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.
Love For Sale
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is the heavy tread of the heavy feet
That belong to a lonesome cop
I open shop
When the moon so long has been gazing down
On the wayward ways of a wayward town
That a smile becomes a smirk
I go to work
Love for sale
Appetizing young love for sale
Love that`s fresh and still unspoiled
Love that`s only slightly soiled
Love for sale
Who will buy? Who would like to sample my supply?
Who`s prepared to pay the price for a trip to paradise?
Love for sale
Let the poets pipe of love in their childish ways
I know every kind of love better far than they
If you want the thrill of love, I`ve been through the mill of love
Old love, new love
Every kind but true love
For sale
Appetizing young love for sale
If you want to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs
Love for sale
Love for sale
Elvis Costello's Love For Sale is a song that pulls back the curtain on the seedy world of the sex trade industry. It sets the scene of a desolate and deserted street where only the footsteps of a lonely cop can be heard. The singer opens his "shop," offering "appetizing young love for sale," marketing love that's fresh, unspoiled, or only slightly soiled. He invites potential buyers to sample his supply, but warns them that true love isn't on offer.
Throughout the song, Costello contrasts the fake, transactional, and tawdry "love" he is selling with real love. He scoffs at the poets who "pipe of love" in their "childish ways," and asserts that he has "been through the mill of love," experiencing every kind except true love. He invites listeners to follow him and climb the stairs to purchase his wares, but ultimately, the song is a commentary on the exploitative nature of the commercialization of love, as the singer peddles a cheap imitation of the real thing.
Line by Line Meaning
When the only sound on the empty street
When the deserted street is so silent that the only sound heard is the footsteps of a police officer.
Is the heavy tread of the heavy feet
The footsteps are so loud and thudding that they can be heard all over the empty street.
That belong to a lonesome cop
The cop is alone and probably out on patrol in a town that is either dangerous or quiet.
I open shop
I set up my business or shop, which sells love, in the deserted street.
When the moon so long has been gazing down
When the moon has been shining above for a long time, without anyone noticing it.
On the wayward ways of a wayward town
The town has its own flaws and is in a state of chaos, and possibly not safe for its residents.
That a smile becomes a smirk
People stop smiling and start smirking because of the vulnerability of their town and its residents.
I go to work
I start to sell love, which is my work or business, in the town.
Love for sale
I am selling love, which is a commodity that can be bought and sold.
Appetizing young love for sale
I am selling young love that is new and fresh, and that people find attractive and desirable.
Love that`s fresh and still unspoiled
The love I am selling is new and not yet damaged by the world or its problems.
Love that`s only slightly soiled
Some of the love I sell may have some imperfections or experiences, but is still sellable and desirable.
Who will buy? Who would like to sample my supply?
I am asking who would like to buy the love I am selling and who would like to try it out.
Who`s prepared to pay the price for a trip to paradise?
I am asking who is willing to pay the cost of purchasing love, as it brings a sense of happiness and paradise-like experience.
Let the poets pipe of love in their childish ways
Love can be expressed in many forms, and poets can write about how it feels to love, but their expressions may be over-simplified and immature.
I know every kind of love better far than they
I have extensive knowledge of the nuances and complexities of love that go beyond the understanding of poets.
If you want the thrill of love, I`ve been through the mill of love
If someone wants to know the exciting aspects of love, I can help as I have gone through challenging or difficult relationships before.
Old love, new love
The love I sell may be either new and fresh or it could have had previous experiences from past relationships.
Every kind but true love
The kind of love I sell may not necessarily be true, but rather it could be an artificial commodity that has been manufactured.
If you want to buy my wares
If someone is interested in what I am selling, they can come to make a purchase.
Follow me and climb the stairs
I am inviting people to come with me and go up the stairs of the building where I am selling the love.
Love for sale
I am continuing to sell love as a commodity, that can be bought and sold.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eric Lane Barnes
I'm gobsmacked. I love Elvis, and I love Cole. I thought I knew this album but clearly this track missed me until today.
kirk jarvis
Wow ! This is really something. I've been a fan over the years, but wasn't aware of this. Elvis proves as well as being a great new wave artist, he's also a top balladeer. Thanks a million for the upload. Excuse me while I wipe my eyes.......
James Whittington
Nailed it! 😎👍👍
Dan Lacey
He was really at the sweet spot of his talent at this point in his career; the power of his personality was still submissive to his musical sense, which he expressed masterfully because he was finally at ease.
Denise H
Beautifully sung . Sad lyrics . Elvis the master music man !
Anne Goulven
Love you Cher Monsieur <3
Rebecca Dawson
Hauntingly beautiful
MrManorAvenue
Was looking for original 1930 renditions of this song today and found this one at the same time; he does pretty well except takes a few liberties with the melody and lyrics.
duster71
Mel Torme and Buddy Rich rip this song apart,it's sooooo good,video is on YouTube,they did it on the Merv Griffen Show.
Thanos Papoutsis
Elvis did the song justice.