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.
Mr. Feathers
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mr. Feathers, Mr. Feathers
The echo in every smile that would curl into a leer, oh my dear!
(Oh my dear)
Mr. Feathers is near
(Oh my dear)
The counter is foreign, something is spoiling
It's really appalling
You never saw it through
Nobody knows, the damage that we do
Do you carry it with you?
She passed him out in the street
He suddenly seems so frail as her fast heart beat
She should kick him anyway, sharpen her nails
For eyes that stray, where hands should never stray
She thought she was wanted, ever since she was a girl
Mr. Feathers, Mr. Feathers
The kindness in every smile that would curl into a sneer, oh my dear!
Mr. Feathers is near
Her lover is calling
Something is spoiling
It's really appalling
You pleased and you promised,
You never saw it through
Nobody knows the damage that we do
The damage that we do.
The lyrics of Elvis Costello & The Imposters's song Mr. Feathers are quite haunting, and they seem to be describing a young girl who has been objectified and exploited by men since her childhood, with Mr. Feathers being a symbol of that male gaze. The line "They looked at her this way every since she was a girl" indicates that this attention and objectification started at a very young age, and it seems to have caused damage to her emotionally and psychologically. The repeated refrain of "Mr. Feathers is near" suggests that this male gaze is always present, always watching, always judging, always leering.
The second verse seems to describe an encounter that the singer has with a man on the street, who she sees as frail and vulnerable. The line "For eyes that stray, where hands should never stray" suggests that she has a deep-seated anger towards men who objectify and exploit women, and she feels that she should retaliate in some way. The final verse brings the song to a close with a sense of resignation and sadness. The line "She thought she was wanted, ever since she was a girl" indicates that this attention may have initially made her feel desirable, but it has since turned into something damaging and harmful. The repetition of the line "Nobody knows the damage that we do" suggests that this kind of exploitation is not just harmful to the individual, but to society as a whole.
Line by Line Meaning
They looked at her this way every since she was a girl
She has been objectified by men since she was a child
Mr. Feathers, Mr. Feathers
Referring to a man who is predatory and often preys on women
The echo in every smile that would curl into a leer, oh my dear!
His seemingly kind gestures have sinister undertones
(Oh my dear)
Expressing a sarcastic tone
Mr. Feathers is near
The predatory figure is close by
The counter is foreign, something is spoiling
Something is not quite right in this situation
It's really appalling
It's truly disgusting and disturbing
You pleased and you promised
You acted agreeable and made promises
You never saw it through
You never followed through on your promises
Nobody knows, the damage that we do
We don't always recognize how our actions can harm others
Do you carry it with you?
Do you feel guilty about the harm you may have caused?
She passed him out in the street
She encountered the predatory man in public
He suddenly seems so frail as her fast heart beat
She feels frightened and anxious in his presence
She should kick him anyway, sharpen her nails
She feels angry and vengeful towards the man
For eyes that stray, where hands should never stray
He has a wandering gaze and inappropriate behavior
She thought she was wanted, ever since she was a girl
She has always believed her worth was tied to male attention
The kindness in every smile that would curl into a sneer, oh my dear!
The man's previous kindness was a facade
Her lover is calling
Someone who cares for her is trying to reach her
Something is spoiling
Things are going wrong in her life
The damage that we do.
Our actions can cause harm and devastation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind