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 Felt the Chill Before the Winter Came
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And there's a sadness in your eyes that you can't hide
Why do you tremble when I hold you?
I wonder if you feel the same
I felt the chill before the winter came
But it's easy to say that I won't give in again
I was just tempted for a moment and then some
Now look here if you will
At the faithful man you stole
I felt the chill before the winter came
I suffered the guilt and then accepted the blame
I wanted you before you ever spoke my name
But I knew that we would go wrong
Just as they do in all in those old tragic songs
Did that melody haunt your mind?
Just like a linger of perfume
Now you're in someone else's arms, locked up in another room
Is there's a difference in the way that he loves you
Is there still sadness in your eyes, you can't deny?
Do you tremble and sigh when he holds you just like I do?
What were you thinking of to throw away our love?
And it's easy to say that you won't give in again
You were just tempted for a moment and half
But it's so hard when you desire to lose control
I don't know what this feeling is but it sure seems cold
I felt the chill before the winter came
I suffered the pain and then accepted the shame
I will have lost your love by end of this sad refrain?
I felt the cold creeping over my skin...
Still as the air until the wind rushed in
Still in control, holding on to my heart and soul
Only inches from sin
The lyrics of Elvis Costello's "I Felt the Chill Before the Winter Came" explores the complexities of love and human relationships. The beginning of the song sets a somber tone with the repeated metaphor of feeling a chill. The singer seems to be trying to decipher the emotions of his lover. He notes the differences in the way she kisses him and the sadness in her eyes that she can't hide. He wonders if she truly feels the same way as he does, or if her trembles suggest otherwise. He then touches upon the idea of temptation and control, admitting to being tempted to give in but ultimately steering clear of succumbing to temptation.
The chorus is where the true meaning of the song comes to full view. He admits to having felt the chill before the winter came, which could be interpreted as him seeing the end of the relationship before it eventually happens. He accepts the blame and guilt associated with the failure of the relationship, but places some of it on the other person as well. He then asks questions about the current state of his ex's relationship, wondering if she feels the same sadness and trembles with her new partner, before ending on a cryptic note about being "inches from sin". Overall, the song speaks to the transient nature of love, the pitfalls and struggles that come with it, and the complexities that come with trying to navigate relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, there's a difference in the way that you kissed me
The singer notices a change in the way he was kissed and wonders why.
And there's a sadness in your eyes that you can't hide
The singer observes that his partner's eyes show sadness they're trying to conceal.
Why do you tremble when I hold you?
The singer questions why his partner shakes when he holds them.
I wonder if you feel the same
The singer thinks about whether his partner is feeling the same way he is.
I felt the chill before the winter came
The singer felt a sense of foreboding before things went wrong.
But it's easy to say that I won't give in again
The singer admits that it's easy to talk about not giving in to temptation.
I was just tempted for a moment and then some
The singer was tempted for a brief time but then it lingered.
But it's so easy when you love to lose to control
The singer finds it easy to control things when they enjoy losing.
Now look here if you will
The singer invites his ex-partner to look at him now.
At the faithful man you stole
The singer accuses his ex of stealing his faithfulness.
I suffered the guilt and then accepted the blame
The singer endured guilt and took responsibility for what happened.
I wanted you before you ever spoke my name
The singer desired his partner but hadn't even heard their name yet.
But I knew that we would go wrong
The singer knew this relationship was doomed from the start.
Just as they do in all in those old tragic songs
The singer compares their situation to a common tragic tale.
Did that melody haunt your mind?
The singer wonders if the situation lingers in his ex-partner's mind.
Just like a linger of perfume
The singer compares the lingering memory to a perfume that doesn't dissipate.
Now you're in someone else's arms, locked up in another room
The singer knows his ex has moved on and is with someone else.
Is there's a difference in the way that he loves you
The singer questions if his ex's new partner loves them differently than the singer did.
Is there still sadness in your eyes, you can't deny?
The singer wonders if his ex still has unexpressed sadness in their eyes.
Do you tremble and sigh when he holds you just like I do?
The singer questions if his ex reacts to their new partner's touch like they did with the singer.
What were you thinking of to throw away our love?
The singer can't understand how their relationship ended.
But it's so hard when you desire to lose control
The singer finds it difficult to maintain control when they want to lose it.
I don't know what this feeling is but it sure seems cold
The singer is unsure of their current emotions but knows they feel cold.
I suffered the pain and then accepted the shame
The singer endured pain and accepted the blame for what happened.
I will have lost your love by end of this sad refrain?
The singer questions if they've truly lost their ex's love by the end of this song.
I felt the cold creeping over my skin...
The singer physically felt a chilling sensation.
Still as the air until the wind rushed in
The singer was still and calm until something unexpected and disruptive happened.
Still in control, holding on to my heart and soul
The singer is trying to maintain control over their emotions.
Only inches from sin
The singer is close to giving into temptation.
Contributed by Molly V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.