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.
I'm In The Mood Again
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They go where I go
Farewell the newspapers that know more than I know
Flung under a street-lamp still burning at dawn
I'm in the mood again
I walk the damp streets rather than slumber
Along the fine windows of shameless and plunder
I'm in the mood again
I don't know what's come over me
But it's nothing that I'm doing wrong
You took the breath right out of me
Now you'll find it in the early hours
In a lover's song
I lay my head down on fine linens and satin
Away from the mad-hatters who live in Manhattan
The Empire State Building illuminating the sky
I'm in the mood
I'm in the mood
I'm in the mood again
In "I'm In The Mood Again," Elvis Costello creates a vivid image of a person wandering the streets of an unnamed city, captivated by its brightness and energy. The singer is in a state of heightened awareness, taking in everything around him, from the taxis whizzing by to the wealthy people behind their fine windows. He is in a "mood" that is not fully defined but seems to be a mixture of excitement, exhilaration, and perhaps a touch of melancholy. He doesn't know what has caused this sudden mood, but he suggests that it might be the result of falling in love with someone. The song ends with him retreating to his own private oasis, where he can bask in the glow of his emotions in peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Hail to the taxis
Praising the taxis for being a reliable mode of transportation.
They go where I go
Taxis provide a ride to wherever the singer needs to go.
Farewell the newspapers that know more than I know
Not relying on newspapers for information, as the singer trusts their own knowledge.
Flung under a street-lamp still burning at dawn
Out late until the early morning hours despite the late hour.
I'm in the mood again
Feeling a sense of excitement about the possibilities of the night ahead.
I walk the damp streets rather than slumber
Preferring to be out and about, even in the early hours, rather than sleeping.
Along the fine windows of shameless and plunder
Walking past luxury shops which exhibit wealth without shame.
But none of their riches could ever compare
Despite the tempting displays, none of the material possessions of the wealthy could compare to the artist's current mood.
I don't know what's come over me
Feeling overwhelmed by the sudden mood of excitement and elation.
But it's nothing that I'm doing wrong
Assuring oneself that there is nothing wrong with feeling happy and alive, even though it seems out of the ordinary.
You took the breath right out of me
Being taken aback and breathless by someone or something that triggered the sudden mood of excitement.
Now you'll find it in the early hours
Acknowledging that the source of the excitement and inspiration will be present during the late night and early morning hours.
In a lover's song
Potentially alluding to the inspiration and excitement coming from a romantic connection.
I lay my head down on fine linens and satin
Enjoying the comfort of luxury bedding and a peaceful night's sleep after a night out.
Away from the mad-hatters who live in Manhattan
Avoiding the craziness and chaos of the city's nightlife.
The Empire State Building illuminating the sky
Noticing the iconic skyscraper lighting up the night sky.
I'm in the mood
Declaring that the mood of excitement and elation still remains.
I'm in the mood
Reiterating the continued presence of the mood and feeling.
I'm in the mood again
Feeling the same sense of excitement and elation once again on a different night.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind