Elvis Costello Biography

Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954, in London), better known by his stage name, Elvis Costello, is a British musician, singer, and songwriter of Irish ancestry. (His full given name is often listed as Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus; however, Aloysius was not one of his names at birth, being added years later, around the time of the release of "King Of America", when he toyed with the idea of changing his name back to Declan MacManus from his "stage" name, Elvis Costello.)

Costello was an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and new wave musical genres, before establishing himself as a unique and original voice in the 1980s. His output has been wildly diverse: One critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image" .

Declan MacManus was born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, and lived in the area until he was sixteen. With a musically inclined father (his father, Ross MacManus, sang with The Joe Loss Orchestra), MacManus moved with his mother to Liverpool in 1971. It was there that he formed his first band, a folk duo called Rusty. After completing secondary school in Liverpool, he moved back to London where he next formed a band called Flip City , which had a style very much in the pub rock vein. They were active from 1974 through early 1976. Around this time, MacManus adopted the stage name D.P. Costello.

To support himself, he worked a number of office jobs, most famously at a cosmetics firm - immortalized in one of his song lyrics as the "vanity factory" - where he worked as a data entry clerk. He continued to write songs, and began aggressively looking for a solo recording contract. On the basis of a demo tape, he was signed to noted independent label Stiff Records. His manager at Stiff, Jake Riviera, suggested a name change, using Elvis Presley's first name and his mother's maiden name to form Elvis Costello.

Costello's success in the US was bruised for a time when, during a drunken argument with Stephen Stills and Bonnie Bramlett in a Columbus, Ohio Holiday Inn hotel bar, Costello referred to James Brown as a "jive-ass nigger", then upped the ante by pronouncing Ray Charles a "blind, ignorant nigger".

Bramlett and friends had evidently been baiting Costello with derisive comments about British rock music in general and "sawed-off Limey"-type comments aimed at him in particular. A contrite 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 graciously forgiven Costello ("Drunken talk isn't meant to be printed in the paper").

It is notable that Costello worked extensively in Britain's Rock Against Racism campaign both before and after this interlude. This incident specifically inspired his Get Happy! song "Riot Act" .

Costello has been married three times:

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. They wrote a number of songs together, including:

While many musicians embrace myriad types of music as influences and preferences, few if any popular music artists have displayed the same level of determination and rigor in successfully pursuing projects encompassing such a wide stylistic range as Costello. From the Motown and Stax influenced Get Happy!! to the straight country and western of Almost Blue, the mid-1960s Beatles and Beach Boys influenced soundscape of Imperial Bedroom to the chamber music recital of The Juliet Letters, the classic pop of his album with Burt Bacharach and My Flame Burns Blue to the classical ballet score of Il Sogno, eclectic only begins to describe Costello's work.

His eclecticism extends to his choice of collaborators; he has worked with Tony Bennett, Lucinda Williams, Lee Konitz, and Brian Eno, just a few of the artists not mentioned above. Costello has inadvertently made himself capable of challenging Kevin Bacon's role in a musical version of the six degrees of separation game, as his associations span the gamut in the music industry.

Costello is also a big 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. His collaboration with Bacharach honored Bacharach's place in pop music history. Costello also appeared in a documentary about singer Dusty Springfield. He has also interviewed one of his own influences, Joni Mitchell.