Some musicians just have what it takes for their careers
to endure from decade to decade. Elvis Costello is one
of those musicians. In the almost thirty years since
Costello first burst onto the music scene, he’s
released dozens of albums and has appeared in more than
90 television shows and films, including the American
shows Saturday Night Live, Two And A Half Men, and 3rd
Rock From The Sun.
Born Declan Patrick MacManus in London in 1954, Costello
released his first album, “My Aim Is True,”
in 1977. His first single, “Less Than Zero”
hit airwaves in America in April 1977, but didn’t
even make a dent in the music charts. A month later,
he released the single “Alison,” and it
too failed to make an impression on the charts.
It was at this time that Costello – who got his
stage name from Elvis Presley and his mother’s
maiden name – formed his backup band of Steve
Nieve on keyboards, Bruce Thomas on bass guitar, and
drummer Pete Thomas. Thus, the Attractions were born.
It wasn’t until 1978 that Costello and the Attractions
would release their first album together, “This
Year’s Model,” which climbed to number four
on the British music charts while it quietly crawled
to number thirty on the U.S. charts.
In the next few years, Costello and the Attractions
would go on to release numerous albums: Armed Forces
(1979), Get Happy (1980), Trust (1981), Imperial Bedroom
(1982), Punch the Clock (1983), and Goodbye Cruel World
(1984). Unfortunately, Goodbye Cruel World bombed.
Costello would later team up with Paul McCartney, in
1987, to write the successful song “Veronica.”
He also collaborated with McCartney on the songs “My
Brave Face,” “You Want Her Too,” and
“That Day is Done,” all of which appeared
on McCartney’s 1989 “Flowers in The Dirt”
album.
In 1994, Costello and the Attractions laid down tracks
for “Brutal Youth,” then embarked on a world
tour.
In addition to his own releases, Costello has provided
tracks for numerous films including the wildly successful
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Notting Hill.
He also began teaching music at UCLA in 2001.
Despite his busy schedule, Costello still found time
to continue to record in the early part of the decade,
releasing: The Juliet Letters (2006), My Flame Burns
(2006), King of America (2005), The Delivery Man (2005),
The Clarksdale Sessions (2005), Almost Blue (2004),
and Goodbye Cruel World (2004).
Costello continues to record and perform for audiences
worldwide, making Elvis Costello tickets a hot commodity
the world over.
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