Declan Patrick MacManus, known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television presenter. Per Rolling Stone, Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical traditions of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison with the raw energy and sass that were principal ethics of punk", noting the "construction of his songs, which set densely layered wordplay in an ever-expanding repertoire of styles." His first album, My Aim Is True (1977), is widely regarded as one of the best debuts in popular music history. It spawned no hit singles, but contains some of Costello's best-known songs, including the ballad "Alison". Costello's next two albums, This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979), recorded with his backing band the Attractions, helped define the new wave genre. From late 1977 through early 1980, each of the eight singles he released reached the UK Top 30. His biggest hit single, "Oliver's Army" (1979), sold more than 400,000 copies in Britain. He has had more modest commercial success in the US, but has earned much critical praise. From 1977 through the early 2000s, Costello's albums regularly ranked high on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with This Year's Model and Imperial Bedroom (1982) voted the best album of their respective years. His biggest US hit single, "Veronica" (1989), reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Mighty Like a Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the words of its first stanza are quoted in the booklet of the 2002 reissue. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
Spike is the 12th studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1989 by Warner Bros. Records. It was his first album for the label and first release since My Aim Is True without the Attractions. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and also reached the Billboard 200 at No. 32, thanks to the single and his most notable American hit, "Veronica", which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the US Modern Rock chart. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Spike finished at No. 7.
Punch the Clock is the eighth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his seventh with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 5 August 1983 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the album was Costello's attempt at making a commercial record following years of dwindling commercial success. It was recorded at London's AIR Studios in early 1983 and features contributions from the TKO Horns and Afrodiziak.
Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1986 through Demon Records (UK) and Columbia Records (US). It is his ninth album with his long-standing backing band the Attractions. After his previous album King of America with producer T-Bone Burnett and different musicians, this album reunited him with producer Nick Lowe and his usual backing group the Attractions.
When I Was Cruel is the 19th studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the US by Island Records on 23 April 2002. Although formally credited as solo Costello album, this was the first album to feature his new band, the Imposters. Their only difference from his previous band, the Attractions, was the replacement of bassist Bruce Thomas, with whom Costello had feuded, with Davey Faragher.
Flowers in the Dirt is the eighth solo studio album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone, as he was embarking on his first world tour since the Wings Over the World tour in 1975–76. It earned McCartney some of his best reviews for an album of original songs since Tug of War (1982). The album made number one in the United Kingdom and Norway and produced several hit singles. The album artwork was a collaboration between artist Brian Clarke, who painted the canvas and arranged the flowers, and Linda McCartney, who produced the cover photography.
North is an album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 2003. Contrasting with its rock-based predecessor When I Was Cruel (2002), North is an intimate album of ballads and torch songs using classical music and jazz idioms, partially inspired by the dissolution of his marriage to wife Cait O'Riordan and his burgeoning relationship with Diana Krall. It reached No. 44 in the UK Albums Chart, No. 57 in the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 in the US Traditional Jazz chart.
The Very Best of Elvis Costello is a compilation album by English musician Elvis Costello, first released on 21 September 1999 through Polygram Records. The album spanned his recorded work from 1977 through 1998. It was re-released less than two years later on Rhino Records as the first entry in their comprehensive Costello reissue series.
All This Useless Beauty is the seventeenth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1996 by Warner Bros. Records. It is his tenth and final album with his long-standing backing band the Attractions, and the last album he delivered under his contract to the Warner Bros. label, his contract expiring with a further compilation album, Extreme Honey. It peaked at number 28 on the UK album chart, and at number 53 on the Billboard 200.
Jake's Progress is a 1995 soundtrack album by Elvis Costello and Richard Harvey for Alan Bleasdale's TV series of the same name.
The Juliet Letters is a studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello and British string quartet Brodsky Quartet, released in 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. Costello described the album as "a song sequence for string quartet and voice and it has a title. It's a little bit different. It's not a rock opera. It's a new thing." It peaked at No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 125 on the Billboard 200.
2+1⁄2 Years is a box set by English musician Elvis Costello, released in 1993. It contained the expanded edition of Costello's first three albums plus an official release of the often bootlegged Live at the El Mocambo album.
Live at the El Mocambo is a 1993 live album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Recorded on March 6, 1978, from a live radio broadcast by CHUM-FM in Toronto. A tape of the broadcast was obtained by the Canadian division of CBS records and released as an exclusive Canadian promotional album in the same year. As the show's fame began to grow, it became heavily bootlegged.
The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions is a compilation album by English musician Elvis Costello and his backing band the Attractions, released in 1985. It was the first of what would be many career-spanning compilation albums of previously released material for Costello.
Richard Allen Harvey is an English composer and musician. Originally of the mediaevalist progressive rock group Gryphon, he is best known now for his film and television soundtracks. He is also known for his guitar concerto Concerto Antico, which was composed for the guitarist John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Out of Our Idiot is a compilation album by English musician Elvis Costello, released in 1987 through Demon Records in the United Kingdom. It is composed of rare and previously unreleased Costello recordings dating back to 1979. It was only available as an import in the USA and other markets. The album was credited to "Various Artists" rather than to Costello because the tracks were recorded and credited under a variety of names, including The Costello Show, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Elvis Costello and the Confederates, The Coward Brothers, Napoleon Dynamite, The Emotional Toothpaste and The MacManus Gang. The songs featured a variety of collaborators, including Jimmy Cliff, Nick Lowe and T-Bone Burnett.
"The Other Side of Summer" is a song by Elvis Costello, released as a single from his 1991 album Mighty Like a Rose. It was written by Costello and was co-produced by Costello, Mitchell Froom and Kevin Killen. A Beach Boys pastiche, the song featured a Wall of Sound production. The single reached number 43 in the UK Singles Chart and charted in Canada and Australia. It also reached number 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 40 on the Album Rock Tracks chart.
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! is a Grammy Award-winning Christmas special that debuted on Comedy Central on November 23, 2008.
