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.
Hope You're Happy Now
Elvis Costello Lyrics
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With his eyes upon the secret places he'd like to undo
Still he knows who knows who and where and how
And I hope you're happy now
He's got all the things you need and some that you will never
But you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever
Still he knows what you want and what you don't allow
I hope that you're happy now like you're supposed to be
And I know that this will hurt you more than it hurts me
He's acting innocent and proud still you know what he's after
Like a matador with his pork sword, while we all die of laughter
In his turquoise pajamas and motorcycle hat
I hope you're happy now because you'll soon put pay to that
I knew then what I know now, I never loved you anyhow
And I hope you're happy now
I knew then what I know now, I never loved you anyhow
And I hope you're happy now
And I hope you're happy now
And I hope you're happy now
I hope you're happy now
I hope you're happy now
I hope that you're happy now
In "I Hope You're Happy Now," Elvis Costello sings about a man who appears to have it all - he's handsome, wealthy, and charming - yet he knows how to manipulate others to get what he wants. The singer addresses someone (possibly an ex-lover) who is now with this man and wonders if they are truly happy. Despite everything this man has, the singer believes that he's not worth much, comparing him to "frozen food" and joking about his bedroom skills. The singer also implies that the man is not as innocent as he seems and uses animalistic imagery to describe his sexual prowess.
The overall tone of the song is bitter and resentful, with the singer wishing ill on his subject. However, he also seems to be offering some sort of closure or finality by saying, "I knew then what I know now, I never loved you anyhow." Perhaps the song is a reminder to the subject that the singer has moved on and doesn't care about them anymore. Additionally, the line "And I know that this will hurt you more than it hurts me" suggests that the subject may have hurt the singer in the past, and this is his way of getting revenge.
Overall, "I Hope You're Happy Now" is a complex song that explores themes of jealousy, deception, and revenge in a clever, cynical way.
Line by Line Meaning
He's a fine figure of a man and handsome too
He looks good.
With his eyes upon the secret places he'd like to undo
He's interested in secret places.
Still he knows who knows who and where and how
He knows everything and everyone.
And I hope you're happy now
I hope you're content with what you have.
He's got all the things you need and some that you will never
He has everything you want and more.
But you make him sound like frozen food, his love will last forever
You describe him as a mundane product.
Still he knows what you want and what you don't allow
He knows your likes and dislikes.
And I hope that you're happy now
I hope you're content with what you have.
I hope that you're happy now like you're supposed to be
I expect you to be happy, as is customary.
And I know that this will hurt you more than it hurts me
I'm aware that you'll be more affected by this than I will be.
He's acting innocent and proud still you know what he's after
He pretends to be innocent, but you know his true intentions.
Like a matador with his pork sword, while we all die of laughter
He looks foolish, and we're laughing at him.
In his turquoise pajamas and motorcycle hat
He's dressed strangely.
I hope you're happy now because you'll soon put pay to that
I hope you're content now because it won't last.
I knew then what I know now, I never loved you anyhow
I never loved you.
And I hope you're happy now
I hope you're content with what you have.
I hope you're happy now
I hope you're content with what you have.
I hope that you're happy now
I hope you're content with what you have.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind