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.
Ghost Train
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They got songs for every occasion
And a little limelight robbery
No one will employ them
There`s nothing to decide
So he autographs his overdraft
While she goes out of her mind
Stuck on the wall with a thousand faces
Roll up for the ghost train
Non-stop through the city
Step right up and show your face
We only want the pretty ones
Roll up for the ghost train
Non-stop through the city
Step right up and show your face
We only want the pretty ones
Maureen and Stan at the skating rink
Looking for the drummer who threw up in the sink
Laughing and singing, dressed up like dice
Maybe they could freeze to death out there on the ice
Look at the graceful way she dances
On foot speaks, the other answers
Roll up for the ghost train
Non-stop through the city
Step right up and show your face
We only want the pretty ones
Roll up for the ghost train
Non-stop through the city
Step right up and show your face
We only want the pretty ones
She plays the queen of the fleapit
He plays a Spanish guitar
He got a black eye from a waitress
She`s not seeing any stars
You can be refused, you can be replaced
You can change your name but you can`t change your face
While they make believe it`s just another holiday
They turn on each other when they hear that joker say
Roll up for the ghost train
Non-stop through the city
Step right up and show your face
We only want the pretty ones
Roll up for the ghost train
We only want the pretty ones
The song "Ghost Train" by Elvis Costello is a portrait of two characters, Maureen and Stan, who are struggling to find work as musicians. The song's lyrics describe their frustration at being rejected by potential employers and their experiences in the seedy underworld of the music business. The chorus, "Roll up for the ghost train, non-stop through the city, step right up and show your face, we only want the pretty ones," expresses the idea that in the world of show business, looks are more important than talent.
The song's verses paint a vivid picture of the characters' lives. Maureen and Stan have songs for every occasion, but no one will hire them. They are stuck in a cycle of debt and poverty, with Stan autographing his overdraft and Maureen going out of her mind. They are surrounded by "unwanted posters of the haunted places," a reference to the many clubs and bars where they have played without success. The chorus, with its insistent call to "roll up for the ghost train," suggests that the characters are trapped in a never-ending cycle of performing for a fickle audience that demands nothing less than perfection.
The song's lyrics are packed with vivid imagery and clever wordplay. The lines "Look at the graceful way she dances, one foot speaks, the other answers" are particularly memorable. The song's overall message is a reflection of Costello's own experiences in the music business, and his disdain for the way that looks and image are often given more importance than talent and substance.
Line by Line Meaning
Maureen and Stan were looking for a job
Maureen and Stan were searching for a job.
They got songs for every occasion
Maureen and Stan have a repertoire of songs for all situations.
And a little limelight robbery
They crave attention and recognition.
No one will employ them
Despite their talents, they are unable to find work.
There's nothing to decide
They have no choices or opportunities in life.
So he autographs his overdraft
He signs his check, knowing that it will bounce.
While she goes out of her mind
She becomes anxious and stressed.
Stuck on the wall with a thousand faces
Their posters are plastered all over the place, but they are still unknown.
Unwanted posters of the haunted places
Their posters are like ghosts haunting the walls, unwanted and ignored.
Roll up for the ghost train
Come, join the ride of emptiness and despair.
Non-stop through the city
A never-ending journey through life.
Step right up and show your face
Present yourself, but only if you are attractive enough.
We only want the pretty ones
Those who do not conform to society's standards of beauty are not welcome.
Maureen and Stan at the skating rink
Maureen and Stan are at the skating rink.
Looking for the drummer who threw up in the sink
They are seeking a drummer who got sick in the bathroom.
Laughing and singing, dressed up like dice
They are having fun and dressing outrageously.
Maybe they could freeze to death out there on the ice
They are reckless and not very careful.
Look at the graceful way she dances
Maureen is dancing elegantly.
On foot speaks, the other answers
Maureen's movements are fluid, like she is conversing with her feet.
She plays the queen of the fleapit
Maureen imagines herself as royalty in a rundown place of entertainment.
He plays a Spanish guitar
Stan is playing a Spanish guitar.
He got a black eye from a waitress
Stan was hit by a waitress.
She's not seeing any stars
Maureen is not impressed or dazzled by their situation.
You can be refused, you can be replaced
Their worth is only skin deep and easily replaced.
You can change your name but you can't change your face
No matter how much you try, you cannot change your appearance.
While they make believe it's just another holiday
They pretend it is a vacation or time off, but in reality their struggles are constant.
They turn on each other when they hear that joker say
They blame each other for their misfortunes when they hear someone mocking them.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind