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
My dad had a steady job with a really major dance band from '54 till '68, and then quit because he wanted to play different music. He wanted to sing about peace. He believed in these things.
If I am frightened then I can hide it If I am crying, I'll call it laughter If I am haunted, I'll call it my imaginary friend If I am bleeding I'll call it wine But if you leave me then I am broken And if I'm broken then only death remains
You must hold on to the sort of finger-painting aspect of music. That's something I learned, particularly from listening to Neil Young. Tom Waits is another one, because Tom's music is incredibly sophisticated and beautifully arranged, but he's using a toolbox that's unlike anybody else's.
I'm not even sure what I want, but that's not the point - it's that I want it now.
It's the damage that we do and never know. It's the words that we don't say that scare me so.
Life for me is about movement.
Was it a millionaire who said, "Imagine no possessions"?
Really the only thing holding a lot of records together is the personality of the singer, and the will to write all of these different things.
You've got a chemistry class; I want a piece of your mind; You don't know what you started when you mixed it up with mine...
Good manners and bad breath will get you nowhere.
Sometimes I write notes that I have difficulty singing.
Songs are more powerful than books.
It's a petty thing, but I wouldn't join the Scouts when I was a kid, 'cause you had to swear allegiance to the queen. I'm just not a royalist. I think it's idiotic, a hereditary principle.
There are a lot of things that you can like at a distance without spending a huge amount of time pondering. It's not so complicated.