marriage. Believing the songs on Punch the Clock lacked refinement, which he partly attributed to the production, Costello spent December 1983 and January 1984 writing songs in an unused F-Beat Records office above a hair salon in Acton, London. Equipped with an electric piano, guitar and canvas to paint on when he ran out of ideas, he applied "more craft and focus", recording demos of "The Great Unknown", "Worthless Thing" and "Peace in Our Time" at London's Eden Studios. According to author Graeme Thomson, there was a "a reflective, narrative thread to the new songs". In mid-February 1984, Costello and the Attractions road-tested nine of the new record's 13 songs on a short six-date tour in France. Tensions between them continued and by the time recording for the new album started, the artist had privately decided it would be his last album with the Attractions. Recording Recording for the album took place over two weeks in March 1984 at Trevor Horn's Sarm West Studios in London. Although Costello had initially thought of Richard Thompson to produce, Langer and Winstanley ultimately returned following Punch the Clock commercial performance. From the start, the artist and producers disagreed on the album's direction. The former envisioned a "ragged, folk rock sound", while the latter wanted their signature style. Langer later stated: After two weeks of struggling with live takes of the tracks, Costello stated that he and the producers "called a truce": Langer and Winstanley were allowed to give their commercial touch on "The Only Flame in Town" and a cover of an obscure Teacher's Edition B-side, "I Wanna Be Loved", while the remaining tracks went untouched. Costello recalled having a miserable time during recording, saying in 2004 that the record turned into "a battle to sustain some pace against my desire to make everything slow and mournful." Several outside musicians guested on the album: Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates sang harmony vocals on "The Only Flame in Town", Green Gartside of Scritti Politti sang backing vocals on "I Wanna Be Loved", trombonist Big Jim Paterson returned from Punch the Clock and Gary Barnacle added saxophone to a few tracks; Barnacle's parts reflected the style of the times. The extra players did little to liven the spirits of the Attractions, who remained resentful throughout. Bruce Thomas later remarked: "They were just there to inject an extra element that meant we weren't stuck with