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.
Radio Radio
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doing anything my radio advised
With every one of those late night stations
Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes
I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver
When the switch broke 'cause it's old
They're saying things that I can hardly believe
They really think we're getting out of control
Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio
I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
I wanna bite that hand so badly
I want to make them wish they'd never seen me
Some of my friends sit around every evening
And they worry about the times ahead
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
And the promise of an early bed
You either shut up or get cut up, they don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anesthetize the way that you feel
Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio
Wonderful radio
Marvelous radio
Wonderful radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
The lyrics of Elvis Costello's "Radio Radio" reflects his dissatisfaction with the state of mainstream media and how music is being commodified. He starts by describing his late-night listening habits, where he's desperate for some sort of connection and guidance from his radio. However, as he cycles through the channels, he realizes that the DJs and producers have lost sight of their original purpose, which is to share music and connect with people. He describes how the radio has become a tool for manipulation and how those in charge want to control what people listen to, to anesthetize them from reality. Costello's frustration is palpable as he takes a jab at the mainstream industry, which is only focused on selling records and not necessarily the art itself. He concludes with a call to action, urging people to think for themselves and not be blindly swayed by what they hear on the radio.
The lyrics of "Radio Radio" made waves when it was first released, as it was seen as a direct criticism of the radio industry. Interestingly, the song was originally supposed to be played on the popular US show "Saturday Night Live" but the producers didn't want Elvis Costello playing it. He defied them and played the song anyway, which ended up being a hugely controversial move that got him banned from the show for 12 years. Beyond that, "Radio Radio" has a rich cultural legacy and remains an iconic track that's been used in various films and TV shows.
Line by Line Meaning
I was tuning in the shine on the late night dial
I was listening to the radio and trying to find a station that played good music at night.
Doing anything my radio advised
I was so engrossed in the music being played on the radio that I followed the station's recommendations without thinking twice.
With every one of those late night stations
Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes
Every station I tuned into played such emotional songs that they made me feel very sentimental.
I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver
When the switch broke 'cause it's old
I was so annoyed by what was being played on the radio that I considered hiding the radio, but the switch broke due to the radio's old age.
They're saying things that I can hardly believe
They really think we're getting out of control
The things being said on the radio are so outrageous that I can hardly believe what I'm hearing, and the broadcasters seem to think we're losing control as a society.
Radio is a sound salvation
The radio is a source of comfort and salvation for those who enjoy listening to it.
Radio is cleaning up the nation
The radio is making society better by playing music and programming that uplifts people's moods.
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
The broadcasters tell you to listen to reason, but they do not give you a choice, and if you do not listen, they see it as treason.
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio
You should do what the broadcasters say and listen to the radio.
I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
I wanna bite that hand so badly
I want to make them wish they'd never seen me
I am upset with the radio broadcasters and want to retaliate against them for playing music and programming that I don't enjoy.
Some of my friends sit around every evening
And they worry about the times ahead
Some of my friends spend their evenings stressing about the future.
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
And the promise of an early bed
Most people don't care about what's going on in the world and prefer to go to bed early instead of staying up and engaging with the world around them.
You either shut up or get cut up, they don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
People are expected to either be quiet or conform to what the media says, and the only change that happens is very small and doesn't make a big impact.
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anesthetize the way that you feel
The radio is controlled by people who do not care about the listeners and use music and programming to numb people's feelings.
Wonderful radio
Marvelous radio
Wonderful radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
Radio, radio
The radio is presented as wonderful and marvelous, even though the singer is criticizing it throughout the song.
Lyrics © CONSALAD CO., Ltd., BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jeffreybarkin3177
Hey...
He's TIMELESS, with or without THE ATTRACTIONS...
ELVIS always walked to his Own Drums (plural, YES)...
Too Many CLASSIC SONGS!!!
Wish he'd get back on the Road and Tour... His kids likely "Need A Break"!!!
Hopefully, not his Wife, our Canadian SUPERSTAR "CROONER".
@anraymcneil751
I saw Elvis Costello on Sesame Street! He straight up killed IT!
So I look him up and I seen his jams
“Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes”
“Radio Radio”
And more!
I’m 20, I feel like EC has been in my household forever!
I’m PROUD OF IT👑👑👑❤️
@sarafinasegale9537
He was before and after his time ..... Radio free Europe, was the best pipeline for some music in the eastern block......Elvis Costello was one of the most popular to be piped......thank you.....Radio free Europe......
@lonnyjaw
THIS is how I'll always remember Elvis Costello & The Attractions - the sound and the cool high energy, new wave 'punkish' style of presence that they had back in those good days of this genre of music.
@vernpascal1531
Yup. I'll always miss those days 78' to about 84' one great song after one great song. The days when critics would go Bananas over Costello,Petty,Springsteen,Joe Jackson, and Graham Parker. Rightly so, all are fantastic and their average songs then, would be considered classics now.
@jackster1212
One of the greatest... singers, songwriters, composers, entertainers... great sense of humor, great showman live, and the height of genuine cool...
@watyes7546
blud this guy is unknown stop the cap
@hugovandofficial8865
I genuinely (and I actually mean this) think this is one of the greatest songs every written
@Brownd55
Agreed
@marklaroche7981
Elvis was the man
@Kimariesings
@@marklaroche7981IS the man
He is still with us.
@Kimariesings
@@marklaroche7981IS the man
He is still with us.