Elvis Costello

An icon of punk and New Wave music, Elvis Costello was born in London, England, on August 25, 1954. He released his solo debut, My Aim Is True, in 1977, then formed his own backing band, The Attractions, one year later. This Year's Model arrived in 1978 and spawned multiple Top 40 hits in the UK, including "Pump It Up" and "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea." Armed Forces followed in 1979, with the album's title track reaching Number 2 in the UK. Next up was 1980's Get Happy!!, which matched its predecessor's chart peak of Number 2 in the UK. Many collaborations followed over the next two decades, including a dramatic change of direction in 1993 when Costello joined forces with the classical musicians Brodsky Quartet for The Juliet Letters. Later signing to Polygram Records, he formed his most notable collaboration to date with Burt Bacharach. Their album Painted from Memory was released to much acclaim in 1998, and in 2002 he returned his focus to his solo career with When I Was Cruel, which went to Number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and Number 20 on the Billboard 200. He received an Academy Award nomination in 2004 for his song "Scarlet Tide," which was used in the film Cold Mountain, and performed the track at the awards ceremony with Alison Krauss. He went on to work again with Krauss on her album The Girl in the Other Room, co-writing several songs for the record. Further collaborations and tours followed in the late 2000s, along with a cameo appearance as himself in the comedy series '30 Rock'. Following 2010's National Ransom, which he recorded in Nashville with producer T Bone Burnett, he received an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory in 2013 and released his memoirs, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, in 2015. His 25th studio album, Look Now, was released in 2018, followed by Hey Clockface in 2020 and his highest-charting album in years, The Boy Named If, in 2022.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.