Elvis Costello
Encyclopedia
Elvis Costello born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English
singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock
scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave
genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader than that of most popular songs. His music has drawn on many diverse genres; one critic described him as a "pop encyclopedia", able to "reinvent the past in his own image".
(1927-2011), a musician and bandleader. He is of Irish heritage. Costello lived in Twickenham
, attending Hounslow Secondary Modern School, which is now St Mark's Catholic Secondary School
, in neighbouring Hounslow
. With a musically inclined father (who was a jazz trumpeter and sang with The Joe Loss Orchestra
), Costello's first broadcast recording was alongside his dad in a television commercial for R. White's Lemonade
(I'm a Secret Lemonade Drinker). His father wrote and sang the song; Costello provided backing vocals. The advertisement won a silver award at the 1974 International Advertising Festival.
Costello moved with his Liverpool
-born mother to Birkenhead
in 1971. There, he formed his first band, a folk
duo called Rusty, with Allan Mayes. After completing secondary school at St. Francis Xavier's College
, he moved back to London where he next formed a band called Flip City, which had a style in the pub rock vein. They were active from 1974 through to early 1976. Around this time, Costello adopted the stage name D.P. Costello. His father had performed under the name Day Costello, and Elvis has said in interviews that he took this name as a tribute to his father.
To support himself, he worked at a number of office jobs, most famously at Elizabeth Arden
– immortalised in the lyrics of "I'm Not Angry" as the "vanity factory" – where he worked as a data entry clerk. He worked for a short period as a computer operator at the Midland Bank
computer centre in Bootle
. He continued to write songs, and began actively looking for a solo recording contract. On the basis of a demo tape, he was signed to independent label Stiff Records
. His manager at Stiff, Jake Riviera
, suggested a name change, combining Elvis Presley
's first name and Costello, his father's stage name.
", released on 25 March 1977. Two months later, his debut album, My Aim Is True
(1977), was released to moderate commercial success (No. 14 in the UK and, later, Top 40 in the US) with Costello appearing on the cover in what became his trademark oversize glasses, bearing some resemblance to Buddy Holly
. Stiff's records were initially distributed only in the UK, which meant that Costello's first album and singles were initially available in the US as imports only. In an attempt to change this, Costello was arrested for busking outside a London convention of CBS Records
executives, protesting that no US record company had yet seen fit to release his records in the United States. Costello signed to CBS's Columbia Records
label in the US a few months later.
The backing for Costello's debut album was provided by American West Coast band Clover
, a country outfit living in England whose members would later go on to join Huey Lewis and the News
and The Doobie Brothers
. Later in 1977, Costello formed his own permanent backing band, The Attractions
, consisting of Steve Nieve
(born Steve Nason; piano), Bruce Thomas
(bass guitar), and Pete Thomas
(drums; unrelated to Bruce Thomas). Growing antipathy between Costello and Bruce Thomas contributed to the Attractions' first split in 1986, and the rift was exacerbated by what Costello felt was his unflattering portrayal in Thomas' 1990 roman à clef
The Big Wheel. Despite this, the original group reunited for the 1994 album Brutal Youth and toured together over the next two years, but split for good in 1996, although Nieve and Pete Thomas continued to back Costello through various touring and recording lineups and as of 2011 are still members of his current backing group The Imposters. The split between Costello and Bruce Thomas appears permanent, however; Bruce made a brief appearance with his former bandmates when the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, but when Costello was asked why Bruce did not play with them at the event, he reportedly replied, "I only work with professional musicians."
Costello released his first major hit single, "Watching the Detectives
", which was recorded with Nieve and the pair of Steve Goulding (drums) and Andrew Bodnar (bass), both members of Graham Parker
's backing band The Rumour
(whom he had used to audition for The Attractions).
On 17 December 1977, Costello and The Attractions appeared as the musical guest act on the episode of Saturday Night Live
as a last minute fill-in for the Sex Pistols
. Scheduled to play "Less Than Zero", he surprised the SNL crew by abruptly stopping the song mid-intro, and launching into "Radio Radio
." Following a whirlwind tour with other Stiff artists – captured on the Live Stiffs album, notable for Costello's recording of the Burt Bacharach
/Hal David
standard "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
" – the band recorded This Year's Model
(1978). Some of the more popular tracks include the British hit "(I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea" and "Pump It Up
." His U.S. record company saw Costello as such a priority that his last name replaced the word Columbia on the label of the disc's original pressing. The Attractions' first tour of Australia in December 1978 was notable for controversial performance at Sydney's Regent Theatre
when, angered by the group's failure to perform an encore after their brief 35-minute set, audience members destroyed some of the seating.
A tour of the U.S. and Canada also saw the release of the much-bootlegged
Canadian promo-only Live at the El Mocambo
, recorded at a Toronto
rock club, which finally saw an official release as part of the 2½ Years box set in 1993. It was during the ensuing United States tour that Costello met and developed a relationship with former Playboy
model Bebe Buell
. Their on-again-off-again courtship would last until 1984 and would allegedly become a deep well of inspiration for Costello's songwriting.
In 1979, he released his third LP Armed Forces (originally to have been titled Emotional Fascism, a phrase that appeared on the LP
's inner sleeve). Both the album and the single "Oliver's Army
" went to #2 in the UK, and the opening track "Accidents Will Happen
" gained wide television exposure thanks to its innovative animated music video
, directed by Annabel Jankel
and Rocky Morton
. Costello also found time in 1979 to produce the debut album for the 2 Tone
ska revival band The Specials
.
Costello's standing in the U.S. was bruised for a time when in March 1979, during a drunken argument with Stephen Stills
and Bonnie Bramlett
in a Columbus, Ohio
Holiday Inn
bar, the singer referred to James Brown
as a "jive-ass nigger
", then upped the ante by pronouncing Ray Charles
a "blind, ignorant, nigger". Costello apologised at a New York City press conference a few days later, claiming that he had been drunk and had been attempting to be obnoxious in order to bring the conversation to a swift conclusion, not anticipating that Bramlett would bring his comments to the press. According to Costello, "it became necessary for me to outrage these people with about the most obnoxious and offensive remarks that I could muster." In his liner notes for the expanded version of Get Happy!!, Costello writes that some time after the incident he had declined an offer to meet Charles out of guilt and embarrassment, though Charles himself had forgiven Costello saying "Drunken talk isn't meant to be printed in the paper." Costello worked extensively in Britain's Rock Against Racism
campaign both before and after the incident. The incident inspired his Get Happy!! song "Riot Act."
Costello is also an avid country music fan and has cited George Jones
as his favourite country singer. In 1977, he appeared in Jones' duet album My Very Special Guests
, contributing "Stranger in the House", which they later performed together on an HBO special dedicated to Jones.
–possibly most successful, of Costello's many experiments with genres beyond those he is normally associated with. The single, "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
" was an old Sam and Dave song (though Costello increased the tempo
considerably). Lyrically, the songs are full of Costello's signature word play, to the point that he later felt he had become something of a self-parody and toned it down on later releases; he has mockingly described himself in interviews as "rock and roll's Scrabble
champion." His only 1980 appearance in North America was at the Heatwave
festival in August near Toronto.
In 1981, the band released Trust amidst growing tensions within the band, particularly between Bruce and Pete Thomas. In the U.S., the single "Watch Your Step" was released and played live on Tom Snyder
's Tomorrow show, and received airplay on FM rock radio. In the UK, the single "Clubland" scraped the lower reaches of the charts; follow-up single "From a Whisper to a Scream" (a duet with Glenn Tilbrook
of Squeeze) became the first Costello single in over four years to completely miss the charts. Costello also co-produced Squeeze's popular 1981 album East Side Story (with Roger Bechirian
) and also performed backing vocals on the group's hit single "Tempted".
Following Trust, Costello released Almost Blue
, an album of country music cover songs written by the likes of Hank Williams ("Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do?)"), Merle Haggard
("Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down") and Gram Parsons
("How Much I Lied"). The album was a tribute to the country music he had grown up listening to, especially George Jones. It received mixed reviews. The first pressings of the record in the UK bore a sticker with the message: "WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause a radical reaction in narrow minded listeners." Almost Blue did spawn a surprise UK hit single in a version of George Jones' "Good Year for the Roses" (written by Jerry Chesnut
), which reached #6.
Imperial Bedroom
(1982) marked a much darker sound, due in part to the production of Geoff Emerick
, famed for engineering several Beatles
records. Imperial Bedroom remains one of his most critically acclaimed records, but again failed to produce any hit singles. Costello has said he disliked the marketing pitch for the album. The album also featured Costello's song "Almost Blue"; jazz singer and trumpeter Chet Baker
would later perform and record a version of this song.
In 1983, he released Punch the Clock
, featuring female backing vocal duo (Afrodiziak
) and a four-piece horn section (The TKO Horns
), alongside The Attractions. Clive Langer
(who co-produced with Alan Winstanley), provided Costello with a melody which eventually became "Shipbuilding
", which featured a trumpet solo by Chet Baker
. Prior to the release of Costello's own version, a version of the song was a minor UK hit for former Soft Machine
drummer Robert Wyatt
.
Under the pseudonym The Imposter, Costello released "Pills and Soap", an attack on the changes in British society brought on by Thatcherism
, released to coincide with the run-up to the 1983 UK general election
. Punch the Clock also generated an international hit in the single "Everyday I Write the Book
", aided by a music video featuring lookalikes of the Prince
and Princess of Wales
undergoing domestic strife in a suburban home. The song became Costello's first Top 40 hit single in the U.S. Also in the same year, Costello provided vocals on a version of the Madness
song "Tomorrow's Just Another Day" released as a B-side on the single of the same name.
Tensions within the band—notably between Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas—were beginning to tell, and Costello announced his retirement and the break-up of the group shortly before they were to record Goodbye Cruel World
(1984). Costello would later say of this record that they had "got it as wrong as you can in terms of the execution". The record was poorly received upon its initial release; the liner notes to the 1995 Rykodisc
re-release, penned by Costello, begin with the words "Congratulations!, you've just purchased our worst album". Costello's retirement, although short-lived, was accompanied by two compilations, Elvis Costello: The Man in the UK, Europe and Australia, and The Best of Elvis Costello & The Attractions
in the U.S.
In 1985, he appeared in the Live Aid
benefit concert in England, singing the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love
" as a solo artist. (The event was overrunning and Costello was asked to "ditch the band".) Costello introduced the song as an "old northern English folk song", and the audience was invited to sing the chorus. In the same year Costello teamed up with friend T-Bone Burnett
for the single "The People's Limousine" under the moniker of The Coward Brothers. That year, Costello also produced Rum Sodomy & the Lash for the Irish punk/folk band The Pogues
.
By 1986, Costello was preparing to make a comeback. Working in the U.S. with Burnett, a band containing a number of Elvis Presley
's sidemen (including James Burton
and Jerry Scheff
), and minor input from the Attractions, he produced King of America
, an acoustic guitar-driven album with a country sound. It was billed as by "The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates" in the UK and Europe and "The Costello Show featuring Elvis Costello" in North America. Around this time he legally changed his name back to Declan MacManus, adding Aloysius as an extra middle name. Costello retooled his upcoming tour to allow for multiple nights in each city, playing one night with The Confederates (James Burton et al.), one night with The Attractions, and one night solo acoustic. In May 1986, Costello performed at Self Aid
, a benefit concert held in Dublin that focused on the chronic unemployment which was widespread in Ireland at that time.
Later that year, Costello returned to the studio with the Attractions and recorded Blood and Chocolate
, which was lauded for a post-punk
fervour not heard since 1978's This Year's Model. It also marked the return of producer Nick Lowe
, who had produced Costello's first five albums. While Blood and Chocolate failed to chart a hit single of any significance, it did produce what has since become one of Costello's signature concert songs, "I Want You." On this album, Costello adopted the alias Napoleon Dynamite, the name he later attributed to the character of the emcee that he played during the vaudeville
-style tour to support Blood and Chocolate. (The pseudonym had previously been used in 1982, when the B-side single "Imperial Bedroom" was credited to Napoleon Dynamite & The Royal Guard, and was later appropriated by the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite
). In 1989, Costello, with a new contract with Warner Bros.
, released Spike
, which spawned his biggest single in America, the Top 20 hit "Veronica
", one of several songs Costello co-wrote with Paul McCartney
in that period (see Collaborations).
, which featured the single "The Other Side of Summer." He also found time to co-compose and co-produce, with Richard Harvey, the title and incidental music for the mini-series
G.B.H. by Alan Bleasdale
. This entirely instrumental, and largely orchestral, soundtrack garnered a BAFTA
, for Best Music for a TV Series for the pair.
In 1993, Costello experimented with classical music with a critically acclaimed collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet
on The Juliet Letters
. During this period, Costello wrote a full album's worth of material for Wendy James
, and these songs became the tracks on her 1993 solo album Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears. Costello returned to rock and roll the following year with a project that reunited him with The Attractions, Brutal Youth. In 1995, Costello released Kojak Variety
, an album of cover songs recorded five years earlier, and followed in 1996 with an album of songs originally written for other artists, All This Useless Beauty
. This was the final album of original material that he issued under his Warner Bros. contract. In the spring of 1996, Costello played a series of intimate club dates, backed only by Nieve on the piano, in support of All This Useless Beauty. An ensuing summer and fall tour with the Attractions proved to be the death knell for the band. With relations between Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas at a breaking point, Costello announced that the current tour would be the Attractions' last. The quartet performed their final U.S. show in Seattle, Washington
on 1 September 1996, before wrapping up their tour in Japan. To fulfill his contractual obligations to Warner Bros., Costello released a greatest hits album titled Extreme Honey
(1997). It contained an original track titled "The Bridge I Burned", featuring Costello's son, Matt, on bass. In the intervening period, Costello had served as artistic chair for the 1995 Meltdown Festival, which gave him the opportunity to explore his increasingly eclectic musical interests. His involvement in the festival yielded a one-off live EP
with jazz guitarist Bill Frisell
, which featured both cover material and a few of his own songs.
In 1998, Costello signed a multi-label contract with Polygram Records, sold by its parent company the same year to become part of the Universal Music Group
. Costello released his new work on what he deemed the suitable imprimatur within the family of labels. His first new release as part of this contract involved a collaboration with Burt Bacharach
. Their work had commenced earlier, in 1996, on a song called "God Give Me Strength" for the movie Grace of My Heart
. This led the pair to write and record the critically acclaimed album Painted From Memory
, released under his new contract in 1998, on the Mercury Records
label, featuring songs that were largely inspired by the dissolution of his marriage to Cait O'Riordan
. Costello and Bacharach performed several concerts with a full orchestral backing, and also recorded an updated version of Bacharach's "I'll Never Fall in Love Again
" for the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
, with both appearing in the film to perform the song. He also wrote "I Throw My Toys Around" for The Rugrats Movie
and performed it with No Doubt
. The same year, he collaborated with Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains
on "The Long Journey Home" on the soundtrack of the PBS
/Disney mini-series of the same name
. The soundtrack won a Grammy that year.
In 1999, Costello contributed a version of "She", released in 1974 by Charles Aznavour
and Herbert Kretzmer
, for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill
, with Trevor Jones
producing. For the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live
, Costello was invited to the program, where he re-enacted his abrupt song-switch: This time, however, he interrupted the Beastie Boys
' "Sabotage", and they acted as his backing group for "Radio Radio".
In 2000, Costello appeared at the Town Hall Theatre, New York, in Steve Nieve's opera Welcome to the Voice
, alongside Ron Sexsmith
and John Flansburgh
of They Might Be Giants
.In 2001, Costello was artist in residence at UCLA and wrote the music for a new ballet. He produced and appeared on an album of pop songs for opera singer, Anne Sofie von Otter. He released the album When I Was Cruel
in 2002 on Island Records
, and toured with a new band, the Imposters (essentially the Attractions but with a different bass player, Davey Faragher
, formerly of Cracker
). He appeared as himself in the "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
" episode of The Simpsons
. On 23 February 2003, Costello, along with Bruce Springsteen
, Steve Van Zandt, and Dave Grohl
, performed a version of The Clash
's "London Calling
" at the 45th Grammy Awards ceremony, in honour of Clash frontman Joe Strummer
, who had died the previous December. In March, Elvis Costello & The Attractions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
. He announced his engagement in May to Canadian jazz
singer and pianist Diana Krall
, whom he had seen in concert and then met backstage at the Sydney Opera House
in Australia. That September, he released North
, an album of piano-based ballads concerning the breakdown of his former marriage, and his falling in love with Krall. Also that year, Costello made an appearance in the television show Frasier
as a folk singer in the Cafe Nervosa, sending Frasier and Niles on a search for a new coffee bar.
The song "Scarlet Tide" (co-written by Costello and T-Bone Burnett and used in the film Cold Mountain
) was nominated for a 2004 Academy Award
; he performed it at the awards ceremony with Alison Krauss
, who sang the song on the official soundtrack. Costello co-wrote many songs on Krall's 2004 CD, The Girl in the Other Room
, the first of hers to feature several original compositions. In July 2004 Costello's first full-scale orchestral work, Il Sogno
, was performed in New York. The work, a ballet after Shakespeare
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
, was commissioned by Italian dance troupe Aterballeto, and received critical acclaim from the classical music critics. Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
, the recording was released on CD in September by Deutsche Grammophon
. Costello released the album The Delivery Man
, recorded in Oxford, Mississippi
and released on Lost Highway Records, in September of the same year, and it was hailed as one of his best albums.
A CD recording of a collaboration with Marian McPartland
on her show Piano Jazz
was released in 2005. It featured Costello singing six jazz standards and two of his own songs, accompanied by McPartland on piano. In November, Costello started recording a new album with Allen Toussaint
and producer Joe Henry
. The River in Reverse
was released in the UK on the Verve
label the following year in May.
A 2005 tour included a gig at Glastonbury
that Costello considered to be so dreadful that he said "I don't care if I ever play England again. That gig made up my mind I wouldn't come back. I don't get along with it. We lost touch. It's 25 years since I lived there. I don't dig it, they don't dig me....British music fans don't have the same attitude to age as they do in America, where young people come to check out, say Willie Nelson
. They feel some connection with him and find a role for that music in their lives."
In a studio recording of Nieve's opera Welcome to the Voice
(2006, Deutsche Grammophon), Costello interpreted the character of Chief of Police, with Barbara Bonney
, Robert Wyatt
, Sting and Amanda Roocroft, and the album reached #2 in the Billboard classical charts. Costello later reprised the piece on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet
in Paris in 2008, with Sting, Joe Sumner
of Fiction Plane
(Sting's son) and Sylvia Schwartz. Also released in 2006 was a live recording of a concert with the Metropole Orkest at the North Sea Jazz Festival
, entitled My Flame Burns Blue. The soundtrack for House M.D. featured Costello's interpretation of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera
, with the song appearing in the second episode of Series 2.
Costello was commissioned to write a chamber opera
by the Danish Royal Opera, Copenhagen
, on the subject of Hans Christian Andersen
's infatuation with Swedish soprano Jenny Lind
. Called The Secret Songs it was unfinished. In a performance in 2007 directed by Kasper Bech Holten
at the Opera's studio theatre (Takelloftet), finished songs were interspersed with pieces from Costello's 1993 collaborative classical album The Juliet Letters
, featuring Danish soprano Sine Bundgaard as Lind. The 2009 album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
includes material from Secret Songs.
On 22 April 2008, Momofuku
was released on Lost Highway Records, the same imprint that released The Delivery Man, his previous studio album. The album was, at least initially, released exclusively on vinyl (with a code to download a digital copy). That summer, in support of the album, Costello toured with The Police
on the final leg of their 2007/2008 Reunion Tour
. Costello played a homecoming gig at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 25 June 2006. and, that month, gave his first performance in Poland, appearing with The Imposters for the closing gig of the Malta
theatre festival in Poznań
.
In July 2008, Costello (as Declan McManus) was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Liverpool
.
From late 2008 into 2010, Costello hosted Channel 4
/CTV
's series Spectacle
in which Costello talked and performed with stars in various fields, styled similarly to Inside the Actors Studio
. Between its two seasons, the show compiled 20 episodes, including one where Costello was interviewed by actress Mary-Louise Parker
.
Costello was featured on Fall Out Boy
's 2008 album Folie à Deux, providing vocals on the track "What a Catch, Donnie
", along with other artists who are friends with the band.
Costello appeared in Stephen Colbert
's television special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. In the program, he was eaten by a bear, but later saved by Santa Claus
; he also sang a duet with Colbert. The special was first aired on 23 November 2008. Costello released Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
, a collaboration with T-Bone Burnett
, on 9 June 2009. Burnett previously worked with Costello on King of America
and Spike
. It was his first on the Starbucks Hear Music label and a return to country music in the manner of Good Year for the Roses.
Costello appeared as himself in the finale of the third season
of 30 Rock
and sang in the episode's celebrity telethon, Kidney Now!
. The episode references Costello's given name when Jack Donaghy accuses him of concealing his true identity: "Declan McManus, international art thief."
In May 2009, Costello made a surprise cameo appearance on-stage at the Beacon Theater in New York as part of Spinal Tap
's Unwigged and Unplugged show, singing their fictional 1965 hit "Gimme Some Money" with the band backing him up.
On 15 May 2010, Costello announced he would withdraw from a concert performed in Israel in opposition to Israel's treatment of Palestinians
. In a statement on his website, Costello wrote, "It has been necessary to dial out the falsehoods of propaganda, the double game and hysterical language of politics, the vanity and self-righteousness of public communiqués from cranks in order to eventually sift through my own conflicted thoughts."
Also in 2010 Elvis Costello appeared as himself in David Simon's television series, Treme. Costello released the album National Ransom
in autumn of 2010.
In 2011 Elvis Costello appeared as himself on Sesame Street to perform a song with Elmo and Cookie Monster, titled "Monster Went and Ate My Red 2", a play on (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes.
In 2011, Elvis Costello performed "Taken for a Fool," live from Madison Square Gardens with The Strokes.
In 1985, Costello became involved with Cait O'Riordan
, former bassist for the English/Irish group The Pogues
, while he was producing The Pogues' album Rum Sodomy and the Lash. They married in 1986 and split up by the end of 2002.
Costello became engaged to singer Diana Krall
in May 2003, and married her at the home of Elton John
on December 6 that year. Krall gave birth to twin sons, Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, on 6 December 2006 in New York City.
A vegetarian since the early 1980s, Costello says he was moved to reject meat after seeing the documentary The Animals Film
(1982), which also helped inspire his song "Pills and Soap" (from Punch the Clock, 1983).
. Costello began working with the Jazz Foundation in 2001, and has been a featured performer in their annual benefit A Great Night in Harlem
since 2006. Costello has donated his time working with the Jazz Foundation of America
to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, including musicians who survived Hurricane Katrina
.
In 1987, Costello began a long-running songwriting collaboration with Paul McCartney
. They wrote a number of songs together, including:
Costello talked about their collaboration:
, Tony Bennett
, Lucinda Williams
, Kid Rock
, Lee Konitz
, Brian Eno
, and Rubén Blades
.
Costello is also a music fan, and often champions the works of others in print. He has written several pieces for the magazine Vanity Fair
, including the summary of what a perfect weekend of music would be. He has contributed to two Grateful Dead
tribute albums and covered Jerry Garcia
/Robert Hunter
tunes such as Ship of Fools
, Friend of the Devil
, It Must Have Been the Roses, Ripple
and Tennessee Jed in concert. His collaboration with Bacharach honoured Bacharach's place in pop music history. Costello also appeared in documentaries about singers Dusty Springfield
, Brian Wilson
, Wanda Jackson
, and Memphis, Tennessee
-based Stax Records
. He has also interviewed one of his own influences, Joni Mitchell
.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #80 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
, Deep Dead Blue
, Costello & Nieve
, My Flame Burns Blue
, and Live at Hollywood High
. There have also been numerous compilations, box sets, and reissues by labels such as Rykodisc, Demon, Rhino, and Universal Music Enterprises
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock
Pub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader than that of most popular songs. His music has drawn on many diverse genres; one critic described him as a "pop encyclopedia", able to "reinvent the past in his own image".
Early life
Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus in St Mary's Hospital, London, the son of Lilian Alda (née Ablett, b. 1927, Liverpool) and Ross MacManusRoss MacManus
Ross MacManus was an English musician and trumpet player, who performed with Joe Loss and his orchestra, and the father of singer Elvis Costello....
(1927-2011), a musician and bandleader. He is of Irish heritage. Costello lived in Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, attending Hounslow Secondary Modern School, which is now St Mark's Catholic Secondary School
St. Marks R.C School
St Mark's Catholic School is a mixed comprehensive situated in Hounslow, West London. It is a specialist Technology School.-St. Mark's School Vision:...
, in neighbouring Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
. With a musically inclined father (who was a jazz trumpeter and sang with The Joe Loss Orchestra
Joe Loss
Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss LVO OBE was a British musician and founder of the Joe Loss Orchestra.-Life:Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel and Ada Loss, were Russian Jews and first cousins. His father was a cabinet-maker who had an office...
), Costello's first broadcast recording was alongside his dad in a television commercial for R. White's Lemonade
R. White's Lemonade
R. White's Lemonade is a brand of a carbonated soft drink, which is produced and sold in the UK by Britvic.R. White's is a brand of lemonade that has been produced for over 150 years. Robert and Mary White produced the first R. White's lemonade in Camberwell, London, in 1845...
(I'm a Secret Lemonade Drinker). His father wrote and sang the song; Costello provided backing vocals. The advertisement won a silver award at the 1974 International Advertising Festival.
Costello moved with his Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-born mother to Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
in 1971. There, he formed his first band, a folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
duo called Rusty, with Allan Mayes. After completing secondary school at St. Francis Xavier's College
St. Francis Xavier's College (Liverpool)
St. Francis Xavier's College is a Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form college located in Woolton, Liverpool, England. Year 7 to Year 11 are male only, whereas the Sixth Form are coeducational....
, he moved back to London where he next formed a band called Flip City, which had a style in the pub rock vein. They were active from 1974 through to early 1976. Around this time, Costello adopted the stage name D.P. Costello. His father had performed under the name Day Costello, and Elvis has said in interviews that he took this name as a tribute to his father.
To support himself, he worked at a number of office jobs, most famously at Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...
– immortalised in the lyrics of "I'm Not Angry" as the "vanity factory" – where he worked as a data entry clerk. He worked for a short period as a computer operator at the Midland Bank
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...
computer centre in Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
. He continued to write songs, and began actively looking for a solo recording contract. On the basis of a demo tape, he was signed to independent label Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
. His manager at Stiff, Jake Riviera
Jake Riviera
Jake Riviera is a music business entrepreneur best known for his management of such performers as Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe and as co-founder of pioneering British indie label Stiff Records.Riviera was in school bands and local groups in north-west London in the 60s, and became road manager of...
, suggested a name change, combining Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's first name and Costello, his father's stage name.
1970s
Costello's first single for Stiff was "Less Than ZeroLess Than Zero (song)
"Less Than Zero" is the eighth track on Elvis Costello's debut album My Aim Is True, and the first Costello single that Stiff Records released.In the liner notes to the Rhino edition of the album, Costello writes:...
", released on 25 March 1977. Two months later, his debut album, My Aim Is True
My Aim Is True
My Aim Is True is the debut album by Elvis Costello.The album was recorded at Pathway Studios in Holloway, London Borough of Islington, over the course of 1976 during late-night studio sessions, in a total of twenty-four hours...
(1977), was released to moderate commercial success (No. 14 in the UK and, later, Top 40 in the US) with Costello appearing on the cover in what became his trademark oversize glasses, bearing some resemblance to Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
. Stiff's records were initially distributed only in the UK, which meant that Costello's first album and singles were initially available in the US as imports only. In an attempt to change this, Costello was arrested for busking outside a London convention of CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
executives, protesting that no US record company had yet seen fit to release his records in the United States. Costello signed to CBS's Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
label in the US a few months later.
The backing for Costello's debut album was provided by American West Coast band Clover
Clover (band)
Clover was an American country rock band formed in Mill Valley, California in 1967. They are best known as the backup band for Elvis Costello's 1977 debut album My Aim Is True , and for members later forming or joining more successful acts, including Huey Lewis and the News, The Doobie Brothers,...
, a country outfit living in England whose members would later go on to join Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
and The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...
. Later in 1977, Costello formed his own permanent backing band, The Attractions
The Attractions
The Attractions were best known as the backing band for Elvis Costello between 1978 and 1986, and again from 1994 through 1996. They also released one album as an independent entity in 1980.-History:...
, consisting of Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve
Steve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
(born Steve Nason; piano), Bruce Thomas
Bruce Thomas
Bruce Thomas is best known as bassist for The Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello in concert and on record....
(bass guitar), and Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas
Pete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".-Career:...
(drums; unrelated to Bruce Thomas). Growing antipathy between Costello and Bruce Thomas contributed to the Attractions' first split in 1986, and the rift was exacerbated by what Costello felt was his unflattering portrayal in Thomas' 1990 roman à clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
The Big Wheel. Despite this, the original group reunited for the 1994 album Brutal Youth and toured together over the next two years, but split for good in 1996, although Nieve and Pete Thomas continued to back Costello through various touring and recording lineups and as of 2011 are still members of his current backing group The Imposters. The split between Costello and Bruce Thomas appears permanent, however; Bruce made a brief appearance with his former bandmates when the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, but when Costello was asked why Bruce did not play with them at the event, he reportedly replied, "I only work with professional musicians."
Costello released his first major hit single, "Watching the Detectives
Watching the Detectives (song)
"Watching the Detectives" is a 1977 single by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. It was his first single that credited his backing band, the Attractions, and gave him his first UK hit single...
", which was recorded with Nieve and the pair of Steve Goulding (drums) and Andrew Bodnar (bass), both members of Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
's backing band The Rumour
The Rumour
The Rumour were a British rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour...
(whom he had used to audition for The Attractions).
On 17 December 1977, Costello and The Attractions appeared as the musical guest act on the episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
as a last minute fill-in for the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
. Scheduled to play "Less Than Zero", he surprised the SNL crew by abruptly stopping the song mid-intro, and launching into "Radio Radio
Radio Radio
"Radio Radio" was a single by Elvis Costello and The Attractions released in the UK in October 1978. The song had already appeared on the US version of their second album, This Year's Model, released earlier that year...
." Following a whirlwind tour with other Stiff artists – captured on the Live Stiffs album, notable for Costello's recording of the Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
/Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
standard "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.-Original version:"I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" was first recorded by Tommy Hunt in a session produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, with Burt Bacharach arranging and conducting...
" – the band recorded This Year's Model
This Year's Model
This Year's Model is Elvis Costello's second album and his first with The Attractions, released in 1978 . It was recorded mainly at Eden Studios in West London....
(1978). Some of the more popular tracks include the British hit "(I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea" and "Pump It Up
Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)
"Pump It Up" is a song by Elvis Costello. It originally appeared on Costello's second album This Year's Model which was the first he recorded with The Attractions.- Lyrics :...
." His U.S. record company saw Costello as such a priority that his last name replaced the word Columbia on the label of the disc's original pressing. The Attractions' first tour of Australia in December 1978 was notable for controversial performance at Sydney's Regent Theatre
Regent Theatre
The Regent Theatre is the name of several theatres in various cities.These include the following:-In Australia:*The Regent Theatre in Ballarat, now home to Regent Cinemas*The Regent Theatre *The Regent Theatre, Melbourne...
when, angered by the group's failure to perform an encore after their brief 35-minute set, audience members destroyed some of the seating.
A tour of the U.S. and Canada also saw the release of the much-bootlegged
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
Canadian promo-only Live at the El Mocambo
Live at the El Mocambo (Elvis Costello album)
Live at the El Mocambo is a 1993 live album by Elvis Costello and The Attractions. Recorded in March 1978 and released only as a Canadian promotional album in the same year, it was heavily bootlegged...
, recorded at a Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
rock club, which finally saw an official release as part of the 2½ Years box set in 1993. It was during the ensuing United States tour that Costello met and developed a relationship with former Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
model Bebe Buell
Bebe Buell
Beverle Lorence "Bebe" Buell is an American fashion model and singer, and Playboy magazine's November 1974 Playmate of the Month. She is also known for dating rock musicians. She is actress Liv Tyler's mother from a brief relationship with Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler...
. Their on-again-off-again courtship would last until 1984 and would allegedly become a deep well of inspiration for Costello's songwriting.
In 1979, he released his third LP Armed Forces (originally to have been titled Emotional Fascism, a phrase that appeared on the LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
's inner sleeve). Both the album and the single "Oliver's Army
Oliver's Army
"Oliver's Army" is a song written by Elvis Costello, originally performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions and appearing on the album Armed Forces in 1979. It remains his most successful single, spending four weeks at Nº2 in the UK singles chart....
" went to #2 in the UK, and the opening track "Accidents Will Happen
Accidents Will Happen
"Accidents Will Happen" is a song by Elvis Costello. It first appeared on the 1979 album Armed Forces, which he recorded with The Attractions. In reference to the song title, the cover of the single was printed inside-out...
" gained wide television exposure thanks to its innovative animated music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Annabel Jankel
Annabel Jankel
Annabel Jankel is an award-winning British film and TV director who first came to prominence as a music video director and the co-creator and director of the pioneering cyber-character Max Headroom...
and Rocky Morton
Rocky Morton
Rocky Morton is a British director. He was one of the co-creators of Max Headroom and co-director on Super Mario Bros.. Various music videos by Rush, Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, Orgy and Miles Davis are credited to Morton. He also directed the 1995 UK launch commercial of Sega...
. Costello also found time in 1979 to produce the debut album for the 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska revival band The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
.
Costello's standing in the U.S. was bruised for a time when in March 1979, during a drunken argument with Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
and Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
in a Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
bar, the singer referred to James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
as a "jive-ass nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
", then upped the ante by pronouncing Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
a "blind, ignorant, nigger". Costello apologised at a New York City press conference a few days later, claiming that he had been drunk and had been attempting to be obnoxious in order to bring the conversation to a swift conclusion, not anticipating that Bramlett would bring his comments to the press. According to Costello, "it became necessary for me to outrage these people with about the most obnoxious and offensive remarks that I could muster." In his liner notes for the expanded version of Get Happy!!, Costello writes that some time after the incident he had declined an offer to meet Charles out of guilt and embarrassment, though Charles himself had forgiven Costello saying "Drunken talk isn't meant to be printed in the paper." Costello worked extensively in Britain's Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
campaign both before and after the incident. The incident inspired his Get Happy!! song "Riot Act."
Costello is also an avid country music fan and has cited George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
as his favourite country singer. In 1977, he appeared in Jones' duet album My Very Special Guests
My Very Special Guests
My Very Special Guests is a two disc album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1979 on the Epic Records label...
, contributing "Stranger in the House", which they later performed together on an HBO special dedicated to Jones.
1980s
The soul-infused Get Happy!! would be the first, and—along with King of AmericaKing of America
King of America is the tenth studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1986 in the United Kingdom as F-Beat ZL 70946, and in the United States as Columbia JC 40173. It was billed as by "The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates" in the UK...
–possibly most successful, of Costello's many experiments with genres beyond those he is normally associated with. The single, "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
"I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" is a song by Sam & Dave released in 1967, written by Homer Banks and Allen Jones.British musician Elvis Costello covered the song in 1980 for his album Get Happy!!. It was one of 3 singles taken from the album in the UK and peaked at number four. It became one of...
" was an old Sam and Dave song (though Costello increased the tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
considerably). Lyrically, the songs are full of Costello's signature word play, to the point that he later felt he had become something of a self-parody and toned it down on later releases; he has mockingly described himself in interviews as "rock and roll's Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
champion." His only 1980 appearance in North America was at the Heatwave
Heatwave (festival)
Heatwave was a rock festival August 23, 1980, outside of Toronto at Mosport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario. The slogans used to promote the show were variously the "Punk Woodstock", the "New Wave Woodstock", or "The 1980s Big Beat Rock and Roll Party"....
festival in August near Toronto.
In 1981, the band released Trust amidst growing tensions within the band, particularly between Bruce and Pete Thomas. In the U.S., the single "Watch Your Step" was released and played live on Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder
Thomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
's Tomorrow show, and received airplay on FM rock radio. In the UK, the single "Clubland" scraped the lower reaches of the charts; follow-up single "From a Whisper to a Scream" (a duet with Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid 1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics...
of Squeeze) became the first Costello single in over four years to completely miss the charts. Costello also co-produced Squeeze's popular 1981 album East Side Story (with Roger Bechirian
Roger Bechirian
Roger Béchirian is a noted engineer and record producer, a key player in the 70’s new wave scene best known for his work with Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack, Elvis Costello, The Undertones, Dave Edmunds, Squeeze, Trashcan Sinatras and more recently Bell X1....
) and also performed backing vocals on the group's hit single "Tempted".
Following Trust, Costello released Almost Blue
Almost Blue
Almost Blue is an album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It was recorded May 1981 in Nashville, and released on 23 October 1981. The record's songs consist entirely of country covers, including works originally written by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Gram Parsons...
, an album of country music cover songs written by the likes of Hank Williams ("Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do?)"), Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
("Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down") and Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
("How Much I Lied"). The album was a tribute to the country music he had grown up listening to, especially George Jones. It received mixed reviews. The first pressings of the record in the UK bore a sticker with the message: "WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause a radical reaction in narrow minded listeners." Almost Blue did spawn a surprise UK hit single in a version of George Jones' "Good Year for the Roses" (written by Jerry Chesnut
Jerry Chesnut
Jerry Donald Chesnut is an American country music songwriter. His hits include "A Good Year for the Roses" and "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" ....
), which reached #6.
Imperial Bedroom
Imperial Bedroom
Imperial Bedroom is a 1982 album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It was the second Costello album, along with Almost Blue, not produced by Nick Lowe, the production duties handled by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick...
(1982) marked a much darker sound, due in part to the production of Geoff Emerick
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Emerick is an English recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with The Beatles' albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road...
, famed for engineering several Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
records. Imperial Bedroom remains one of his most critically acclaimed records, but again failed to produce any hit singles. Costello has said he disliked the marketing pitch for the album. The album also featured Costello's song "Almost Blue"; jazz singer and trumpeter Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
would later perform and record a version of this song.
In 1983, he released Punch the Clock
Punch the Clock
Punch the Clock is an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It was Costello's eighth album, his seventh with the Attractions since 1978. The album featured Costello's first U.S...
, featuring female backing vocal duo (Afrodiziak
Afrodiziak
Afrodiziak was the collective name used by the British singers Caron Wheeler and Claudia Fontaine in the mid-to-late 1980s. As a duo, they were best known for performing backup vocals on Elvis Costello's 1983 album Punch the Clock, especially its single, the international hit "Everyday I Write the...
) and a four-piece horn section (The TKO Horns
The TKO Horns
The TKO Horns were horn section formed in 1982 when Big Jim Paterson , Paul Speare and Brian Maurice left Dexys Midnight Runners. After a brief spell touring with Paul Young's Q Tips they began performing on a regular basis with Elvis Costello...
), alongside The Attractions. Clive Langer
Clive Langer
Clive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf SchoolLanger...
(who co-produced with Alan Winstanley), provided Costello with a melody which eventually became "Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding (song)
"Shipbuilding" is a song written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer . Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , North East England and Belfast to build new ships to...
", which featured a trumpet solo by Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
. Prior to the release of Costello's own version, a version of the song was a minor UK hit for former Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
drummer Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
.
Under the pseudonym The Imposter, Costello released "Pills and Soap", an attack on the changes in British society brought on by Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
, released to coincide with the run-up to the 1983 UK general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. Punch the Clock also generated an international hit in the single "Everyday I Write the Book
Everyday I Write the Book
"Everyday I Write the Book" is a song written by Elvis Costello, from Punch the Clock, an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song peaked at 28 on the UK Singles Chart and was their first hit single in the United States, placing in the Billboard Top 40.-Lyrics:The...
", aided by a music video featuring lookalikes of the Prince
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
undergoing domestic strife in a suburban home. The song became Costello's first Top 40 hit single in the U.S. Also in the same year, Costello provided vocals on a version of the Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
song "Tomorrow's Just Another Day" released as a B-side on the single of the same name.
Tensions within the band—notably between Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas—were beginning to tell, and Costello announced his retirement and the break-up of the group shortly before they were to record Goodbye Cruel World
Goodbye Cruel World (album)
Goodbye Cruel World was Elvis Costello's ninth album overall and eighth with backing band The Attractions. It was released in 1984 by F-Beat Records in the UK and Columbia in the US....
(1984). Costello would later say of this record that they had "got it as wrong as you can in terms of the execution". The record was poorly received upon its initial release; the liner notes to the 1995 Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
re-release, penned by Costello, begin with the words "Congratulations!, you've just purchased our worst album". Costello's retirement, although short-lived, was accompanied by two compilations, Elvis Costello: The Man in the UK, Europe and Australia, and The Best of Elvis Costello & The Attractions
The Best of Elvis Costello & The Attractions
The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions is a 1985 compilation album, the first of what would be many compilation albums for Costello.-Side one:# "Alison" – 3:22...
in the U.S.
In 1985, he appeared in the Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
benefit concert in England, singing the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love
All You Need Is Love
"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967...
" as a solo artist. (The event was overrunning and Costello was asked to "ditch the band".) Costello introduced the song as an "old northern English folk song", and the audience was invited to sing the chorus. In the same year Costello teamed up with friend T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
for the single "The People's Limousine" under the moniker of The Coward Brothers. That year, Costello also produced Rum Sodomy & the Lash for the Irish punk/folk band The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
.
By 1986, Costello was preparing to make a comeback. Working in the U.S. with Burnett, a band containing a number of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's sidemen (including James Burton
James Burton
James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
and Jerry Scheff
Jerry Scheff
Jerry Obern Scheff is an American bassist, perhaps best known for his work with Elvis Presley in the early 1970s as a member of his TCB Band and his work on The Doors' final recordings....
), and minor input from the Attractions, he produced King of America
King of America
King of America is the tenth studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1986 in the United Kingdom as F-Beat ZL 70946, and in the United States as Columbia JC 40173. It was billed as by "The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates" in the UK...
, an acoustic guitar-driven album with a country sound. It was billed as by "The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates" in the UK and Europe and "The Costello Show featuring Elvis Costello" in North America. Around this time he legally changed his name back to Declan MacManus, adding Aloysius as an extra middle name. Costello retooled his upcoming tour to allow for multiple nights in each city, playing one night with The Confederates (James Burton et al.), one night with The Attractions, and one night solo acoustic. In May 1986, Costello performed at Self Aid
Self Aid
Self Aid was a benefit concert held in Dublin, Ireland on 17 May 1986. The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea were designated "honorary Irishmen" for the day; the event was promoted by Jim Aiken...
, a benefit concert held in Dublin that focused on the chronic unemployment which was widespread in Ireland at that time.
Later that year, Costello returned to the studio with the Attractions and recorded Blood and Chocolate
Blood and Chocolate (album)
Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the United Kingdom as Demon Records XFIEND 80, and in the United States as Columbia 40518...
, which was lauded for a post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
fervour not heard since 1978's This Year's Model. It also marked the return of producer Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
, who had produced Costello's first five albums. While Blood and Chocolate failed to chart a hit single of any significance, it did produce what has since become one of Costello's signature concert songs, "I Want You." On this album, Costello adopted the alias Napoleon Dynamite, the name he later attributed to the character of the emcee that he played during the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
-style tour to support Blood and Chocolate. (The pseudonym had previously been used in 1982, when the B-side single "Imperial Bedroom" was credited to Napoleon Dynamite & The Royal Guard, and was later appropriated by the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess and stars Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite. The film was Jared Hess' first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca....
). In 1989, Costello, with a new contract with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, released Spike
Spike (Elvis Costello album)
Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on and compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label. It peaked at #5 on the UK album chart, and at #32 on the Billboard 200....
, which spawned his biggest single in America, the Top 20 hit "Veronica
Veronica (song)
"Veronica" is a single from Elvis Costello's 1989 album Spike, co-written by Costello with Paul McCartney. The song "Veronica" was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Kevin Killen, and features Paul McCartney on his iconic Höfner bass...
", one of several songs Costello co-wrote with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
in that period (see Collaborations).
1990s
In 1991, having grown a long beard, Costello released Mighty Like a RoseMighty Like a Rose
Mighty Like A Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the...
, which featured the single "The Other Side of Summer." He also found time to co-compose and co-produce, with Richard Harvey, the title and incidental music for the mini-series
G.B.H. (soundtrack)
G.B.H. is a 1991 soundtrack album by Elvis Costello and Richard Harvey, the first of two collaborations Costello would do with Harvey. G.B.H. was a seven-part Channel 4 series first aired in the U.K. in 1991...
G.B.H. by Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
. This entirely instrumental, and largely orchestral, soundtrack garnered a BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
, for Best Music for a TV Series for the pair.
In 1993, Costello experimented with classical music with a critically acclaimed collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet
Brodsky Quartet
The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members.In addition to performing classical music, and in particular the classic string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Shostakovich,...
on The Juliet Letters
The Juliet Letters
The Juliet Letters is the 14th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 45180. The entire instrumental backing is provided by The Brodsky String Quartet. Costello described the album as "a song sequence for string quartet and...
. During this period, Costello wrote a full album's worth of material for Wendy James
Wendy James
Wendy James is an English singer-songwriter most notable for her work with the pop band Transvision Vamp.-Transvision Vamp:...
, and these songs became the tracks on her 1993 solo album Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears. Costello returned to rock and roll the following year with a project that reunited him with The Attractions, Brutal Youth. In 1995, Costello released Kojak Variety
Kojak Variety
Kojak Variety is a 1995 covers album by Elvis Costello. "Days" had previously appeared on the album Until the End of the World, the 1991 soundtrack to Wim Wenders' film of the same name.-Track listing:# "Strange" – 2:39...
, an album of cover songs recorded five years earlier, and followed in 1996 with an album of songs originally written for other artists, All This Useless Beauty
All This Useless Beauty
All This Useless Beauty is the 17th studio album by the English rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 46198. It peaked at #28 on the UK album chart, and at #53 on the Billboard 200...
. This was the final album of original material that he issued under his Warner Bros. contract. In the spring of 1996, Costello played a series of intimate club dates, backed only by Nieve on the piano, in support of All This Useless Beauty. An ensuing summer and fall tour with the Attractions proved to be the death knell for the band. With relations between Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas at a breaking point, Costello announced that the current tour would be the Attractions' last. The quartet performed their final U.S. show in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
on 1 September 1996, before wrapping up their tour in Japan. To fulfill his contractual obligations to Warner Bros., Costello released a greatest hits album titled Extreme Honey
Extreme Honey
Extreme Honey: The Very Best of Warner Brothers Years is a 1997 compilation album by Elvis Costello, spanning the years 1989-1997.-Track listing:# The Bridge I Burned# Veronica# Sulky Girl# So Like Candy# 13 Steps Lead Down# All This Useless Beauty...
(1997). It contained an original track titled "The Bridge I Burned", featuring Costello's son, Matt, on bass. In the intervening period, Costello had served as artistic chair for the 1995 Meltdown Festival, which gave him the opportunity to explore his increasingly eclectic musical interests. His involvement in the festival yielded a one-off live EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
with jazz guitarist Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
, which featured both cover material and a few of his own songs.
In 1998, Costello signed a multi-label contract with Polygram Records, sold by its parent company the same year to become part of the Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. Costello released his new work on what he deemed the suitable imprimatur within the family of labels. His first new release as part of this contract involved a collaboration with Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
. Their work had commenced earlier, in 1996, on a song called "God Give Me Strength" for the movie Grace of My Heart
Grace of My Heart
Grace of My Heart is a 1996 film written and directed by Allison Anders, set in the pop music world, starting off in New York's Brill Building early 1960s era, weaving through the California Sound of the mid '60s and culminating with the adult-contemporary scene of the early 1970s.The plot follows...
. This led the pair to write and record the critically acclaimed album Painted From Memory
Painted from Memory
Painted from Memory is a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. It was released September 29, 1998 on Mercury Records, a division of Universal Music Group....
, released under his new contract in 1998, on the Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
label, featuring songs that were largely inspired by the dissolution of his marriage to Cait O'Riordan
Cait O'Riordan
Caitlín O'Riordan is a British musician. She played bass guitar for the British-Irish punk/folk band The Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello, her husband from 1986 to 2002, as well as several other projects....
. Costello and Bacharach performed several concerts with a full orchestral backing, and also recorded an updated version of Bacharach's "I'll Never Fall in Love Again
I'll Never Fall in Love Again
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again" is a popular song by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Originally written for the 1968 musical Promises, Promises, it soon became one of Bacharach and David's most enduring songs. It was nominated for Song of the Year in the 1969 Grammy awards...
" for the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series that began with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter...
, with both appearing in the film to perform the song. He also wrote "I Throw My Toys Around" for The Rugrats Movie
The Rugrats Movie
The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and first released in theaters in the United States on November 20, 1998....
and performed it with No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
. The same year, he collaborated with Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
on "The Long Journey Home" on the soundtrack of the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
/Disney mini-series of the same name
The Long Journey Home
The Long Journey Home was a ceremonial event held at the main campus of the University of Washington on May 18, 2008, commemorating the Japanese American students who, due to the passage of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, were forced to leave the school and live in internment camps in the western...
. The soundtrack won a Grammy that year.
In 1999, Costello contributed a version of "She", released in 1974 by Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
and Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer OBE is a South African-born English journalist and lyric writer. He is perhaps best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of Les Misérables.-Journalist:...
, for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill
Notting Hill (film)
Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...
, with Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones (composer)
Trevor Alfred Charles Jones is a South African orchestral film score composer. Although not especially well known outside the film world, he has composed for numerous films and his music has been critically acclaimed for both its depth and emotion.-Career:At the age of five, Jones already had...
producing. For the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Costello was invited to the program, where he re-enacted his abrupt song-switch: This time, however, he interrupted the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
' "Sabotage", and they acted as his backing group for "Radio Radio".
2000 to present
Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice is a bilingual opera based on an original story and libretto by Muriel Teodori with music composed by Steve Nieve. A first draft was given a workshop performance at the Atlantic Bell Jazz Festival in 2000. The performance cast was Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, John Flansburgh...
, alongside Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
and John Flansburgh
John Flansburgh
John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings and plays rhythm guitar...
of They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
.In 2001, Costello was artist in residence at UCLA and wrote the music for a new ballet. He produced and appeared on an album of pop songs for opera singer, Anne Sofie von Otter. He released the album When I Was Cruel
When I Was Cruel
When I Was Cruel is Elvis Costello's 20th album, recorded in 2001 and 2002 and released in the US by Island Records on 23 April 2002. Although officially a solo Costello album, this was the first album to feature his new band, The Imposters, whose only difference from his previous band, The...
in 2002 on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, and toured with a new band, the Imposters (essentially the Attractions but with a different bass player, Davey Faragher
Davey Faragher
Davey Faragher is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band, Cracker, and his following work with The Imposters, the backing band for Elvis Costello since 2001.Faragher is an accomplished...
, formerly of Cracker
Cracker (band)
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
). He appeared as himself in the "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is the second episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2002. It was intended to be the season premiere, but "Treehouse of Horror XIII" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its...
" episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. On 23 February 2003, Costello, along with Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Steve Van Zandt, and Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
, performed a version of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's "London Calling
London Calling (song)
"London Calling" is a song by the British punk rock band The Clash. It was released as a single from the band's 1979 double album London Calling...
" at the 45th Grammy Awards ceremony, in honour of Clash frontman Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
, who had died the previous December. In March, Elvis Costello & The Attractions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. He announced his engagement in May to Canadian jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer and pianist Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
, whom he had seen in concert and then met backstage at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
in Australia. That September, he released North
North (Elvis Costello album)
North is a 2003 album by Elvis Costello. It reached 44 in the UK album charts, 57 in the US charts and No. 1 in the US Traditional Jazz charts....
, an album of piano-based ballads concerning the breakdown of his former marriage, and his falling in love with Krall. Also that year, Costello made an appearance in the television show Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
as a folk singer in the Cafe Nervosa, sending Frasier and Niles on a search for a new coffee bar.
The song "Scarlet Tide" (co-written by Costello and T-Bone Burnett and used in the film Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (film)
Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
) was nominated for a 2004 Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
; he performed it at the awards ceremony with Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, who sang the song on the official soundtrack. Costello co-wrote many songs on Krall's 2004 CD, The Girl in the Other Room
The Girl in the Other Room
The Girl in the Other Room is the eighth album by jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall. For the first time, she performs songs that she co-wrote with her husband Elvis Costello. The album has already gone top 5 in the UK and debuted high on the Billboard 200 in May 2004...
, the first of hers to feature several original compositions. In July 2004 Costello's first full-scale orchestral work, Il Sogno
Il Sogno
Il Sogno is the 20th studio album by Elvis Costello, released on Deutsche Grammophon, B0003284-02. It is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London...
, was performed in New York. The work, a ballet after Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, was commissioned by Italian dance troupe Aterballeto, and received critical acclaim from the classical music critics. Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, the recording was released on CD in September by Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
. Costello released the album The Delivery Man
The Delivery Man
The Delivery Man is the 21st studio album by Elvis Costello, released on Lost Highway Records, B0002593-02. It was recorded with the Imposters at Sweet Tea Studio in Oxford, Mississippi. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard 200.-Content:...
, recorded in Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
and released on Lost Highway Records, in September of the same year, and it was hailed as one of his best albums.
A CD recording of a collaboration with Marian McPartland
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland, OBE is an English-born jazz pianist, composer, writer, and the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio, NPR.-Early life:...
on her show Piano Jazz
Piano Jazz
Piano Jazz is a weekly one hour radio show produced and distributed by National Public Radio. It began on June 4, 1978 and has always been hosted by jazz pianist Marian McPartland. It is the longest running cultural program on NPR. The show features a single guest, and usually consists of about an...
was released in 2005. It featured Costello singing six jazz standards and two of his own songs, accompanied by McPartland on piano. In November, Costello started recording a new album with Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
and producer Joe Henry
Joe Henry
Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...
. The River in Reverse
The River in Reverse
The River in Reverse is a 2006 collaboration between Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint.It received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.-Track listing:All songs written by Allen Toussaint unless otherwise indicated.# "On Your Way Down" – 4:54...
was released in the UK on the Verve
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
label the following year in May.
A 2005 tour included a gig at Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
that Costello considered to be so dreadful that he said "I don't care if I ever play England again. That gig made up my mind I wouldn't come back. I don't get along with it. We lost touch. It's 25 years since I lived there. I don't dig it, they don't dig me....British music fans don't have the same attitude to age as they do in America, where young people come to check out, say Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
. They feel some connection with him and find a role for that music in their lives."
In a studio recording of Nieve's opera Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice is a bilingual opera based on an original story and libretto by Muriel Teodori with music composed by Steve Nieve. A first draft was given a workshop performance at the Atlantic Bell Jazz Festival in 2000. The performance cast was Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, John Flansburgh...
(2006, Deutsche Grammophon), Costello interpreted the character of Chief of Police, with Barbara Bonney
Barbara Bonney
-Early life:Bonney was born in Montclair, New Jersey. As a child she studied piano and cello. When Bonney was 13 her family moved to Maine, where she became part of the Portland Youth Orchestra as a cellist...
, Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, Sting and Amanda Roocroft, and the album reached #2 in the Billboard classical charts. Costello later reprised the piece on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.One of two theatres built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
in Paris in 2008, with Sting, Joe Sumner
Joe Sumner
Joseph Sumner is the son of actress Frances Tomelty and singer/actor/activist Gordon Sumner . He is the lead singer and bass player in the UK band Fiction Plane....
of Fiction Plane
Fiction Plane
Fiction Plane is a rock band from England. Originally formed in London under the name Santa’s Boyfriend in 2001, Fiction Plane is currently composed of lead vocalist, guitar and bass player Joe Sumner ; guitarist Seton Daunt; and American drummer Pete Wilhoit.-Recording history:Fiction Plane’s...
(Sting's son) and Sylvia Schwartz. Also released in 2006 was a live recording of a concert with the Metropole Orkest at the North Sea Jazz Festival
North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
, entitled My Flame Burns Blue. The soundtrack for House M.D. featured Costello's interpretation of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
, with the song appearing in the second episode of Series 2.
Costello was commissioned to write a chamber opera
Chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...
by the Danish Royal Opera, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, on the subject of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
's infatuation with Swedish soprano Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
. Called The Secret Songs it was unfinished. In a performance in 2007 directed by Kasper Bech Holten
Kasper Bech Holten
Kasper Holten is a Danish stage director and Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera. He was appointed in 2000, at age 27, succeeding Elaine Padmore, and six years later was still the youngest person running a European opera house.In March 2011 it was announced that, at the end of the...
at the Opera's studio theatre (Takelloftet), finished songs were interspersed with pieces from Costello's 1993 collaborative classical album The Juliet Letters
The Juliet Letters
The Juliet Letters is the 14th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 45180. The entire instrumental backing is provided by The Brodsky String Quartet. Costello described the album as "a song sequence for string quartet and...
, featuring Danish soprano Sine Bundgaard as Lind. The 2009 album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane is the 2009 studio album by Elvis Costello. It was recorded in Nashville with American songwriter and producer T Bone Burnett, and released on June 9 2009 on the Hear Music label...
includes material from Secret Songs.
On 22 April 2008, Momofuku
Momofuku (album)
Momofuku is an album released in 2008 by Elvis Costello and the Imposters. The album also features collaborations with Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis. The album title refers to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen noodles, and the speed at which the album was conceived and created...
was released on Lost Highway Records, the same imprint that released The Delivery Man, his previous studio album. The album was, at least initially, released exclusively on vinyl (with a code to download a digital copy). That summer, in support of the album, Costello toured with The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
on the final leg of their 2007/2008 Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third highest grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching over $340 million...
. Costello played a homecoming gig at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 25 June 2006. and, that month, gave his first performance in Poland, appearing with The Imposters for the closing gig of the Malta
Lake Malta
Lake Malta is an artificial lake in Poznań, Poland. It was formed in 1952 as a result of the damming of the Cybina River. It is about 2.2 km long, which makes the lake the biggest man-made lake of the city. The water is 3.1 m deep on average with a maximum about 5 m...
theatre festival in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
.
In July 2008, Costello (as Declan McManus) was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
.
From late 2008 into 2010, Costello hosted Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
/CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
's series Spectacle
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... was a UK/Canadian television series, shown on Channel 4 in the UK, CTV in Canada and the Sundance Channel in the United States. The show features intimate interviews between the host, Elvis Costello, and various musical guests intertwined with performances by...
in which Costello talked and performed with stars in various fields, styled similarly to Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio is a series on the Bravo cable television channel, hosted by James Lipton. It is produced and directed by Jeff Wurtz; the executive producer is James Lipton. The program, which premiered in 1994, is distributed internationally by CABLEready and is broadcast in 125 countries...
. Between its two seasons, the show compiled 20 episodes, including one where Costello was interviewed by actress Mary-Louise Parker
Mary-Louise Parker
Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress, known for her current lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin, for which she has received several nominations and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2006...
.
Costello was featured on Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
's 2008 album Folie à Deux, providing vocals on the track "What a Catch, Donnie
What a Catch, Donnie
"What a Catch, Donnie" is Fall Out Boy's second digital download single and third radio single from their fifth studio album Folie à Deux . It was released as part of the build up to the new album on iTunes on October 14, 2008 and charted on the US and Canadian singles chart...
", along with other artists who are friends with the band.
Costello appeared in Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
's television special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. In the program, he was eaten by a bear, but later saved by Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
; he also sang a duet with Colbert. The special was first aired on 23 November 2008. Costello released Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane is the 2009 studio album by Elvis Costello. It was recorded in Nashville with American songwriter and producer T Bone Burnett, and released on June 9 2009 on the Hear Music label...
, a collaboration with T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
, on 9 June 2009. Burnett previously worked with Costello on King of America
King of America
King of America is the tenth studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1986 in the United Kingdom as F-Beat ZL 70946, and in the United States as Columbia JC 40173. It was billed as by "The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates" in the UK...
and Spike
Spike (Elvis Costello album)
Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on and compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label. It peaked at #5 on the UK album chart, and at #32 on the Billboard 200....
. It was his first on the Starbucks Hear Music label and a return to country music in the manner of Good Year for the Roses.
Costello appeared as himself in the finale of the third season
30 Rock (season 3)
The third season of 30 Rock, an American television comedy series, consists of 22 episodes and began airing on October 30, 2008 on the NBC network in the United States...
of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
and sang in the episode's celebrity telethon, Kidney Now!
Kidney Now!
"Kidney Now!" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 58th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by show producers Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock...
. The episode references Costello's given name when Jack Donaghy accuses him of concealing his true identity: "Declan McManus, international art thief."
In May 2009, Costello made a surprise cameo appearance on-stage at the Beacon Theater in New York as part of Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
's Unwigged and Unplugged show, singing their fictional 1965 hit "Gimme Some Money" with the band backing him up.
On 15 May 2010, Costello announced he would withdraw from a concert performed in Israel in opposition to Israel's treatment of Palestinians
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. In a statement on his website, Costello wrote, "It has been necessary to dial out the falsehoods of propaganda, the double game and hysterical language of politics, the vanity and self-righteousness of public communiqués from cranks in order to eventually sift through my own conflicted thoughts."
Also in 2010 Elvis Costello appeared as himself in David Simon's television series, Treme. Costello released the album National Ransom
National Ransom
National Ransom is the 2010 studio album by Elvis Costello. It was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with American songwriter and producer T-Bone Burnett, and was released on October 25, 2010 on the Hear Music label....
in autumn of 2010.
In 2011 Elvis Costello appeared as himself on Sesame Street to perform a song with Elmo and Cookie Monster, titled "Monster Went and Ate My Red 2", a play on (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes.
In 2011, Elvis Costello performed "Taken for a Fool," live from Madison Square Gardens with The Strokes.
Personal life
Costello has been married three times, the first time to Mary Burgoyne in 1974, with whom he had a son.In 1985, Costello became involved with Cait O'Riordan
Cait O'Riordan
Caitlín O'Riordan is a British musician. She played bass guitar for the British-Irish punk/folk band The Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello, her husband from 1986 to 2002, as well as several other projects....
, former bassist for the English/Irish group The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, while he was producing The Pogues' album Rum Sodomy and the Lash. They married in 1986 and split up by the end of 2002.
Costello became engaged to singer Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
in May 2003, and married her at the home of Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
on December 6 that year. Krall gave birth to twin sons, Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, on 6 December 2006 in New York City.
A vegetarian since the early 1980s, Costello says he was moved to reject meat after seeing the documentary The Animals Film
The Animals Film
The Animals Film is a feature documentary film about the use of animals by human beings, directed by Victor Schonfeld and Myriam Alaux, and narrated by actress Julie Christie. The film was first released in 1981.-Synopsis:...
(1982), which also helped inspire his song "Pills and Soap" (from Punch the Clock, 1983).
Humanitarian causes
Costello sits on the Advisory Board of the Board of Directors of the Jazz Foundation of AmericaJazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
. Costello began working with the Jazz Foundation in 2001, and has been a featured performer in their annual benefit A Great Night in Harlem
A Great Night in Harlem
The Jazz Foundation of America is a 501 non-profit organization that created A Great Night in Harlem Benefit Concert in 2001 to raise money for the Jazz Foundation's Musician Emergency Fund.-History:...
since 2006. Costello has donated his time working with the Jazz Foundation of America
Jazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, including musicians who survived Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Collaborations
In addition to his major recorded collaborations with Bacharach, the Brodsky Quartet, and von Otter, Costello has frequently been involved in other collaborations.In 1987, Costello began a long-running songwriting collaboration with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
. They wrote a number of songs together, including:
- "Back On My Feet", the B-side of McCartney's 1987 single "Once Upon A Long AgoOnce Upon A Long Ago"Once Upon a Long Ago" is a Paul McCartney song, released as his fortieth single on November 1987, as part of his compilation All the Best!, released two weeks before the single. The track was produced by Phil Ramone and mixed by George Martin, and features violin by Nigel Kennedy.The single...
", later added as a bonus track on the 1993 re-issue of McCartney's Flowers in the DirtFlowers in the Dirt-Additional tracks:-Special Package :Following tracks are included on bonus disc.#"Message" - 0:28#* A environmental message from Paul to the Japanese fans.#"The Long and Winding Road" - 3:51... - Costello's "Veronica" and "Pads, Paws and Claws" from SpikeSpike (Elvis Costello album)Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on and compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label. It peaked at #5 on the UK album chart, and at #32 on the Billboard 200....
(1989) (Also, McCartney plays Hofner bass but does not have a writing credit for "This Town" - the opening song for the album.) - "So Like Candy" and "Playboy to a Man" from Mighty Like a RoseMighty Like a RoseMighty Like A Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the...
(1991) - McCartney's "My Brave Face", "Don't Be Careless Love", "That Day Is Done" and "You Want Her Too" from Flowers in the DirtFlowers in the Dirt-Additional tracks:-Special Package :Following tracks are included on bonus disc.#"Message" - 0:28#* A environmental message from Paul to the Japanese fans.#"The Long and Winding Road" - 3:51...
(1989) - "The Lovers That Never Were" and "Mistress and Maid" from Off the GroundOff the GroundOff the Ground is the ninth studio album by Paul McCartney, released in 1993. As his first studio album of the 1990s, it is also the follow-up to the acclaimed Flowers in the Dirt .-Recording and structure:...
(1993). - "Shallow Grave" from All This Useless BeautyAll This Useless BeautyAll This Useless Beauty is the 17th studio album by the English rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 46198. It peaked at #28 on the UK album chart, and at #53 on the Billboard 200...
(1996).
Costello talked about their collaboration:
- In 1987, he appeared on the HBOHome Box OfficeHBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
special Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White NightRoy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White NightRoy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night is a 1988 Cinemax television special originally broadcast on January 3, 1988 starring Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Roy Orbison. The special was filmed entirely in black and white...
, which featured his long-time idol Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, and was invited back to Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
for the first time since 1977.
- In 1988, Costello co-wrote "At the Other End (of the Telescope)" with Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
; this song appears on the Til Tuesday album Everything's Different NowEverything's Different NowEverything's Different Now is the third and final studio album by the American band 'Til Tuesday, released in 1988. .-Track listing:1. "Everything's Different Now" – 3:56...
.
- In 2000, Costello wrote lyrics to "Green Song", a solo cello piece by Svante HenrysonSvante HenrysonSvante Henryson is a composer, cellist, electric bassist and double bassist, active within jazz, classical music, and hard rock.-Childhood & Studies:Svante Henryson grew up in Umeå in northern Sweden...
; this song appears on the Anne Sofie von Otter album For the StarsFor the Stars-Track listing:...
.
- In 2005, Costello performed with Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
frontman Billie Joe ArmstrongBillie Joe ArmstrongBillie Joe Armstrong is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, main songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day...
. They played both Costello and Green Day songs together, including "AlisonAlison (song)"Alison" is the fifth track on Elvis Costello's first album, My Aim Is True, released in 1977. Because "Alison" was recorded before Elvis Costello and the Attractions formed, his backing band was Clover...
", "No Action", "Basket CaseBasket Case (song)"Basket Case" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the third single from their third album, Dookie. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.Rolling Stone Readers ranked it No...
" and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)-Charts:-Covers:* Rancid have covered the song in some acoustic performances, Matt Freeman is the lead vocalist in the cover.* Comedian Tim Hawkins plays a parody of the song entitled "These Are Things You Don't Say to Your Wife"...
".
- In 2007, Costello collaborated with the Argentinean/Uruguay an electro-tango band BajofondoBajofondoBajofondo is a "Río de la Plata" based music band consisting of eight musicians from Argentina and Uruguay. The band, which refers to itself as a "collective of composers, singers and artists", was formerly called "Bajofondo Tango Club", but shortened the name to "Bajofondo" after they felt their...
on the song "Fairly Right" from the album Mar DulceMar Dulce (album)-References:* on Juno Records store...
.
- In 2008, Costello collaborated with Fall Out BoyFall Out BoyFall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
on the track "What A Catch, DonnieWhat a Catch, Donnie"What a Catch, Donnie" is Fall Out Boy's second digital download single and third radio single from their fifth studio album Folie à Deux . It was released as part of the build up to the new album on iTunes on October 14, 2008 and charted on the US and Canadian singles chart...
" from their album Folie a Deux.
- In Jenny LewisJenny LewisJennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...
' 2008 release, Acid TongueAcid TongueAcid Tongue is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis, released in September 2008 through Warner Bros. and Rough Trade Records. Inspired by jam sessions, the album was recorded in January 2008 in Van Nuys, California with the intent of capturing a more live feeling than...
, Costello provided vocals for the song "Carpetbaggers".
- In November 2009, Costello appeared live with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Madison Square Garden and performed the Jackie Wilson song, Higher and Higher.
- In December 2009, it was announced that Costello would be portraying The Shape in the upcoming album Ghost Brothers of Darkland CountyGhost Brothers of Darkland County-Album release:The plan is to release a three-CD/book package featuring major artists performing Mellencamp's songs, and the book will contain the play's dialogue. According to Rolling Stone, two of those artists will be Elvis Costello and Neko Case. It was later announced that Kris Kristofferson,...
, a collaboration between rock singer John MellencampJohn MellencampJohn Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
and novelist Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
.
- In February 2010, Costello appeared in the live cinecast of Garrison KeillorGarrison KeillorGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
's Prairie Home Companion, singing some of his own songs, and participating in many of the show's other musical and acting performances.
- In April 2011, played the song "Taken For A Fool" with The StrokesThe StrokesThe Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
in Madison Square GardenMadison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
- On April 30, 2011, played the song "Pump it Up" with The Odds before the start of a Vancouver CanucksVancouver CanucksThe Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
playoff game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver BC.
Artistic significance
Costello has worked with Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, and Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
.
Costello is also a music fan, and often champions the works of others in print. He has written several pieces for the magazine Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, including the summary of what a perfect weekend of music would be. He has contributed to two Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
tribute albums and covered Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
/Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter (lyricist)
Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
tunes such as Ship of Fools
Ship of Fools
The ship of fools is an allegory that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, passengers aboard a ship without a pilot, and seemingly ignorant of their own direction...
, Friend of the Devil
Friend of the Devil
"Friend of the Devil" is a song recorded by the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album American Beauty....
, It Must Have Been the Roses, Ripple
Ripple
Ripple is the more common name for a capillary wave in fluid dynamics.Ripple can also refer to:* Ripple , a non-profit click-to-donate internet site and search engine* Ripple effect, the socio-educational phenomenon...
and Tennessee Jed in concert. His collaboration with Bacharach honoured Bacharach's place in pop music history. Costello also appeared in documentaries about singers Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson
Wanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
, and Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
-based Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. He has also interviewed one of his own influences, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #80 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Discography
Costello has released over 30 studio albums on his own and with the Attractions, the Imposters, or others. He has also released five live albums: Live at the El MocamboLive at the El Mocambo (Elvis Costello album)
Live at the El Mocambo is a 1993 live album by Elvis Costello and The Attractions. Recorded in March 1978 and released only as a Canadian promotional album in the same year, it was heavily bootlegged...
, Deep Dead Blue
Deep Dead Blue
Deep Dead Blue is a live album by Elvis Costello with Bill Frisell recorded at the Meltdown Festival in 1995. The Allmusic review by Steve Huey states "It's no real surprise that the two work well together, given the musical affinity demonstrated on Frisell's masterful reinterpretations of Painted...
, Costello & Nieve
Costello & Nieve
Costello & Nieve is a limited edition five-disc 1996 live album by Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve recorded in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and New York City, which was released in the USA only.- Disc 1 :# "Temptation" - 3:50...
, My Flame Burns Blue
My Flame Burns Blue
My Flame Burns Blue is the twenty-second album by Elvis Costello, released on Deutsche Grammophon, B0005994-72. It is his second official live release after the El Mocambo bonus disc issued with the 2½ Years box set. It consists of recordings from the North Sea Jazz Festival in July 2004, made with...
, and Live at Hollywood High
Live at Hollywood High
Live at Hollywood High is a recording by Elvis Costello and the Attractions from a 1978 concert at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California. Three songs from the concert were originally included as a bonus 7" vinyl EP that sold with initial pressings of the Armed Forces album in 1979...
. There have also been numerous compilations, box sets, and reissues by labels such as Rykodisc, Demon, Rhino, and Universal Music Enterprises
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
.
Actor
- 1979 film debut as "The Earl of Manchester" in AmericathonAmericathonAmericathon is a 1979 American comedy film starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin, based on a play by Firesign Theatre alumni Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman...
- 1984 as "Henry Scully" in the UK TV series, ScullyScully (TV series)Scully was a British television drama with some comedy elements set in the city of Liverpool, England, it originated from a BBC Play For Today episode "Scully's New Years Eve" . Originally broadcast on Channel Four in 1984, the single series was spread over six half-hour episodes plus a one-hour...
- 1984 as "Stone Deaf A&R Man" in "The Bullshitters", a Comic Strip film first aired on Channel 4.
- 1985 as inept magician "Rosco de Ville" in the Alan BleasdaleAlan BleasdaleAlan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
film, No SurrenderNo Surrender (film)No Surrender is a 1985 comedy film starring Michael Angelis and Ray McAnally.The film is black comedy about the Northern Ireland conflict, set in Liverpool on New Year's Eve. The plot focuses on the Irish Catholic and Protestant communities in the city, and the action is seen through the eyes of... - 1987 as "Hives the Butler" in the Alex CoxAlex CoxAlexander Cox is a British film director, screenwriter, nonfiction author and sometime actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach to scripts...
film, Straight to Hell, starring Joe StrummerJoe StrummerJohn Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and Courtney LoveCourtney LoveCourtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs... - 1994 as himself on The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
in the episode "People's Choice" - 1997 as a barman in Spice World.
- 1999 as himself performing "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" with Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series that began with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter... - 1999 as a younger version of himself in 200 Cigarettes200 Cigarettes200 Cigarettes is a 1999 comedy-drama film starring Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Díaz, Angela Featherstone, Janeane Garofalo, Gaby Hoffman, Kate Hudson, Courtney Love, Jay Mohr, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci and Paul Rudd. The film also features paintings by Sally...
- 2001 as himself performing "Fly me to the Moon" on the series finale of 3rd Rock From the Sun3rd Rock from the Sun3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
- 2002 as himself on the episode "How I Spent My Strummer VacationHow I Spent My Strummer Vacation"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is the second episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2002. It was intended to be the season premiere, but "Treehouse of Horror XIII" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its...
" of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... - 2003 as Ben on Frasier, one episode
- 2004 as himself in the UK TV Dead RingersDead Ringers (comedy)Dead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry...
New Year Special, apparently and reportedly having serendipitously entered a filming venue - 2004 as himself in Two and a Half MenTwo and a Half MenTwo and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
- Season 2, Episode 1 - 2006 as himself in DeliriousDelirious (2006 film)Delirious is a 2006 film released directed by Tom DiCillo. It stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Alison Lohman.It is the story of twenty-year old Toby Grace who progresses from a homeless scavenger in New York City to the assistant of a self-absorbed, obsessive-compulsive, familial-complexed...
- 2006 as himself in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
- 2008 as himself in "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! is a Grammy Award-winning Christmas special that debuted on Comedy Central on November 23, 2008....
" - 2009 as himself on the episode of 30 Rock30 Rock30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
, "Kidney Now!Kidney Now!"Kidney Now!" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 58th overall episode of the series. It was directed by series producer Don Scardino, and written by show producers Jack Burditt and Robert Carlock...
" - 2010 as himself on TremeTreme (TV series)Treme is an American television drama series created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer that premiered on April 11, 2010 on HBO. It takes its name from Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans...
Soundtrack
- 2003 Academy Award nomination for best original song, "The Scarlet Tide", in Cold MountainCold Mountain (film)Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...