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.
Just About Glad
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it was more than just a passing acquaintance
I`m just about glad that it was a memory
That doesn't need constant maintenance
There are a few things that I regret
But nothing that I need to forget
For all of the courage that we never had
I`m just about glad
[Chorus:]
Just about glad we didn't do that thing
Just about glad we didn't have that fling
Just about glad we didn't give it a try
Just about glad, is that a tear in your eye
And on the few times I rang to propose
There was a man there or so I suppose
The greatest lover that you never had
I`m just about glad
They called time and vodka and lime
In some far flung Canadian club
(Just about glad)
And there I was just waiting to fall
Like a toe just aching to stub
(Just about glad)
Later on I could never accept it
When you finally gave it all to him
(Just about glad)
And you said that my nurse was sweet
But her lamp was just beginning to dim
I`m just about glad
That we never did that thing we were going to do
I`m just about glad I can look you in the eye
But I can`t say the same for you
And though the passion still flutters and flickers
It never got into our knickers
For all of the courage that we never had
I`m just about, I`m just about
I`m just about, I`m just about
[Chorus]
And it`s all just a stupid creation
Of my feverish imagination
If I`m the greatest lover that you never had
I`m just about, I`m just about
I`m just about, I`m just about
[Chorus]
Is that a tear in your eye [3x]
Elvis Costello's song "Just About Glad" is a melancholy reflection on a past relationship that never quite materialized. The singer acknowledges that he is "just about glad" that he knew the person he is singing about, but also recognizes that there was a missed opportunity for something more significant between them. The lyrics describe a sense of regret and longing for what could have been, but also a certain amount of relief that things didn't progress any further.
The chorus of the song emphasizes this ambivalent feeling, as the singer repeats the phrase "just about glad" several times. He is glad that they didn't pursue a romantic relationship or do anything that might have complicated their lives further, but there is still a sense of sadness and loss for what might have been. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is still wrestling with this feeling of missed opportunity and is unsure whether the person he is singing about feels the same way.
Overall, "Just About Glad" is a poignant meditation on the complexities of relationships and the many ways in which they can fall short of our hopes and expectations. The song captures a sense of nostalgia for a time and a person that can never be recaptured, but also a recognition that life goes on and we must make the best of what we have.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just about glad that I knew you once
I'm fairly pleased that we met and had our time together
And it was more than just a passing acquaintance
Our relationship was deeper than a casual one
I'm just about glad that it was a memory
I'm happy that our time together is a distant but fond memory
That doesn't need constant maintenance
I don't need to actively maintain or revisit our past
There are a few things that I regret
I have some minor regrets
But nothing that I need to forget
But there's nothing so bad that I need to erase it from my memory
For all of the courage that we never had
Despite our lack of courage in certain situations
I'm just about glad
I'm still content with how things turned out
Just about glad we didn't do that thing
I'm pretty happy that we didn't go through with that one plan we had
Just about glad we didn't have that fling
I'm happy that we never had a brief romantic relationship
Just about glad we didn't give it a try
I'm relieved that we didn't attempt to start a relationship
Just about glad, is that a tear in your eye
I'm sensing some emotion from you, are you also feeling the same?
The greatest lover that you never had
I'm poking fun at myself by calling myself the 'greatest lover' that she never had
And on the few times I rang to propose
When I called to express my interest in starting a relationship
There was a man there or so I suppose
There was likely another man in the picture at that time
They called time and vodka and lime
There was a specific drink at a Canadian club that we had been to
And there I was just waiting to fall
I was waiting for something to happen between us
Later on I could never accept it
I had trouble coming to terms with the fact that she ended up with someone else
When you finally gave it all to him
When she finally committed to being with someone else
And you said that my nurse was sweet
I recall her mentioning something about my attractive nurse
But her lamp was just beginning to dim
She was likely implying that my nurse was older and nearing the end of her life
That we never did that thing we were going to do
I'm still happy that we never went through with our original plan
I'm just about glad I can look you in the eye
I'm satisfied that I can still face her after all these years
But I can't say the same for you
But I'm not sure if she feels the same way
And though the passion still flutters and flickers
Despite some residual feelings of attraction
It never got into our knickers
Our relationship never became physical
And it's all just a stupid creation
In the end, much of the difficult feelings and situations were all in my head
Of my feverish imagination
They were the result of my overactive and anxious brain
Is that a tear in your eye
I'm still sensing some emotion from her
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DECLAN MACMANUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind