitting with the group as soon as the tour was over. Elvis Costello & The Attractions played their final concert September 15, 1996 in Nagoya, Japan.

Although Costello has been vague about exactly what prompted the split, he has made it clear that Bruce Thomas is the Attraction he wishes to shun. The other two Attractions, Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas (no relation to Bruce), have continued to tour and record with Costello. Bruce has said that he simply lost interest in playing with Costello.

In 2003 Thomas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions. Thomas appeared onstage with Costello to accept the honour, but they did not perform together. Thomas' book On the Road... Again, the sequel to The Big Wheel, was published that same year.

Thomas is also the author of 1994's Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit, a biography of the renowned martial artist and movie star.