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 Silence
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Testing, testing
This better be worth all of the breath I'm wasting
Maintaining radio silence from now on
Barricaded in the talk radio station
Hostage taken, the red 'On Air' light shines on
Something cheaper that passes for free speech will have to do
Hear him coming through loud and clear
He's trickling in your ear
He'll tell you anything you want to hear
Tape starts running
He's going to tell you something
Strings start strumming another humdrum conundrum
Signing off now
Maintaining radio silence from now on
But there's one thing I should have said
The hostage will end up dead
It's just a comedy, the hostage is me
So pay the ransom beyond the run-out groove and
Get my wife down here, a helicopter on the roof
No police marksman
Maintaining radio silence from now on
Mystery voices drowned out by too much choice that's
Not to mention
The sad waste of this wonderful invention
Maintaining radio silence from now on
Libraries filled up with failed ideas
There's nothing more for me there
I trust in tender ink and gentle airs
Do those drug dealers still polish women made of wax?
Gangsters and world leaders require the same protection from attack
From a distance it's hard to tell the difference
Between a king and a jack
And a poet and a hack
Maintaining radio silence from now on
The song "Radio Silence" by Elvis Costello appears to be a commentary on the oftentimes negative effects of mass media, particularly talk radio stations. The first verse begins with the singer stating that they are experiencing a signal fading as they attempt to communicate a message - this could be interpreted as a metaphor for how the proliferation of different media outlets makes it harder to have a clear and concise message that can be heard by everyone. The singer then asks whether their message is worth all the effort they're putting in, which could be seen as a reflection of how people may feel when they attempt to voice their opinions through the media but are met with so much noise and opposition that it can feel fruitless.
The second and third verses describe a hostage situation occurring within a talk radio station. The singer notes that the hostage taker values "something cheaper" that can pass for free speech, which could be a criticism of the tendency to prioritize sensationalism over factual information. As the hostage taker takes over the airwaves, the lyrics suggest that they will say anything to get people to listen. Ultimately, the song ends with the singer making some cryptic comments about drug dealers, gangsters, world leaders, poets, and hacks, which could be interpreted as reflections on how different types of people can all use the media to their advantage in unexpected ways, but that ultimately results in a loss of meaningful communication.
Line by Line Meaning
Signal fading, listen to what I'm saying
The signal is getting weak, so pay close attention to my message
Testing, testing
Checking to make sure the message is coming through
This better be worth all of the breath I'm wasting
My message is important enough to use all of my energy, so it better be worth it
Maintaining radio silence from now on
I won't be making any more transmissions after this
Barricaded in the talk radio station
Trapped inside the radio station, unable to leave
Hostage taken, the red 'On Air' light shines on
Someone is holding me hostage and broadcasting our conversation live
Something cheaper that passes for free speech will have to do
I'm being forced to say things I don't believe in
Hear him coming through loud and clear
Someone else is speaking and can be heard clearly
He's trickling in your ear
He's whispering things to you that you might not even notice
He'll tell you anything you want to hear
He'll say whatever he needs to to make you happy
Tape starts running
The recording has started
He's going to tell you something
He has a message he wants to get across
Strings start strumming another humdrum conundrum
There's another boring problem being discussed
Signing off now
I'm finishing my transmission
But there's one thing I should have said
I forgot to mention something important
The hostage will end up dead
If I don't do something, I'll be killed
It's just a comedy, the hostage is me
This is all just a joke, but I'm the one being held against my will
So pay the ransom beyond the run-out groove and
In order for me to be released, you'll have to pay a large sum of money
Get my wife down here, a helicopter on the roof
Bring my wife here in a helicopter to help rescue me
No police marksman
Don't involve the police, as it could make the situation worse
Mystery voices drowned out by too much choice that's
We're overloaded with too many options and can't hear the important voices
Not to mention
It's also important to consider
The sad waste of this wonderful invention
It's a shame that such a great technology is being abused
Libraries filled up with failed ideas
There are lots of books filled with bad or outdated ideas
There's nothing more for me there
I've learned all I can from those books and need to move on
I trust in tender ink and gentle airs
I believe in soft and delicate writing and speaking, rather than loud and harsh words
Do those drug dealers still polish women made of wax?
Is that shady business still happening?
Gangsters and world leaders require the same protection from attack
Both criminals and politicians need to be kept safe
From a distance it's hard to tell the difference
When you're far away, it's difficult to distinguish between the two
Between a king and a jack
Even when you're close up, it can be hard to tell who the good guys are
And a poet and a hack
It's also difficult to distinguish between talented artists and those who are just copying others
Maintaining radio silence from now on
Still, I won't be saying anything more on this frequency
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind