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.
Running Out of Angels
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say I'm running out of time
Oh you don't have to be lucky
It is easier than trying, now they're bringing down a
Hammer on anything that sells
I suppose you're a winner
Because they're running out of angels
Will ruin any man who moved too soon
All except the one who seems to know more than she tells
You know she looks just like an angel
But she sings so out of tune
They say they're running out of angels
They say I'm running out of time
Oh you don't have to be lucky
It is easier than trying, now they're bringing down a
Hammer on anything that sells
I suppose you're a winner
Because they're running out of angels
Oh
Elvis Costello's song Running Out of Angels is a commentary on the harsh realities of the music industry, where success and fame are often elusive and fleeting. The lyrics suggest that many have tried and failed, and that the industry is running out of "angels," or talented artists who can capture the public's attention and sell records. The singer is acutely aware of this, and feels the pressure of time ticking away, as he struggles to make his mark in a crowded and competitive field.
The second verse introduces a cast of characters who represent different aspects of the industry. The "girls upon the rails" are likely a reference to groupies or fans who follow bands on tour, and who are known to be promiscuous and unreliable. These women are contrasted with the "one who seems to know more than she tells," who is described as looking like an angel but singing out of tune. This figure may represent a cunning and deceptive record executive, who knows how to manipulate the system to her advantage.
Overall, Running Out of Angels presents a bleak and cynical view of the music business, in which success is often determined by factors beyond talent and hard work. The message seems to be that, no matter how much you try, the odds are stacked against you, and the system will inevitably crush your dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
They say they're running out of angels
There is a belief that there are less and less angelic beings available to protect and guide us
They say I'm running out of time
There is a sense that the singer is running out of time to achieve what they need to in life
Oh you don't have to be lucky
Luck is not necessary for success
It is easier than trying, now they're bringing down a Hammer on anything that sells
Selling out has become easier than trying to make it honestly, but there is a risk of being punished for doing so
I suppose you're a winner
One might be deemed a winner if they have managed to succeed amidst the scarcity of angels
And all the lies upon the tongues of all the girls upon the rails
Prostitutes are adept at telling lies to get what they want
Will ruin any man who moved too soon
Those who act impulsively and too quickly can be easily misled and harmed by these lies
All except the one who seems to know more than she tells
There is one exception - a prostitute who appears to know more than she is saying
You know she looks just like an angel but she sings so out of tune
Despite her appearance, this woman is not perfect and makes mistakes - like singing out of tune
Because they're running out of angels
People may be resorting to things they wouldn't normally if they feel unsupported, which may lead to consequences
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind