Drunken talk isn’t meant to be printed in the paper.

From That Time Elvis Costello Incited a Brawl With Racist Remarks by Bryan Wawzenek.

It started out with slight insults between bands. Members of the old rock guard (the Stephen Stills Band) and the new wave (Elvis Costello and the Attractions) converged in the Holiday Inn bar in Columbus, Ohio, after playing separate gigs on March 15, 1979.

Costello was already drunk when Stills and friends walked in. As he got drunker, his words got nastier in a desperate attempt to inflame the sensibilities of his elders. Stills soon left to go to his room. Backing singer Bonnie Bramlett (of Delaney & Bonnie fame) continued to engage Costello, who kept disparaging America and its most hallowed rock stars. After 2AM he described James Brown as a “jive-arsed n------” and Ray Charles as a “blind, ignorant n------.” In response, Bramlett backhanded the 24-year-old up-and-comer. It all ended in a brawl, quickly broken up by the bartender.

Civilized me frowns on bar brawls.  Impressionable me is impressed by a 35-year old white woman musician backhanding an Englishman ten years her junior for disparaging and racist comments against American black musicians.    

I also like this generous response.

When asked about the controversy, Ray Charles said, “Drunken talk isn’t meant to be printed in the paper.”