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.
Don't Look Back
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can't run it, you can't hide it, you can't run it
Love has problems I know but there problems, we'll just have to face.
If you just put your hand in mine,
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind.
We're gonna walk and don't look back.
Don't look back
And don't look back
Don't look back
The places behind you let them re-remind you
If your first lover broke your heart,
There's something that can be done.
You don't run it, you don't hide it, you don't run it
Don't end your faith in love because of what he's done.
So if you just put your hand in mine,
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind.
Keep on walking and don't look back.
Forget about the past now.
Don't look back, baby.
Keep on walking and don't look back
The places behind you let them re-remind you.
Love can be a beautiful thing.
Though your first love let you down.
'Cause I know we can make love bloom, baby.
The second time around.
So if you just put your hand in mine,
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind.
Keep on pushing and don't look back.
Now, till I say, we won't look back, girl.
Keep on walking and won't look back.
Forget about the past now, baby.
And don't look back.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, don't look back.
Elvis Costello's song "Don't Look Back" is about overcoming past love failures and taking a chance on love again. The opening lines "If it's love that you're running from, there's no hiding place" suggests that one can't avoid love or hide from it forever. Love has its problems, and these problems must be faced in order to move forward. Costello sings about how the negative experiences from past relationships shouldn't stop us from believing in love. He encourages a new lover to hold his/her hand and leave all their troubles behind. The repetition of "don't look back" serves as a reminder to leave the past in the past and look forward to better things.
In the second verse, Costello suggests that we shouldn't let a broken heart prevent us from believing in love. "Don't end your faith in love because of what he's done" is a reminder that we shouldn't give up on love just because of one person's actions. He also mentions that love can be a beautiful thing, and a failed first love shouldn't deter someone from trying again. Lastly, in the last verse, Costello assures his lover that their relationship can bloom and that love can come around again. "The second time around" suggests that there's always another chance to love.
Overall, "Don't Look Back" is an uplifting song about taking a chance on love, letting go of past heartbreak, and moving forward with someone new. Costello's lyrics show that love is worth pursuing, even if there are difficulties and past failures along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
If it's love that you're running from, there's no hiding place.
Love can chase you anywhere, and you cannot escape it.
Love has problems I know but there problems, we'll just have to face.
Love can be challenging, but we must confront those challenges together.
If you just put your hand in mine, We're gonna leave all our troubles behind.
If we walk together hand in hand, we can forget about our problems.
We're gonna walk and don't look back. Don't look back. And don't look back And don't look back, baby. Don't look back
Let's move forward and not dwell on the past, no matter what happened before.
The places behind you let them re-remind you
The past can be a reminder of what we shouldn't repeat.
If your first lover broke your heart, There's something that can be done. Don't end your faith in love because what he's done.
Don't give up on love just because of a past heartbreak, there's always hope.
Keep on walking and don't look back. Forget about the past now. Don't look back, baby.
Keep moving forward with a positive attitude, and don't let past events prevent you from enjoying love now.
Love can be a beautiful thing. Though your first love let you down. 'Cause I know we can make love bloom, baby. The second time around.
Love has the potential to be wonderful, even if we have been disappointed in the past.
Keep on pushing and don't look back. Now, till I say, we won't look back, girl. Keep on walking and won't look back. Forget about the past now, baby.
We need to make a conscious effort to leave behind the past and keep moving forward for a better future.
And don't look back. Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, don't look back.
Let's leave behind the past and look forward to a better future together.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PETE WHITE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind