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 Don't Want to Go to Chelsea
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Everybody's got new orders
Be a nice girl and kiss the warders
Now the teacher is away
All the kids begin to play
Men come screaming, dressed in white coats
Shake you very gently by the throat
One's named Gus, one's named Alfie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Oh, no, it does not move me
Even though I've seen the movie
I don't want to check your pulse
I don't want nobody else
I don't want to go to Chelsea
The lyrics to Elvis Costello's song "Chelsea" are full of clever wordplay and social commentary. The song begins with photographs of older men trying to relive their youth by engaging in extravagant behavior, including chasing after young women. The lyrics then move to a woman who is considered outdated and out of touch with the current fashion trends. She is referred to as "last year's model" and is given the name "Natasha" even though she looks like "Elsie," highlighting society's obsession with youth and beauty.
The song then shifts to a scene of chaos where men in white coats arrive and take control. The imagery of men in white coats can be interpreted as a reference to the psychiatric profession and the treatment of those who do not fit societal norms. The lyrics suggest that these men are there to "shake you very gently by the throat" and take away one's individuality.
Throughout the song, the chorus is repeated, with the singer declaring, "I don't want to go to Chelsea." This line can be interpreted in many ways- perhaps Chelsea is a metaphor for conformity, or it could be a reference to London's fashionable Chelsea neighborhood. Either way, the lyrics suggest that the singer wants no part in the society described in the song.
Overall, "Chelsea" is a critique of society's obsession with youth and conformity, as well as commentary on the oppressive systems that enforce these norms.
Line by Line Meaning
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
Pictures of people doing extravagant stunts to entertain themselves when they're old.
He thinks of all the lips that he licks/And all the girls that he's going to fix
He thinks about all the women he's kissed in the past and the ones he's planning on seducing.
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle/But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
She was flirty and affectionate with herself, but her attire is not appropriate for this place.
Capital punishment, she's last year's model/They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
She has fallen out of fashion, and people call her the wrong name when she doesn't quite fit the mold.
I don't want to go to Chelsea/Oh, no, it does not move me/Even though I've seen the movie/I don't want to check your pulse/I don't want nobody else/I don't want to go to Chelsea
He doesn't want to visit the location being discussed because it doesn't interest him, despite hearing about it and others urging him to try it.
Everybody's got new orders/Be a nice girl and kiss the warders/Now the teacher is away/All the kids begin to play
People have been given new instructions to follow, which includes being compliant with authority. Since no one is monitoring their actions, the children have started acting out and ignoring the rules.
Men come screaming, dressed in white coats/Shake you very gently by the throat/One's named Gus, one's named Alfie/I don't want to go to Chelsea
Men in lab coats rush in and touch your neck, but despite there being names for them, he doesn't want to check it out.
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six/He thinks of all the lips that he licks/And all the girls that he's going to fix
Seeing pictures of elderly people entertaining themselves with daring activities, reminds him of his own exploits and plans to seduce more women.
I don't want to go to Chelsea/Oh, no, it does not move me/Even though I've seen the movie/I don't want to check your pulse/I don't want nobody else/I don't want to go to Chelsea
He reaffirms his disinterest in traveling to this particular area, despite watching a film about it and being advised to try it.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Elvis Costello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gregbowen617
This still gives me goosebumps and I'm in my 60's...angsty, edgy, and razor-sharp...what a song...
@iaassay9346
You and me both....
@Fetherko
Get your kicks at 66
@louisajones9015
heyy Greg, still got four! years to go! but just could not agree more!
wishing you a happy day, from lou xxx
@provocase
57 here... must have been 12 or 13 when this came out. Loved it instantly even if I might have not have really grasped the lyrics then (non native English speaker), but the angst, edge and razor-sharpness shone right through for me as a kid back then... and this still turns my crank today!
@bernicehenry9738
Loved this high school mornings..
It was what I needed to pump me up in Sydney Australia! Thank God for 2JJ back then!!!!!
@markdenney3333
Every now and again I 'rediscover' music. Music that I loved at the time but haven't really listened to since. This is simply epic, I cannot stop playing it. Music, the gift that keeps on giving. Thank God we still have such good quality music to go back to, I fear the kids of today won't be rediscovering in the future!
@iaassay9346
Yes!
@derekk2708
SAME! ... Have it on Loop! That Guitar Rift ... ; )
@ox8833
I know exactly what your saying!
Glad I rediscovered him him this