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.
Pads Paws and Claws
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But with a drunk-town lament he leads her a miserable life
But when he`s full of that beer-champagne
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
And if he should wake up in some terrible dive
And he don`t know if he`s so-so
But he`s so surprised he`s alive
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, pads around the bedroom, practicing ways to flirt
He paws, pours another drink and anything in a skirt
Anything wearing a necklace
He thinks of claws scratching his back he`s
Going out there he`s not coming back
She`s got spider-leg fingers, sharpened whenever he strays
And she carries a bird-purse, with all of her womanly ways
`Til he`s drinking hairspray, she knows that he never would dare
She could be in pictures if she wasn't all covered in fur
He`s coming home now and here`s the surprise
You wouldn't believe the lies that he tries
She cut him down to her favorite size
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
The lyrics to Elvis Costello's "Pads Paws and Claws" describe a toxic relationship between a man and woman, with the woman being portrayed as a feline tormentor who leads her partner a miserable life when he's full of beer-champagne. She pads and paws around the bedroom, practicing ways to flirt while he drinks and flirts with anything in a skirt, always fearing the scratches from her claws being a warning sign of her anger. She's described as having spider-leg fingers that are sharpened whenever he strays, and carrying a bird-purse with all of her womanly ways. The juxtaposition of her being a playful and flirtatious cat with her carrying a weapon in her purse, highlights the danger that lies behind her facade.
The lyrics suggest that the couple's relationship is based on manipulation and control. The woman's teasing attitude, mixed with the underlying threat of her physical power, seems to hold the man in a state of fear and uncertainty. He tries to escape from her clutch, venturing out to different places, but eventually returns only to be cut down to size when facing her anger. The song can be interpreted as a metaphor for any kind of abusive relationship, where one person holds power over the other through a combination of charm and aggression.
Line by Line Meaning
She's a feline tormentor, not any vaudeville wife
She is not an ordinary entertaining wife, but more like a cat who constantly troubles him.
But with a drunk-town lament he leads her a miserable life
He is not happy with his life and often drinks to forget his sorrows which makes his relationship miserable.
But when he's full of that beer-champagne
When he is drunk, he thinks he is wealthy (like champagne-drinking people) instead of drinking beer.
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She moves around the room gently like a cat and with sudden sharp movements like cat's claws.
And if he should wake up in some terrible dive
If he wakes up in a terrible place, such as a bad bar, he may not know how he got there.
And he don't know if he's so-so
He is confused and not sure if he is okay or not.
But he's so surprised he's alive
He is astonished that he has survived until the morning.
"Come on little honey, let me under your hive"
He tries to charm her using pet names and convinces her to let him stay with her.
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She acts like a cat that moves with grace but also can scratch with sharp claws.
She pads, pads around the bedroom, practicing ways to flirt
She moves around the room trying to seduce him with flirtatious behavior.
He paws, pours another drink and anything in a skirt
He drinks more and becomes more flirtatious, trying to find anyone in a skirt who will pay attention to him.
Anything wearing a necklace
He is particularly interested in women wearing necklaces.
He thinks of claws scratching his back
He imagines having sex, but in a rough and painful manner.
he's going out there he's not coming back
He is leaving her to go out and find someone else, and he never intends to return.
She's got spider-leg fingers, sharpened whenever he strays
She has long, thin and agile fingers and is always alert to catch him cheating.
And she carries a bird-purse, with all of her womanly ways
She carries a handbag with all of her necessities and belongings that represent her femininity.
‘Til he's drinking hairspray, she knows that he never would dare
She knows he would never dare to drink hairspray, but he is so drunk and desperate that he might try.
She could be in pictures if she wasn't all covered in fur
She would be an attractive and photogenic woman if she did not have thick fur, like a cat.
He's coming home now and here's the surprise, you wouldn't believe the lies that he tries
He is returning home and will try to deceive her with lies about where he was and what he was doing.
She cut him down to her favorite size
She criticizes him and makes him feel inferior, bringing him down to a size that she can handle and control.
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She continues to move around the room like a cat, graceful and unpredictable, with sharp claws when necessary.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO, PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind