Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an inter… Read Full Bio ↴Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an internationally known English singer-songwriter. Gaining prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-70s, he burst into fame with his critically acclaimed 1977 debut 'My Aim Is True', still one of the most successful debuts of all time. He soon did much work in the genres of punk rock, power pop, and New Wave after he formed Elvis Costello & The Attractions. In a long and successful career, Costello has released over thirty studio albums on his own and with the Attractions, the Imposters, and other collaborations, praised by many critics for his literate, witty songwriting.
Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello & The Attractions Lyrics
(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six H…
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding As I walk through This wicked world Searchin for light in th…
Accidents Will Happen Oh, I just don't know where to begin Though he says…
Alison Oh, it's so funny to be seeing you after so…
Almost Blue Almost blue Almost doing things we used to do There's a girl…
Beyond Belief History repeats the old conceits The glib replies the same d…
Big Tears Everyone is busy with the regular routine The sniper just ta…
Brilliant Mistake He thought he was the King of America Where they pour…
Clubland With a handful of backhanders and a bevy of beauty Going…
Everyday I Write the Book Don't tell me you don't know what love is When you're…
Green Shirt There's a smart young woman on a light blue screen Who…
High Fidelity Some things you never get used to Even though you're feeling…
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down I'm the living result I'm a man who's been hurt a…
I Hope You're Happy Now He's a fine figure of a man and handsome too With…
I Wanna Be Loved Why must I be so lonely? When so many people…
I Want to Vanish I want to vanish This is my fondest wish To go where…
I Want You Oh my baby, baby I love you more than I can…
Indoor Fireworks We play these parlour games We play at make-believe When we …
Lipstick Vogue Don't say you love me when it's just a rumor Don't…
Man Out Of Time So this is where he came to hide When he ran…
My Funny Valentine My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine You make me smile…
New Amsterdam You're sending me tulips mistaken for lilies You give me you…
New Lace Sleeves Bad lovers face to face in the morning Shy apologies and…
Oliver's Army Don't start that talking I could talk all night My mind was…
Pills and Soap They talked to the sister, the father and the mother With…
Pump It Up Me veo colgado de un gancho de ropa Escuchando música, aluci…
Riot Act Forever doesn't mean forever anymore I said forever But it d…
Shipbuilding Is it worth it? A new winter coat and shoes for…
So Like Candy Here lies the powder and perfume The pretty clothes are sca…
Sulky Girl She wears a wedding ring her sister lent To throw them…
Talking in the Dark I tried in vain to drive myself insane I talk to…
That Day Is Done I feel such sorrow, I feel such shame I know I…
Tokyo Storm Warning Oh, the sky fell over cheap Korean monster-movie scenery And…
Watching The Detectives Nice girls, not one with a defect Cellophane shrink-wrapped,…
We also have lyrics for these tracks by Elvis Costello:
(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six h…
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes Oh I used to be disgusted and now I try to…
A Good Year for the Roses I can hardly bear the sight of lipstick on the…
Accidents Will Happen Oh I just don't know where to begin Though he says…
Alison Oh, it's so funny to be seeing you after so…
Almost Blue Almost blue Almost doing things we used to do There's a girl…
Beyond Belief History repeats the old conceits The glib replies the same d…
Big Tears Everyone is busy with the regular routine The sniper just ta…
Brilliant Mistake He thought he was the King of America Where they pour…
Clubland With a handful of backhanders and a bevy of beauty Going…
Everyday I Write The Book Don't tell me you don't know what love is When you're…
God Give Me Strength Now I have nothing, so God give me strength 'Cause I'm…
Green Shirt There's a smart young woman on a light blue screen Who…
High Fidelity Some things you never get used to Even though you're feeling…
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down I'm the living result I'm a man who's been hurt a…
I Hope You're Happy Now He's a fine figure of a man and handsome too With…
I Wanna Be Loved Why must I be so lonely? When so many people…
I Want to Vanish I want to vanish This is my fondest wish To go where…
I Want You Oh my baby, baby I love you more than I can…
Indoor Fireworks We play these parlour games We play at make-believe When we …
Lipstick Vogue Don't say you love me when it's just a rumor Don't…
Man Out Of Time So this is where he came to hide When he ran…
My Funny Valentine My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine You make me smile …
New Amsterdam You're sending me tulips mistaken for lilies You give me a…
New Lace Sleeves Bad lovers face to face in the morning Shy apologies and…
Oliver's Army Don't start that talking I could talk all night My mind was…
Pills and Soap They talked to the sister, the father and the mother With…
Pump It Up Me veo colgado de un gancho de ropa Escuchando música, aluci…
Radio, Radio I was tuning in the shine on the light night…
Riot Act Forever It doesn't mean forever anymore I said forever But i…
She She's pulling out the pin That lets her hair fall down She…
Shipbuilding Is it worth it? A new winter coat and shoes for…
So Like Candy Here lies the powder and perfume The pretty clothes are scat…
Sulky Girl She wears a wedding ring her sister lent To throw them…
Talking In The Dark I tried in vain to drive myself insane I talk to…
That Day Is Done I feel such sorrow, I feel such shame I know I…
The Other Side of Summer The sun struggles up another beautiful day And I felt glad…
Tokyo Storm Warning Oh, the sky fell over cheap Korean monster-movie scenery And…
Tramp the Dirt Down I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign A woma…
Veronica Is it all in that pretty little head of yours? What…
Watching The Detectives Nice girls, not one with a defect Cellophane shrink-wrapped,…
We also have lyrics for these tracks by The Attractions:
Accidents Will Happen Oh I just don't know where to begin Though he says…
Shipbuilding Is it worth it? A new winter coat and shoes for…