Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
Any King's Shilling
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're a fine one just like me
And we're friends now, oh wouldn't you say?
We've been friends now, oh haven't we?
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good for you
I can't say more it would be telling
For if you don't what will become of you
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
I will answer when they make that call, pull upon this ragged uniform
Up 'til now I know it's been your trade
Spit and polish the potato parade
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good for you
I can't say more it would be telling
For if you don't what will become of you
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
Please don't put your silly head in that pretty soldier's hat
You've done your duty, that's enough of that
I don't know if what I'm doing is right
I don't know if you should be forgiving
But for me it seems it means my life
While for you it could just be a living
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good for you
I can't say more it would be telling
For if you don't what will become of you
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
Please don't put your silly head in that British soldier's hat
You've done your duty that's enough of that
You're a fine one, oh yes you are
You're a fine one, just like me
Elvis Costello's song "Any King's Shilling" is a powerful commentary on the complexities of friendship and war. The singer is addressing a fellow soldier, and seems to be warning them of the dangers of going out that night. The repetition of "Stay at home tonight if you know what's good for you" underscores the seriousness of the situation, and suggests that the singer is uneasy about their own role in the events that will unfold. The line "Please don't put your silly head in that pretty soldier's hat" further reinforces this sense of unease, as if the singer is warning their friend not to get too caught up in the glory and pomp of war.
The lyrics also speak to the difficulty of reconciling personal loyalties and beliefs with the demands of a larger system. The line "I don't know if what I'm doing is right/I don't know if you should be forgiving" suggests that the singer is struggling with their own sense of guilt or uncertainty, and that they may even be questioning the morality of their actions. The contrast between "it means my life" and "it could just be a living" further underscores this sense of conflict, suggesting that for some people war is a matter of survival, while for others it is merely a job.
Overall, "Any King's Shilling" is a haunting and thought-provoking meditation on the complexities of war and the human experience. It reflects not only on the personal toll of violence and conflict, but also on the larger political and social systems that perpetuate it.
Line by Line Meaning
You're a fine one, oh yes you are
You are a good and worthy person.
You're a fine one just like me
I am also a good and worthy person.
And we're friends now, oh wouldn't you say?
We are now friends, wouldn't you agree?
We've been friends now, oh haven't we?
We have been friends for a while, haven't we?
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good for you
It would be wise for you to stay home tonight.
I can't say more it would be telling
I cannot give you more details, it would be revealing.
For if you don't what will become of you
If you do not listen, something bad may happen to you.
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
It is not worth risking your life for any amount of money.
I will answer when they make that call, pull upon this ragged uniform
I will answer when I am called to duty, despite my ragged uniform.
Up 'til now I know it's been your trade
So far, I know being a soldier has been your job.
Spit and polish the potato parade
You have been performing meaningless tasks just like polishing potatoes.
Please don't put your silly head in that pretty soldier's hat
Do not risk your life by joining the military.
You've done your duty, that's enough of that
If you have already served, you have fulfilled your obligation.
I don't know if what I'm doing is right
I am unsure if I am doing the right thing.
I don't know if you should be forgiving
I am not sure if you should forgive me.
But for me it seems it means my life
But for me, this decision could mean my life.
While for you it could just be a living
Whereas for you, it is just a job.
Please don't put your silly head in that British soldier's hat
Do not put your life at risk by joining the British army.
You've done your duty that's enough of that
If you have already served, you have fulfilled your obligation.
You're a fine one, oh yes you are
You are a good and worthy person.
You're a fine one, just like me
I am also a good and worthy person.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind