Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as part of London's pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement of the mid-to-late 1970s. His critically acclaimed debut album, My Aim Is True, was recorded in 1977. Shortly after recording it he formed the Attractions as his backing band. His...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth25 August 1954
CityLondon, England
Those days she was just a beautiful girl, now she's framed and hung up.
I woke up and one of us was crying.
Though the passion still flutters and flickers, it never got into our knickers.
It's what's on the record not what labels on it. You know, that's like getting a box of cornflakes and eating the cardboard.
It's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for.
I've had a lot of different experiences in music over the years.And not everything you do can satisfy everybody's idealised version of you.
I wanna bite the hand that feeds me. I wanna bite that hand so badly. I want to make them wish they'd never seen me.
I'd been to Memphis before, but we stayed out of Memphis early on in the late 70s for obvious reasons. People were very sensitive about Elvis Presley, and my stage name obviously would be provocative to some people in that area at that time.
I know that when I make a record like The Delivery Man as a contrast to even Il Sogno, this is going to reach a wider audience, because it communicates in that very direct way.
And obviously, when I started out, I had a little bit more curiosity than some, and went seeking out the original artists, or in some cases searching up country music.
When in doubt, play track 4 - it is usually the one you want.
Obviously I got known for some other songs early on, and some of those were rock'n'roll songs. Some of them were melodic pop songs. And I've done lots of different things, as you know, but every so often I get drawn back.
Obviously the people that I admired, like the Beatles, were really into rock'n'roll, but it was already a little past rock'n'roll when I started listening and making my own choices about music.
The long arm of the law slides up the outskirts of town.