Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello at a promotional performance in the Summer of 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Declan Patrick MacManus
Born	(1954-08-25) 25 August 1954 London, England
Genres	Rock Pop New Wave Pub rock Power pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1977 – present
Labels	Stiff, Radar, F-Beat, Demon, Columbia, Warner Bros., Deutsche Grammophon, Lost Highway
Website	Elvis Costello.com

Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus, 25 August 1954) is an English singer and songwriter. He was born at St Mary’s Hospital in London. He was an important musician in the late 1970s punk rock and new wave music styles. In the 1980s, he played an original style of rock and roll. Later he wrote and performed music in a number of different styles from classical to jazz.

Costello has won multiple awards in his career. These include a Grammy Award. He has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male. In 2003, Elvis Costello & the Attractions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello number 80 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

After two earlier marriages he married jazz pianist Diana Krall in 2003.

Influences

Costello stated music artists like Bob Dylan, David Ackles, Gram Parsons, Randy Newman, The Band, Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, Moses Allison, Cole Porter, Roy Orbison, The Rolling Stones, Charles Brown, Grateful Dead, Warren Zevon, Brinsley Schwarz, George Jones, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, The Beatles, Burt Bacharach, James Carr, The Kinks, Jerome Kern, The Byrds, Tom Waits, Elvis Presley and The Flying Burrito Brothers as influences.

Acting

Elvis Costello in 1979

Costello appeared with his friend Burt Bacharach in the 1999 Austin Powers movie The Spy Who Shagged Me. They played "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" during the scene where Mike Myers danced with Heather Graham.

In 2010, Elvis Costello appeared as himself in David Simon's television series, Treme.

In 2011, Elvis Costello appeared as himself on Sesame Street. He did 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".

Studio albums

• My Aim Is True (1977)
• This Year's Model (1978)
• Armed Forces (1979)
• Get Happy!! (1980)
• Trust (1981)
• Almost Blue (1981)
• Imperial Bedroom (1982)
• Punch the Clock (1983)
• Goodbye Cruel World (1984)
• King of America (1986)
• Blood & Chocolate (1986)
• Spike (1989)
• Mighty Like a Rose (1991)
• The Juliet Letters (1993)
• Brutal Youth (1994)
• Kojak Variety (1995)
• All This Useless Beauty (1996)
• When I Was Cruel (2002)
• North (2003)
• The Delivery Man (2004)
• Momofuku (2008)
• Secret, Profane & Sugarcane (2009)
• National Ransom (2010)

Costello has also released studio albums with Richard Harvey, John Harle, Burt Bacharach, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Bill Frisell, Marian McPartland and Allen Toussaint. He also released five live albums: Live at the El Mocambo, Deep Dead Blue, Costello & Nieve, My Flame Burns Blue, and Live at Hollywood High. There have also been many compilations, box sets, and reissues by record labels such as Rykodisc, Demon, Rhino, and Universal Music Enterprises.