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.
Good Year For The Roses
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the cigarettes there in the ashtray
Lyin' cold the way you left 'em
But at least your lips caressed them
While you packed
Or the lip-print on a half-filled cup of coffee
That you poured and didn't drink
That's so much more than I can say for me
What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin'
Funny, I don't even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It's been a good year for the roses
After three full years of marriage
It's the first time that you haven't made the bed
I guess the reason we're not talkin'
There's so little left to say we haven't said
While a million thoughts go racin' through my mind
I find I haven't said a word
From the bedroom the familiar sound
Of a baby's cryin' goes unheard
What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin'
Funny, I don't even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It's been a good year for the roses
Good Year for the Roses by Elvis Costello and The Attractions is a song about a husband and wife whose marriage has fallen apart. The song depicts a scene of the aftermath of a fight between the couple. The lyrics are full of details that emphasize the absence of the wife- her lipstick on the cigarette in the ashtray, her lip print on the half-filled coffee cup, and her unmade bed. These details show that she has left in a hurry and that the husband is left to deal with the aftermath of their disagreement. He contemplates their situation and thinks of how much they have left unsaid.
The chorus of the song, "What a good year for the roses, Many blooms still linger there," is a metaphor for their relationship. The good year for the roses represents the good times that they had in their marriage. The blooms that still linger represent the memories and love that they still have for each other. The husband feels like there may still be hope for their marriage as he contemplates the good times they shared. But he recognizes that it will take a lot of work to get back to that good place in their relationship.
This song paints a vivid picture of a relationship that is on the brink of collapse. The details in the lyrics emphasize the sadness and emptiness that the husband feels as he contemplates his situation. The metaphor of the roses represents the hope that he still has for his marriage, but he knows that it will take effort to get back to where they were before.
Line by Line Meaning
I can hardly bear the sight of lipstick on the cigarettes there in the ashtray
It pains me to see the evidence of your presence, with lipstick marks on the discarded cigarettes lying in the ashtray
Lyin' cold the way you left 'em, but at least your lips caressed them while
You packed
The cigarettes are abandoned and cold, but at least they were touched by your lips while you were leaving
Or the lip-print on a half-filled cup of coffee that you poured and didn't drink
I notice the mark of your lips on the rim of a cup of coffee that you poured but never drank
But at least you thought you wanted it, that's so much more than I can say
For me
You had the intention of wanting that cup of coffee, which is more than I can say for myself, as I am consumed by emotional numbness
After three full years of marriage, it's the first time that you haven't
Made the bed
It's notable that for the first time in three years of marriage, you haven't made the bed
I guess the reason we're not talkin', there's so little left to say we
Haven't said
We are not speaking to each other because there is nothing left unsaid that we have not already spoken
While a million thoughts go racin' through my mind, I find I haven't said a word
From the bedroom the familiar sound of a baby's cryin' goes unheard
Although countless thoughts are rushing through my head, I realize that I haven't actually spoken a word. From the bedroom, the sound of our crying baby is unnoticed, symbolizing our emotional distance from each other.
What a good year for the roses
Many blooms still linger there
The lawn could stand another mowin'
Funny I don't even care
As you turn to walk away
As the door behind you closes
The only thing I have to say
It's been a good year for the roses
In spite of the hardships of our relationship and the pain of our separation, the roses in the garden are still thriving. Although the lawn could use another mowing, I find that I no longer care about such trivial matters. As you leave and close the door behind you, the only thing left to say is that, all things considered, this has been a good year for the roses.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JERRY CHESNUT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@steffanhoffmann8937
Cheers Tim. I saw him live in Cardiff Wales twice. Around or about that time.
I couldn't get tickets in London. Simple trip down the M4 mway from Kensington and Chelsea.
Don't live in London anymore though.
I'm in Alanya Turkey and a great Med Sea climate. Recommended by my mate from Sydney, Sammie.
I left after BREXIT vote. Could sort of see a bleak future.
Haven't regretted it on Sammie's advice.
Rent for mod apt overlooking the Med Sea is 💶 300 a month. (That's how it has to be paid)
Last electric bill for May was $20 USD; and water bill for $6. No gas, it's never cold; hardly rains.
Ciggies here are $2 USD for twenty. Don't smoke but it's a good yardstick.
Everything is fresh in street markets and even marts are well developed and cheap.
Lamb here I paid $10 USD for 1.5kg. Sammie says way cheaper than Oz.
Gets 324 🌞 days annually. Yesterdays temp was 33c hasn't rained since March 10.
After all those lockdown agonies in Oz?
Sammie's had enough and is moving here in August.
Fair dinkum.
@Einstein852
I'm listening in 2024. One of his best ❤
@okrajoe
Still a great sound for a new year!
@siobhanlyne7024
Listening to this, love his music, but I honesty think it's the worst video I've ever seen. 2224
@kymshattock5527
Absolutely
@jillfoley6389
What a beautiful recording by the adorable Elvis Costello. Do hope he is in good health now and happy. Now 78 and I have recovered from ovarian cancer in 2010 so grateful to be here thanks to the wonderful Brighton NHS and Peter the wonderful handsome consultant who made the whole thing bearable. Looking forward to seeing my lovely three grandchildren when the lockdown is eased - I will wait awhile to return to normal and am thinking all the time of the NHS workers slaving away no way will I return to normal while they are working so hard on saving lives. So stay in Jillian - no pubs or trips in the country - but hope all those NHS workers know how much they are appreciated.
@georgedeathe4683
stay safe xxx
@jimlittler5592
Good luck for the future Jill, Jim Littler
@gerardgreen2462
And to think our government neglected NHS to a point we're we and NHS staff were thinking it was a worthless endeavour one good thing with our lockdown over covid 19 our least paid workers have shown themselves as invaluable and it's up to us to remind the elite everyday how much we value our NHS and so called least valuable workers the are priceless and should always get respect due ...workers of the world unite
@mikeluke9404
Greatest cover version ever! Superb, well done Elvis.
@jimlittler5592
Hi Jill ,how are you