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.
Crimes Of Paris
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And how it`s always another day
Just after twelve o`clock`s struck
You said "Now I only want you so I don`t have to promise"
But tiny children in grown-up clothes whispered all the Crimes of Paris
[Chorus:]
You`re not the girl next-door or a girl from France
All the words of love seem cruel and crass
When you`re tough and transparent as armored glass
You`re everywhere girl in an everyday mess
Who`ll pay for the Crimes of Paris
I heard that you fell for the "Hell or to Hammersmith Blues"
In the tiny torn up pieces of his mind he`s irresistible too
Now it`s hard to say now if he`s only stupid or smart
When he crawled through the door
And poured out more of his creeping-Jesus heart
[Chorus:]
And it`s all here and now
She hit him with that paper-weight Eiffel Tower
And I tried to hold on to you but I don`t know how
And I find it hard to swallow good advice
Like going down three times to only come up twice
She`s so convenient, he`s always stiff as hair-lacquer
It`s hard to discover now he`s in love with her
It was her way of getting her own back
You never did anything she couldn't do on her own
You`re as good as your word and that`s no good to her
You`d better leave that kitten alone
[Chorus:]
The lyrics to Elvis Costello & The Attractions's song "Crimes of Paris" are full of intricate metaphors and contradictions. The singer seems to be addressing a woman (or multiple women) who is a mystery to him. He references her "optimist's view of the clock" and her ability to find another day just as the clock strikes twelve, implying that she is an eternal optimist. However, he then juxtaposes this with her selfishness, saying that she wants him only so she doesn't have to "promise." This contrast sets the tone for the rest of the song.
As the song progresses, the singer describes the woman's many contradictions. She is "tough and transparent as armored glass," simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, and "in an everyday mess." He muses that "all the words of love seem cruel and crass" in her presence. The mysterious woman seems to be both irresistible and impossible to understand, much less love.
Towards the end of the song, the narrative takes a violent turn when the woman hits someone with the paperweight Eiffel Tower. The singer is unable to hold onto her, and he struggles to come to terms with her and her actions. Ultimately, he seems to imply that the woman is using her power over men to get her own back, and that the singer is better off leaving her alone.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought it was you and your optimist's view of the clock
I believed in your hopeful perspective that time is always on your side
And how it's always another day
No matter what happens, there's always tomorrow
Just after twelve o'clock's struck
Immediately after something significant has occurred
You said 'Now I only want you so I don't have to promise'
You declared that you only desire me so you don't have to make any commitments
But tiny children in grown-up clothes whispered all the Crimes of Paris
Despite your intentions, the truth about your past mistakes and wrongdoings has been revealed
[Chorus:] You're not the girl next-door or a girl from France Or the cigarette-girl in the sizzle hot-pants All the words of love seem cruel and crass When you're tough and transparent as armored glass You're everywhere girl in an everyday mess Who'll pay for the Crimes of Paris
You're not a typical girl, and despite the romantic words spoken, love is difficult when you are as tough and transparent as a pane of glass. You are a mess that is found everywhere, and someone will have to pay the price for the wrongs you have done
I heard that you fell for the 'Hell or to Hammersmith Blues'
I learned that you were seduced by the lure of danger and excitement
In the tiny torn up pieces of his mind he's irresistible too
Despite his flaws, he is still desirable in his own way, like a puzzle with missing pieces
Now it's hard to say now if he's only stupid or smart
It's difficult to determine if he's foolish or clever
When he crawled through the door And poured out more of his creeping-Jesus heart
When he entered the room and began sharing his over-dramatic, religiously charged sentiments
[Chorus:]
And it's all here and now
Everything is happening in the present moment
She hit him with that paper-weight Eiffel Tower
She attacked him with a heavy, decorative sculpture of the Eiffel Tower
And I tried to hold on to you but I don't know how
I attempted to keep a grip on you, but I'm not sure how to do so
And I find it hard to swallow good advice Like going down three times to only come up twice
I struggle with accepting worthwhile guidance, such as the idea that one must go down three times in order to succeed only twice
She's so convenient, he's always stiff as hair-lacquer
She is easy and effortless to be with, while he is always rigid and tightly wound
It's hard to discover now he's in love with her
It's difficult to accept that he is in love with her
It was her way of getting her own back
She was retaliating against someone who had wronged her
You never did anything she couldn't do on her own
You were never useful or necessary to her, as she is perfectly capable of handling things alone
You're as good as your word and that's no good to her
You are reliable and honest, but those traits do not benefit her in any way
You'd better leave that kitten alone
You should not attempt to get involved with her, as it will only end poorly
[Chorus:]
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind