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.
Getting Mighty Crowded
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I`m gonna move all out of your heart
I`m turning in my keys
And I`m gonna move all out of your heart
`Cause there ain't room enough for two
In dreams that were made for me and you
I`m telling you, it`s getting mighty crowded
It`s getting mighty crowded
I`m gonna take these things of mine
And I`m gonna move all out of your life
Stop wasting my time
And I`m gonna move all out of your life
`Cause there ain't room enough for three
In dreams that were made for you and me
So you see, it`s getting mighty crowded
Too crowded for me
It`s getting mighty crowded
I`m saving you the trouble of putting me down
Starting on the double, yeah yeah
I`m gonna shop around
I`m gonna find another heart
Where I can live all by myself
Gonna find another heart
I don`t have to share with anybody else
`Cause you don`t treat me like you should
And hanging around this neighborhood is no good
It`s getting mighty crowded
Too crowded for me, getting mighty crowded
I`m packing up my memories, getting mighty crowded
Too crowded for me, getting mighty crowded
Too crowded for me, getting mighty crowded
The lyrics of "Getting Mighty Crowded" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions refer to the end of a relationship. It's a breakup song, about a person who is tired of sharing their dreams and their life with someone who doesn't treat them right. The singer is "packing up memories" and "turning in keys" as they prepare to leave their lover's heart and life, explaining that there is not enough room for two, and even three, in the dreams they had together. As a result, the singer is on a mission to find another heart where they can live alone, without having to put up with anyone else's bad treatment.
In the choruses, Costello repeats the line "It's getting mighty crowded," emphasizing that the relationship has become too difficult to handle, and it's time for a change. The idea of a crowded space is an interesting way to describe a relationship that has become suffocating. The song highlights the importance of having enough room to grow and breathe in a relationship, where one can pursue individual dreams as well as shared ones.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm packing up my memories
I'm gathering my possessions that I've accumulated throughout our time together and leaving.
And I'm gonna move all out of your heart
I am removing myself from your affections and leaving your heart.
I'm turning in my keys
I'm giving you back the keys to my heart, signifying the end of our relationship.
And I'm gonna move all out of your heart
I am removing myself from your affections and leaving your heart.
'Cause there ain't room enough for two
Our relationship has ended. There isn't enough space in our hearts to fit both of us anymore.
In dreams that were made for me and you
The hopes and desires we once shared when we were together have fallen apart.
I'm telling you, it's getting mighty crowded
My heart is becoming increasingly crowded, and it's time to move on.
Too crowded for me
There is no longer any room for me in your heart, and I need to leave.
It's getting mighty crowded
The situation has worsened and my heart is feeling overwhelmed.
I'm gonna take these things of mine
I'm gathering my belongings and cutting ties with you.
And I'm gonna move all out of your life
I'm removing myself from your life to start afresh.
Stop wasting my time
I no longer want to waste my time on a relationship that is no longer working.
And I'm gonna move all out of your life
I'm removing myself from your life to start afresh.
'Cause there ain't room enough for three
There's no room for us and anyone else in our relationship.
In dreams that were made for you and me
The hopes and desires we once shared when we were together have fallen apart.
So you see, it's getting mighty crowded
Our relationship has come to an end, and it's time for me to move on.
Too crowded for me
The situation has deteriorated, and there is no longer any space for me in your life.
It's getting mighty crowded
The situation has worsened and my heart is feeling overwhelmed.
I'm saving you the trouble of putting me down
I am saving you the effort of breaking up with me because I'm leaving on my own terms.
Starting on the double, yeah yeah
I'm leaving immediately.
I'm gonna shop around
I am going to explore other romantic prospects.
I'm gonna find another heart
I'm going to find another person to love and share my heart with.
Where I can live all by myself
I want to find someone who will give me the space and independence I need.
Gonna find another heart
I am committed to finding someone else to love and share my heart with.
I don't have to share with anybody else
I want to find someone who won't want to share their romantic feelings with anyone else but me.
'Cause you don't treat me like you should
You haven't treated me with the love and respect I deserve.
And hanging around this neighborhood is no good
Staying in this relationship is not beneficial for either of us.
It's getting mighty crowded
The situation has worsened and my heart is feeling overwhelmed.
Too crowded for me, getting mighty crowded
Our relationship has come to an end, and there is no longer any space for me in your life.
I'm packing up my memories, getting mighty crowded
I am gathering my belongings and cutting ties with you, as there is no longer any space for me in your life.
Too crowded for me, getting mighty crowded
The situation has worsened, and there is no longer any space for me in your life.
Lyrics © VAN MCCOY MUSIC, INC.
Written by: VAN MCCOY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind