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 Tender
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can put your money where your mouth is
But you're so unsure
I could be a miser or a big spender
But you might get much more than you bargained for
Check in on a checkmate
Grassing on a classmate
You're the one who hates to love
But he's the one who loves to hate
He can fix you all for good
Because he is the neighborhood
You can get money for blood
Blood money for doing no good
Better tell me now, have you made your selection?
Are you ready for correction?
Cause the wages of sin are an expensive infection
It'll make you bankrupt
Better pay up now, don't interrupt
So in love, I'm so sincere
Just like a well-known financier
You know I've never been corrupt
I'll pay you a compliment
And you'll think I am innocent
You can total up the balance sheet
And never know if I'm a counterfeit
You won't take my love for tender
Elvis Costello's song Love for Tender is an ironic love song that talks about the cautiousness of a person towards love. The opening line "You won't take my love for tender" reveals the singer's uncertainty about his partner's feeling towards him. The subsequent lines "You can put your money where your mouth is, but you're so unsure" portrays the pressure the singer is putting on his partner to show their love for him. He further states that he could be a miser or a big spender, which means that he is considering the possibility that his feelings might not be reciprocated.
The second verse paints a picture of a chaotic world where people deceive each other to get ahead. "Grassing on a classmate" depicts a person ratting out their friend to score some points. However, the next line "So beautiful and fortunate" suggests that looks and wealth is all that matter in this world, and the person who hates to love and loves to hate is the one who is successful in this world. The guy who can "fix you all for good" and "get money for blood" is the neighborhood criminal who promises to get things done, but at an expensive cost.
In conclusion, Love for Tender is a cautionary love song that warns against the uncertainties and deceptions that love can bring. The lyrics are a juxtaposition of love, wealth, and corruption, showing how one can easily get caught up in the treacherous web of love.
Line by Line Meaning
You won't take my love for tender
You won't accept my love with false intentions or insincerity
You can put your money where your mouth is
If you want to back up your words with action, go ahead and do it
But you're so unsure
You lack confidence and are hesitant
I could be a miser or a big spender
I have the ability to be stingy or extravagant
But you might get much more than you bargained for
You may end up receiving more than you expected, for better or worse
Check in on a checkmate
You are investigating and analyzing the situation, but may be too late
Grassing on a classmate
You are betraying someone in your social circle
So beautiful and fortunate
You are attractive and lucky in life
You're the one who hates to love
You are fearful of emotional vulnerability and commitment
But he's the one who loves to hate
He enjoys harboring negative feelings toward others
He can fix you all for good
He claims to be able to solve all your problems, permanently
Because he is the neighborhood
He is well-known and respected in the community
You can get money for blood
You are able to profit from immoral or harmful actions
Blood money for doing no good
You are being paid for harmful actions that benefit no one
Better tell me now, have you made your selection?
You need to make a decision now, before it's too late
Are you ready for correction?
Are you prepared for the consequences of your actions?
Cause the wages of sin are an expensive infection
Bad deeds have costly and harmful consequences
It'll make you bankrupt
It will leave you with nothing
Better pay up now, don't interrupt
You need to settle your debts and not interfere
So in love, I'm so sincere
I am genuinely and deeply in love
Just like a well-known financier
Similar to a successful money manager
You know I've never been corrupt
You know I have always been honest and upright
I'll pay you a compliment
I will give you a nice remark
And you'll think I am innocent
You will see me as harmless and pure
You can total up the balance sheet
You can add everything up and analyze the situation
And never know if I'm a counterfeit
You will never be sure if I am fake or genuine
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
cardigansarecool
You won't take my love for tender
You can put your money where your mouth is but you're so unsure
I could be a miser or a big spender
But you might get much more than you bargained for
Checking on a checkmate
Grassing on a classmate
So beautiful and fortunate
You're the one who hates to love
But he's the one who loves to hate
He can fix you all for good
Because he is the neighbourhood
You can get money for blood
Blood money for doing no good
Better tell me now, have you made your selection?
Are you ready for correction?
'Cause the wages of sin are an expensive infection
It'll make you bankrupt
Better pay up now, don't interrupt
So in love, I'm so sincere
Just like a well-known financier
You know I've never been corrupt
I'll pay you a compliment
And you'll think I am innocent
You can total up the balance sheet
And never know if I'm a counterfeit
You won't take my love for tender
T. van Oosterhout
EC on a creative high, at that moment the hardest working man in music business. So much inspiration that he even didn't bother to 'properly' develop these songs out to 4 or 5 minutes. Also, what a fantastic bass player Bruce Thomas used to be (and probably still is)...
Valentinius62
After being exposed to stuff like Kansas, Styx, Rush, etc. for years seeing this video all of a sudden on some late night video show just blew me away. Also The Pretenders, The B-52s, Madness and a few others. A breath of fresh air. Unless you lived back in the '70s, you don't realize how awful, boring and tasteless it was for the most part and how your musical choices were very limited...controlled by the musical tastes of people you didn't like nor wanted to be around. Fortunately, this scene came along...truly "alternative".
T & T
Finally, someone not BLINDED by nostalgia. Awful, boring and tasteless the 70s generally were, which is exactly why this sort of music was so essential.
GTRaycer
I wish they included lyrics in the description. He's among the best lyricists that I've listened to.
Patricia Salopek
I'm so fond of this man.
Robert Schwartz
Nicely understated :)
Lesley Jane
Can't say much about this besides, Great Song, Great Record, Almost Superhuman. Whoa.
rattyeely
The Get Happy!!! Era really had some of the best music videos... just Elvis and the boys doing funny dances in weird places
Robert Hensley
A lot of these Elvis Costello music videos seem faster and higher pitched than the original tracks, but I really like the change of pace! :)
Paul Marasa
That’s exactly what I thought—but I don’t like it. His voice was already a bit Alvin and the Chipmunky! (We love you, Elvis, but it’s true.)