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.
Dr. Luther's Assistant
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Home movies with no subtitles
Don't you wish you knew what they were sayin'
When the film keeps playin', playin'
Oh, he's Doctor Luther's assistant
He'll close in when he seems so distant
Doctor Luther's assistant
Some say he is just a lackey
Changing words while the ink is still tacky
He's absolutely indispensable
He keeps the other boys in suspense
Oh, he's Doctor Luther's assistant
He'll close in when he seems so distant
Doctor Luther's assistant
He'll get on top of you when you lower your resistance
Luther is locked in a broken-down cinema
Watches his wife with his video camera
Sees his best boy makin' her grin
Out of the kitchen, she's gone with the wind
Oh, Doctor Luther's assistant
He'll close in, when he seems so distant
Doctor Luther's assistant
He'll get on top of you when you lower your resistance
In "Dr. Luther's Assistant," Elvis Costello tells a story about a man who is Dr. Luther's assistant. The lyrics depict some shady and creepy events, such as someone filming home movies with no subtitles, causing others to wonder what the people in the movies are saying. The assistant seems to be involved in these secretive events, and it's unclear if he is the mastermind or just following orders.
The lyrics describe the assistant as indispensable, implying that he is necessary for Luther's operations. The song mentions that Luther is locked in a broken-down cinema and watches his wife with a video camera. The assistant seems to be the one who keeps everyone else in suspense, as he is always present when things are happening but doesn't give anything away. Overall, the song's dark undertones and references to infidelity and power dynamics make for an intriguing and unsettling story.
Line by Line Meaning
Everything seems so tranquil
Despite the chaos happening beneath the surface, everything appears peaceful on the outside.
Home movies with no subtitles
Personal, intimate moments captured on film without explanation or interpretation.
Don't you wish you knew what they were sayin'
A desire to understand the meanings and nuances behind these captured moments.
When the film keeps playin', playin'
The repetition of moments, playing over and over again, without any new information or context.
Oh, he's Doctor Luther's assistant
The introduction of a character who serves as a subordinate to Doctor Luther.
He'll close in when he seems so distant
The assistant plays a role in Doctor Luther's life, even when it appears as if he is not involved.
Doctor Luther's assistant
Reiteration of the assistant's role in the narrative.
He'll get on top of you when you lower your resistance
The assistant takes advantage of vulnerability to gain power or control over someone.
Some say he is just a lackey
Some people view the assistant as an unimportant or subservient figure.
Changing words while the ink is still tacky
The assistant has the power to alter or manipulate important information before it is permanent.
He's absolutely indispensable
Despite his perceived lack of importance, the assistant is actually crucial to the success or stability of Doctor Luther's world.
He keeps the other boys in suspense
The assistant holds power over others, using suspense or uncertainty to keep them under his thumb.
Luther is locked in a broken-down cinema
Doctor Luther is trapped in a decaying, unchanging environment.
Watches his wife with his video camera
Doctor Luther is voyeuristic, using technology to spy on his own spouse.
Sees his best boy makin' her grin
Doctor Luther witnesses his assistant engaging in a flirtatious or sexual interaction with his wife.
Out of the kitchen, she's gone with the wind
Doctor Luther's wife leaves him and his decaying world behind, seeking a new life and escape from his control.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind