Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is actually Declan McManus - son of bandleader Ross McManus, and I heartily recommend that you track down some music by McManus Senior  -  you can clearly hear where his son gets the voice from. Unfortunately, McManus Senior is probably best remembered for his "Secret Lemonade Drinker" TV Adverts for R White's lemonade . . .

Moving to Liverpool at the age of 13, Declan  began writing songs before leaving school at 16 to become a computer operator at Elizabeth Arden cosmetics. Moving to London, he played as half of a folk duo called Rusty before forming his own Pub Rock band called Flip City.  

He began sending out demos, one of which was heard by Jake Riviera (pioneer of Stiff Records). The label signed McManus to a solo deal and Flip City quickly disbanded. He recorded his first album with the aid of a West Coast  American band called Clover. At this stage, Declan began gigging as D.P. Costello (his grandmother's maiden name). The 'Elvis' part of his name was a suggestion from Riviera.

In April 1977, his debut single was released on Stiff - The track is about fascist leader Oswald Mosley and is called Less Than Zero. The  beautiful ballad, Alison (later to be butchered by Linda Ronstadt) was released in May but also failed to chart. By July, Elvis had quit his day job with Arden, assembled The Attractions as his backing band and been arrested for busking outside the Hilton Hotel in London where a CBS sales conference is in progress.

For the next two years, Costello moved so fast it was all but impossible to get a fix on him. He was everywhere and there was so much of him. He was so far ahead of himself, it was asking a bit much for the rest of us to catch up. The words poured out of him, every song containing multitudes of meanings, attitudes and metaphors. Like a moth trapped in a warehouse full of light bulbs, his music never stood still for a second, flitting from style to style, restless beyond belief.

In 1979 Elvis released Armed Forces - his third near-perfect album on the trot. Having racked up a pile of hits at home he began touring the US relentlessly, and looked poised to crack it big. Then came 'the Ray Charles incident' in a Columbus, Ohio bar. Costello ended up in a heated argument with Steven Stills and Bonnie Bramlett (from Delaney and Bonnie) - reportedly about the relationship between race and music. The dispute came to an end when Bramlett punched Costello in the face. 

Less than a year later (in January 1980) he blazed back with Get Happy!!. And what do you know? It was his best yet (again). Twenty first-rate songs packed into 48 breathlessly claustrophobic minutes. There was - and still is - so much to admire about the album that it left one dizzy.

The album was widely described as a pastiche of the Motown/Stax back catalog - an idea enhanced by the first single from the LP - a rendition of Sam & Dave's I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down). On reflection though, Get Happy!! was as stylistically wide-reaching as any of his work, ranging from the high energy waltz of New Amsterdam to ingenious supper club examinations of sexual mores like Motel Matches, via the blazing King Horse - one of Costello's most brilliant songs.