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.
Next Time Round
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's in the bedroom with that boy of hers
Though her face is creased and her eyes seem strange
There's a second-hand emotion on battered forty-five
My tears were never enough to keep that girl alive
Now she seems contrite will she make the change
[Chorus:]
The next time 'round
You'll be someone else's baby
But I'll be underground
The next time 'round
Then you took two steps forward and then one step on your back
Now it's a future for me and you that I lack
You'll be the one who'll stands out in the dark
Even when you're all dressed in black
[Chorus:]
You've got something I want now
And I've got something I can't hide
I've got too much love for you now
Have you got too much pride
Sometimes I name and number all the things you gave to me
Your elastic love, this velvet-line purgatory
You used to take the breath out of me
Now I think you'll be the death of me
[Chorus:]
You'll be in some sputnik baby
But I'll be underground
The next time 'round
The lyrics of Elvis Costello's song "Next Time Round" seem to be about heartbreak and the aftermath of a difficult breakup. The singer has apparently just left a meeting with his former lover and is feeling the weight of his emotions as he steps out onto the landing. He knows that she is in the bedroom with another man and though she looks troubled, he feels that it's too late for her. There's a "second-hand emotion" that he can hear playing on a record, likely echoing his own feelings of being used and discarded. He's feeling regrets about not being able to save her from her own self-destructive tendencies and is unsure if she will make the changes she needs to move on. The chorus "The next time 'round, you'll be someone else's baby, but I'll be underground" suggests that he isn't sure if he's ready to move on yet himself, though he knows that she will be with someone else in the future.
The second verse focuses on the singer's own feelings of hurt and betrayal as he watches his former love move on. He realizes that the future they had planned together is no longer possible and that she is likely going to be with someone else. He imagines that she'll be the one who stands out in a crowd, even when she's dressed in black. The chorus is repeated, emphasizing the fact that both he and his former lover are moving on but in opposing directions. The final verse focuses on the singer's personal experience of being in love and the memories he has of his time with his former lover. He's grappling with the fact that he still loves her deeply but is unsure if his pride will allow him to reach out to her again. The final lines of the song "You'll be in some Sputnik, baby, but I'll be underground, the next time 'round" emphasize the idea that their paths have diverged and they are both moving on with their lives, though it's unclear if they'll ever cross paths again.
Line by Line Meaning
As I stepped out upon the landing my heart was already down the stairs
I was already feeling sad before even leaving the house
She's in the bedroom with that boy of hers
She's with another guy in the bedroom
Though her face is creased and her eyes seem strange
She looks upset and different than usual
There's a second-hand emotion on battered forty-five
The record playing is old and represents a bad feeling from the past
My tears were never enough to keep that girl alive
Crying over her in the past didn't fix anything
Now she seems contrite will she make the change
She seems regretful and may improve her behavior
[Chorus:] The next time 'round The next time 'round You'll be someone else's baby But I'll be underground The next time 'round
Next time we meet, you'll have moved on, but I'll still be unhappy
Then you took two steps forward and then one step on your back
You made some progress, but then lost it all
Now it's a future for me and you that I lack
There's no future between us anymore
You'll be the one who'll stands out in the dark
You'll be noticeable and special, even in difficult times
Even when you're all dressed in black
Even when you're sad and mourning
[Chorus:]
Next time we meet, you'll have moved on, but I'll still be unhappy
You've got something I want now
You have something I desire
And I've got something I can't hide
I have feelings that are impossible to conceal
I've got too much love for you now
I have too much love for you that is unrequited or unreturned
Have you got too much pride
Do you have too much pride to admit your own feelings?
Sometimes I name and number all the things you gave to me
I remember and catalog all the things you've done for me
Your elastic love, this velvet-line purgatory
Your love is unpredictable but comfortable
You used to take the breath out of me
You used to make me feel overwhelmed and excited
Now I think you'll be the death of me
Now I think I'm better off without you, as if you were a danger to my health
[Chorus:] You'll be in some sputnik baby But I'll be underground The next time 'round
Next time we meet, you'll have moved on, but I'll still be unhappy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind