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.
Honey Are You Straight or Are You Blind?
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who do you see when I'm not seeing you?
The news is out all over town and all these girls
Are taking turns at being you
[Chorus:]
Well, well, well
You'd better make up your mind
She's coming in between us you know that she is
I'm not holding on to her but one of us is
My hands are in my pocket, my face is in a book
She could walk 'round naked and I wouldn't sneak a look
[Chorus]
Honey are you straight or are you blind?
She walked in and your eyes flew out the door
You squeezed my hand 'til the circulation ceases
She's just a doll like so many more
She's the kind of doll that you'd like to pull to pieces
[Chorus]
Well, well, well
You'd better make up your mind
Honey are you straight or are you blind?
In the song "Honey Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" by Elvis Costello, the singer is addressing their partner, questioning who they see when they turn their eyes down, indicating a lack of trust and a fear of infidelity. The news about the partner's potential infidelity is spreading around town, with other women taking turns at being the partner. The chorus asks the partner to make up their mind about their sexual orientation, highlighting the confusion and mistrust in the relationship.
The second verse shows the singer's jealousy towards the partner's relationship with another woman. The singer denies holding onto the woman, but suggests that their partner might be. The singer also disregards the attractiveness of the woman, choosing instead to focus on a book – a sign of disinterest. The final lines of the verse emphasize the partner's unfaithfulness, suggesting that they are the type of person who can be easily pulled apart or broken by their actions.
Overall, the song is about jealousy, mistrust, and a deteriorating relationship fraught with confusion over both identity and fidelity. The singer's fear of being replaced by another woman is a central theme, as is their confusion about their partner's sexuality. The song is a powerful example of Costello's ability to capture complex emotions in simple, catchy, and memorable lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Who do you see when you turn your eyes down?
When you avert your gaze, who do you think about or long for?
Who do you see when I'm not seeing you?
When we're apart or not together, who occupies your mind?
The news is out all over town and all these girls / Are taking turns at being you
The word is spreading around that many girls are trying to emulate you, taking on your style and persona.
Well, well, well / You'd better make up your mind / Honey, are you straight or are you blind?
You need to decide and clarify your sexual preferences, as it's causing confusion and tension in our relationship.
She's coming in between us you know that she is / I'm not holding on to her but one of us is
This other woman is causing a rift in our connection, and although I'm not pursuing her, one of us is drawn to her.
My hands are in my pocket, my face is in a book / She could walk 'round naked and I wouldn't sneak a look
I'm purposely avoiding the temptation of this woman, focusing my attention elsewhere and not succumbing to her allure.
She walked in and your eyes flew out the door / You squeezed my hand 'til the circulation ceases / She's just a doll like so many more / She's the kind of doll that you'd like to pull to pieces
Your attention is completely captivated by this woman, causing physical pain to me. However, she's just another doll-like woman who you want to figuratively destroy or belittle.
Well, well, well / You'd better make up your mind / Honey are you straight or are you blind?
It's essential that you decide which team you're on – heterosexual or gay – and stop causing confusion and hurting those around you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind