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.
Put away forbidden playthings
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Amusements and distractions
And dismantle the contraption and carry it away
In time as beauty dissolves into glamor
It slips from your heart and falls under the hammer
Put away forbidden playthings
And never return to pluck out that jewel
Or find the thrill that lingers still
While suffering the dream of disobeying
Put away forbidden playthings
Put away forbidden playthings
Put away forbidden playthings
In "Put Away Forbidden Playthings" by Elvis Costello and The Metropole Orchestra, the lyrics seem to address the concept of temptation and the consequences that come with indulging in forbidden pleasures. The opening lines urge the listener to put away these temptations and distractions, suggesting that they can be detrimental to one's well-being. The phrase "dismantle the contraption and carry it away" implies that these distractions should not just be set aside, but completely removed from one's life.
As the song progresses, the lyrics shift to a reflection on the fleeting nature of beauty. The line "In time as beauty dissolves into glamor" suggests that true beauty is often overshadowed by mere external attractiveness. The phrase "falls under the hammer" can be interpreted as a metaphor for how the allure of superficial glamor can ultimately lead to its own destruction.
The repetition of the phrase "put away forbidden playthings" throughout the song serves as a reminder to resist the temptation that lingers in our desires. It seems to be a warning against the longing to revisit the forbidden pleasures that still bring excitement and thrill. The lyrics express the idea that while the dream of disobeying can be alluring, it ultimately leads to suffering.
Overall, "Put Away Forbidden Playthings" presents a cautionary tale about the consequences of indulging in forbidden pleasures and emphasizes the importance of resisting temptation to maintain personal well-being and happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Put away forbidden playthings
Separate yourself from enticing and prohibited indulgences
Amusements and distractions
Fun and diversions that lead you astray
And dismantle the contraption and carry it away
Disassemble the machinery of temptation and remove it completely
In time as beauty dissolves into glamor
Over time, true beauty fades and is replaced by superficiality
It slips from your heart and falls under the hammer
Genuine emotions fade away and become affected by external pressures
Put away forbidden playthings
Distance yourself from all forbidden temptations
And never return to pluck out that jewel
Never go back to retrieve that alluring and precious gem
Or find the thrill that lingers still
Or seek the excitement that still remains
While suffering the dream of disobeying
While enduring the longing to defy the rules
Put away forbidden playthings
Set aside and remove all forbidden indulgences
Put away forbidden playthings
Distance yourself from all prohibited temptations
Put away forbidden playthings
Separate yourself from enticing and prohibited indulgences
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
George Peabody
This is an interesting album, some songs more than others, but Elvis Costello's song sung by Chance is truly enhanced by his voice!
Chris Sparks
wow!
Jimmy J
Would be nice to hear words from Chance besides the song title