Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an inter… Read Full Bio ↴Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an internationally known English singer-songwriter. Gaining prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-70s, he burst into fame with his critically acclaimed 1977 debut 'My Aim Is True', still one of the most successful debuts of all time. He soon did much work in the genres of punk rock, power pop, and New Wave after he formed Elvis Costello & The Attractions. In a long and successful career, Costello has released over thirty studio albums on his own and with the Attractions, the Imposters, and other collaborations, praised by many critics for his literate, witty songwriting.

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.

Payday
Elvis Costello Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let`s go out on the town tonight
My pockets are heavy with loot
And get drunk and blasted
(And loud in your dress of blue)

I've been living from hand to mouth
It must be three or four weeks
And I can tell you one thing Jack

You listen when your stomach speaks

I feel good just like I knew that I would
And all on account of that wine that I bought today
I`m smiling so sweet
At every little girl that I meet
Some fools will try to tell you it`s a sin to feel this way

It feels so funny having all of this money
I think I feel like dancing the night away
I think I feel like dancing the night away

I got me this long legged girl
To help me to spend my dough
Her heart as big as your mama`s stove
And her body like Brigitte Bardot

I`m all ready for some Rock and Roll
With the guitar turned up loud
And the fancy footwork
And the (drunk) down, drugged up crowd

I feel good just like I knew that I would
All on account of that wine that I bought today
I`m smiling so sweet
At every little girl that I meet
Some fools will try to tell you it`s a sin to feel this way

It feels so funny having all of this money

I think I feel like dancing the night away
I think I feel like dancing the night away

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Elvis Costello's song "Payday" depict a person who has been living from hand to mouth for weeks and finally has some money to spend. The singer is excited to go out on the town tonight, get drunk, and have a good time. The lyrics are full of youthful vigor and depict a desire for unbridled fun. The lyrics are delivered in Costello's signature raspy voice with snarling guitars and thundering drums in the background.

The singer is looking for a fun night out where he can meet girls, listen to rock and roll music with a guitar turned up loud, and dance the night away. The lyrics are also indicative of the hedonistic lifestyle that was prevalent among young people during the late 70s and early 80s. The lyrics imply that the singer is living life to the fullest and is not worried about the consequences of his actions.

Overall, the lyrics of "Payday" by Elvis Costello exude a sense of youthful fun and excitement. They depict a desire to live life to the fullest and not worry about the consequences. This song is undoubtedly one of the most enduring hits of Costello's illustrious career.

Line by Line Meaning

Let`s go out on the town tonight
Let's go out and have a good time tonight

My pockets are heavy with loot
I have a lot of money in my pockets

And get drunk and blasted
And get really drunk

(And loud in your dress of blue)
(And you look great in your blue dress)

I've been living from hand to mouth
I've been barely surviving

It must be three or four weeks
It's been a few weeks since I've had any money

And I can tell you one thing Jack
And I can tell you for sure

You listen when your stomach speaks
You pay attention to your hunger when you're broke

I feel good just like I knew that I would
I feel great like I knew I would

And all on account of that wine that I bought today
And it's all thanks to the wine I bought earlier

I`m smiling so sweet
I'm smiling so much