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164-419: The New Amsterdams began as a solo project of The Get Up Kids lead singer, Matt Pryor. The band was named after the song New Amsterdam by Elvis Costello from 1980. In 2000, he released his debut album Never You Mind , which was largely made up of acoustic tracks with sparse accompaniment. However, the album also featured Alex Brahl, Ed Rose, Jake Cardwell & Rob Pope providing extra instrument tracks. It

328-540: A BAFTA award, an ASCAP Founders award and a Gemini award. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In 2016, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame . From 2008 to 2010, he hosted a television show, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... , on which he interviewed other musicians. In 2015, he published a well-received memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink . Elvis Costello

492-564: A Columbia Records convention that gathered executives from around the world. Partly due to the antics of Riviera, Costello was arrested and charged with obstruction, fined £5 and released from the police station in time for a gig later that evening. The stunt attracted the attention of executive Greg Geller, who was integral in Costello's signing to Columbia in the United States months later. To support My Aim Is True , Costello and

656-462: A Phil Spector -type beat and various key changes, which was a rarity in Costello's early work. Costello stated that he was attempting to merge a "Merseybeat bridge" into " He's a Rebel " by Gene Pitney . Unlike other tracks on the album, the song's narrator is primarily observant, only directly appearing in the first verse. Commentators have analysed "dancing" on the record as a metaphor for sex, while Gouldstone goes further and writes that Costello

820-452: A "harder take" on "Alison". Gouldstone describes the characters' relationship in the song as "fractured" and "punctured". The woman is, like other tracks, portrayed as a heartless prosecutor of men but also a victim of them. He also identifies it as a rare example of Costello's that is sympathetic towards women. The red shoes are an allegory for an individual's freedoms and as such, metaphorical forces (referred to as 'angels') want to take away

984-442: A "remarkable achievement" for someone only 22 years old at the time. Thomson later told Record Collector : I think My Aim Is True sounds like a blueprint for what [Costello] does best. It's not a fully-fledged document of his genius, but albums like King of America [1986] or even The Delivery Man [2004]   ... both have elements of the first record in them. When I was writing my Elvis book it struck me just how much of

1148-500: A New Amsterdams compilation. In 2013, a compilation entitled Outroduction was finally released, which contained B-side material. This time, the album was released on the label Nightshoes Syndicate, founded by Pryor himself. Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), better known by his stage name Elvis Costello , is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to Rolling Stone , Costello "reinvigorated

1312-503: A Whisper to a Scream " (a duet with Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze ) became the first Costello single in over four years to completely miss the chart. Costello also co-produced Squeeze's 1981 album East Side Story (with Roger Béchirian ) and performed backing vocals on the group's hit " Tempted ". October saw the release of Almost Blue , a cover album of country music including songs written by Hank Williams ("Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do?)"), Merle Haggard ("Tonight

1476-554: A band that would be an important influence on him. While in Rusty, Costello wrote an early version of a song he would record in 1980 as "Ghost Train", although by then little remained of the Rusty version except the central narrative idea of a married double act making their way through the low end of show business. In 2022, Costello reunited with Mayes to record and release an EP called The Resurrection of Rust . The EP contained songs that were typical of Rusty's shows in 1972, including

1640-613: A band". According to the author Graeme Thomson, British DJ Charlie Gillett played songs from one tape, containing future My Aim Is True songs "Blame It On Cain" and "Mystery Dance", on his show throughout the summer of 1976. The exposure garnered interest from labels, although it was rejected by Island Records , Virgin Records and American-based CBS Records . He was eventually signed to London-based Stiff Records in August 1976 by label co-founders Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson . He

1804-421: A career in music, partly because his upbringing had made him aware of the potential pitfalls involved. The shock of witnessing a teenage friend's death in a traffic accident changed his mind. He would later write, "Suddenly, everything but music seemed like a waste of precious time." Costello completed his formal education in 1972 and, still living at home with his mother, set out to find a job that would earn him

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1968-425: A classic in his first try". Chas de Whalley of Sounds called Costello "a songwriter of rare sensitivity and talent" but had trouble getting a grip with the songs, nevertheless concluding: "Like a flower, Elvis' debut album is opening up into something of metallic beauty." In Melody Maker , Allan Jones wrote that "hell, you can dance to it, swoon and romance with it, smooch and romance to it". He further noted

2132-492: A duo, with Mayes and Costello singing and playing acoustic guitars. For a little over a year, Rusty played regularly in small venues like pubs, clubs, schools, and community centres, mostly in and around Liverpool, unpaid or for small amounts of money. In Mayes's estimation, Costello was already a talented songwriter, able to quickly write songs in a variety of styles, and could sing like Neil Young or Robbie Robertson . Mayes has said he introduced Costello to Brinsley Schwarz ,

2296-584: A few weeks later, were inspired by film scores Bernard Herrmann had done for Alfred Hitchcock . Costello later called the recording of "Watching the Detectives" his first experience of "making records as opposed to recording some songs in a room". The song would be released as a non-album single in the UK and as a track on the US version of My Aim Is True . My Aim Is True received extensive, favourable coverage in

2460-690: A job as a computer operator at the Elizabeth Arden cosmetics factory in North Acton , in northwest London, similar to the one he had in Bootle and with similarly low wages. By early 1975, Costello was a husband and father and was struggling to support his family. Flip City's live engagements added little to his income, rarely paying more than the band's expenses. Costello recorded demos with Flip City at several sessions from mid-1974 until mid-1975, hoping to use them to get live bookings, secure

2624-556: A journalist that, when Costello was 11 years old, his school entered him into a writing contest held by The Times intended for people aged 16 to 25, for which he won a prize. As he finished secondary school, he earned one A-level , in English, despite having made a firm decision to pursue a career in music a few months earlier and putting little effort into his final months of school. Although he never had any alternative career plan, Costello had previously been reluctant to commit to

2788-474: A legend". The same year, Michael Gallucci of Ultimate Classic Rock also placed it at number two, behind This Year's Model . He noted Clover's lack of force compared to the Attractions, but nevertheless wrote that fewer have arrived with debuts as "instantly significant" as My Aim Is True . On 8 November 2007, Costello reunited with the members of Clover from the original recording sessions to perform

2952-471: A line in his soul using rock 'n' roll as the blade", creating an LP that, as "flawed as it is, cannot be ignored". Sam Sutherland of High Fidelity hailed Costello as a "new wave rock classicist", creating an album that "rediscovers the raw vitality of rock" in the midst of '70s pop. He also called Lowe's production "exciting" and "deliberately crude". Meanwhile, Robin Denselow of The Guardian considered

3116-474: A little boring", which he states comes from an "overconcentration on lyrics" and can be solved by "a healthy relationship with a band". Danny Baker in ZigZag magazine, who also made comparisons to Browne in his review, simply called My Aim Is True a "good, good album". In The Village Voice 's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll of the year's best albums, My Aim Is True finished at number two, behind

3280-592: A lot of emotional knocks to come up with such a powerful album. To the extent that one is reticent to guess to what lengths he may have to go to enact a second instalment." Several reviewers praised Costello as an artist. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone wrote: "How far Costello can go   ... remains to be seen, but I have a feeling that once he is heard, he is going to shake up a lot of his erstwhile peers and make many musicians whom he would not consider his peers seem quite irrelevant." In Stage Life , Jeffrey Morgan wrote that at only 22 years old, Costello "gashed

3444-474: A memo to key Columbia staff, which read: "Despite his appearance, Costello is a deadly serious artist, singer and songwriter   ... in the R&;B revivalist/rock-and-roll school of Graham Parker, Southside Johnny , or even Springsteen . His music is not punk-rock, and should never be labeled so." Later the same month, Columbia's VP of National Album Promotion Mike Pillot sent a memo to staff calling it "One of

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3608-468: A new label founded by an associate of Jake Riviera. Riviera had split from Dave Robinson and was now Costello's sole manager. For the next year and a half, Costello's records were released on Radar in Britain. Costello recorded his second album and his first with the Attractions, This Year's Model , during short breaks from touring, from November 1977 through January 1978. Produced by Nick Lowe, it

3772-402: A paper aeroplane." According to Costello, the final shot was one of the only usable images due to the comical nature during the photo session. He struck a similar pose in the photo on the back of the original sleeve, where he appeared in monochrome against a coloured background while his head appeared disproportionately large. Gouldstone compares his look to "a demented version" of Brains from

3936-537: A pigeon-toed stance, was later colourised for reissues. The album was preceded by three singles, all of which failed to chart. By June 1977, Costello formed a new permanent backing band, the Attractions , to better match his new image and commenced live performances with them for the rest of the year. In August, My Aim Is True reached number 14 in the UK. The American version, released in November 1977 through Columbia Records , added Costello's newest single " Watching

4100-541: A professional career as a musician coincided with the rise of punk rock in England. The primitivism brought into fashion by punk led Costello to disguise his musical savvy at the beginning of his career, but his stylistic range has come to encompass R&B , country , jazz , baroque pop , Tin Pan Alley and classical music . He has released album-length collaborations with the classical ensemble The Brodsky Quartet ,

4264-463: A recording contract, or sell Costello's songs for other artists to record. All but the first of these sessions were at a small studio owned by Dave Robinson , future Stiff Records founder. Robinson later said that he thought Flip City "could not play at all" but Costello was talented and ought to "find a real band." After Costello became successful, Flip City's demos were widely bootlegged, often misleadingly labelled to imply they were outtakes from

4428-757: A rented house in southwest London with some of his bandmates. Flip City played the London pub rock circuit until the end of 1975, occasionally opening for more prominent bands such as Dr. Feelgood , but generally making little money and attracting little notice. Flip City's performances consisted of a mix of Costello's original songs and covers of rock, R&B, and country songs. Their repertoire of Costello originals included early versions of songs that would appear on his first two albums as "Pay It Back", "Miracle Man", "Living in Paradise", and "Radio Radio". Costello wrote all but one of Flip City's original songs, did most of

4592-421: A significant presence in Costello's life and the two remained close until Ross's death in 2011. Costello has said that a childhood spent watching his father work gave him an innate sense of how to be a musician but also an understanding that a career in music was a job like any other, requiring discipline and hard work. Costello's parents never insisted he take music lessons or otherwise pushed him to follow in

4756-620: A single in March 1977, Robinson and Riviera decided to adjust his image to better match the rising punk rock movement. Looking like, in Clayton-Lea's words, an "average ordinary-looking computer operator geek", he lacked "neither aggression nor energy" in his live performances, as musician Graham Parker told Mojo . As a marketing tactic, Riviera suggested changing Costello's name from Declan to Elvis after American singer Elvis Presley . Considered irrational but accepted by Costello himself,

4920-410: A single in the UK on 14   October 1977, backed by live versions of "Blame It on Cain" and "Miracle Man". Stiff issued My Aim Is True in the UK on 22   July 1977, with the catalogue number SEEZ 3. By the time it came out Costello was performing with his new backing band, donned the Attractions . Shortly after its release, Costello and the Attractions performed an unauthorised show outside

5084-441: A single tape to publishers, not yet realising that no publisher would have the patience to listen to so many songs. Sometimes he went to publishers' offices to perform his songs in person. None of this generated anything but rejections until he began creating "show reels" of no more than six of what he believed were his most attention-getting songs, selected to appeal to the recipient of each demo tape. By February 1976, Costello

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5248-447: A softer touch while underlined with a "unique savagery". While the music presents a wide range of styles, the lyrics are mostly downbeat, discussing topics such as "deceit, sarcasm, bitterness, disdain, scorn [and] disgust". In an interview with Nick Kent of the NME , Costello stated that the songs are motivated solely by "revenge and guilt". The biographer David Gouldstone writes that

5412-420: A song like ' Alison '." Even before disbanding Flip City in late 1975, Costello was writing songs he did not include in the band's repertoire. He recorded some of these as solo demos for Dave Robinson in mid-1975. For the next year, he shopped these and other solo demos to music publishers and record companies, hoping to be hired either as a songwriter or a recording artist. He sent out as many as 20 songs on

5576-582: A sparser sound than on the album. Pete Thomas , formerly of pub-rock band Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers , who were managed by Riviera, agreed to be drummer, although Thomas was then living in California and needed to be brought back to England. Steve Goulding and Andrew Bodnar , rhythm section of the Rumour , also participated in these audition sessions, so that Costello could test how

5740-532: A steady wage while he pursued a career in music. He soon took a job as a computer operator at the Midland Bank data centre , in the Merseyside town of Bootle , because, at £20 a week, it paid slightly better than other unskilled work he felt he was qualified for. According to Costello, the job consisted of essentially manual labour such as mounting tape reels and loading punched cards . Because

5904-495: A step further in the release of Worse for the Wear , which utilized a full band for the first time. This included The Get Up Kids bandmates Ryan Pope and his brother Rob , as well as longtime friend and producer Ed Rose . The album was one of the earlier albums to be recorded at Black Lodge Studios , the recording studio renovated and co-owned by Ed Rose and the members of The Get Up Kids. The band's next album, Killed or Cured

6068-489: A trumpet solo by Baker. Prior to the release of Costello's own version, a version of the song was a minor UK hit for Soft Machine founder Robert Wyatt . My Aim Is True My Aim Is True is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello , originally released in the United Kingdom on 22   July 1977 through Stiff Records . Produced by Stiff artist and musician Nick Lowe ,

6232-546: A young child, Costello's musical influences came from his parents' record collection, which encompassed a wide range of styles but centred on traditional pop and jazz. Ross's job with the Joe Loss Orchestra required him to sing many of the pop hits of the day for the band's weekly radio show. To learn these songs, Ross received demonstration copies of the original artists' records, which he brought home to rehearse. When Costello grew old enough to have an interest in

6396-475: Is a ballad that combines jazzy guitars with soulful vocals. It was written about a checkout girl at a local supermarket. Unlike other tracks on the album, "Alison" is more upbeat in tone and contains more caring and tender lyrics rather than feelings of maliciousness and anger; these feelings are present, but are muted compared to the preceding tracks. In the track, the narrator longs for the title character, who has married an inferior man even though he knows she

6560-439: Is a phenomenal debut, capturing a songwriter and musician whose words were as rich and clever as his music." In Paste magazine, Mark Baker similarly wrote that although the record was not Costello's greatest work, it still remains "a landmark, highly influential first album". Goodman concurred, calling the album Costello's most essential album. Writing in 2010, Nick Freed of Consequence of Sound called My Aim Is True one of

6724-401: Is implying a lack of world order and harmony. Returning to the lyrical themes of the opening track is "Blame It on Cain", although Costello is more specific in this track, targeting entities such as "government burglars" and the radio . According to Gouldstone, the "it" in the chorus is not explicitly stated, only that it must be blamed on Cain. Taking the name Cain from the first murderer in

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6888-406: Is making a mistake. The album takes its title from a line in the song. "Sneaky Feelings" marks a return to upbeat blues and standard pop. Much lighter in tone, the song concerns unfaithfulness. Gouldstone states that the 'sneaky feelings' are our desires for the unfeasible: "feelings which will only cause suffering and so must be suppressed." Hinton calls " (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes "

7052-503: The My Aim Is True sessions or otherwise affiliated with Stiff Records. The only Flip City recording to have been officially released is Costello's song "Imagination (Is a Powerful Deceiver)", recorded in early 1975, which appeared as a bonus track on the 1993 and 2001 reissues of My Aim Is True . In the liner notes to the 2001 reissue, Costello wrote that, in retrospect, the song sounded to him like "a very early attempt to write

7216-568: 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. Born into a musical family, Costello was raised with knowledge and appreciation of a wide range of musical styles and an insider's view of the music business. His opportunity to begin

7380-574: The Austin City Limits Music Festival . The album Killed or Cured was released in its full version through retail channels on April 10, 2007. In 2006, the band released the album Story Like a Scar with what is now the current lineup, including Bill Belzer on drums, Eric McCann on upright bass, and Dustin Kinsey on guitar. In the same year, The New Amsterdams played alongside bands like Depeche Mode and Daft Punk at

7544-498: The Bible , he analyses the track as fundamental frustrations that cannot be pinned on anyone and thus cannot be fixed, concluding that nothing wrong will become right. This growing tension is reflected in the music, which has an increased number of bars in each verse. Musically, the song was described by one reviewer as upbeat blues with a "Jersey Shore rock shine". Described by Goodman as the album's "spiritual centrepiece", " Alison "

7708-516: The Billboard chart but spent fewer weeks on the chart than My Aim Is True . "Radio Radio" was released as a non-album single in the UK in October 1978, where it reached number 29. This Year's Model was highly praised by critics in Britain and the US. Melody Maker called it an "achievement so comprehensive, so inspired, that it exhausts superlatives." The NME review read similarly, saying

7872-536: The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival . In September 2007, the band released another album, At the Foot of My Rival on CD, Vinyl, and Digital Download. However, after a long relationship with Vagrant Records , the band decided to release the album on Elmar, (named after Pryor's son Elliot Marshall) an offshoot of Curb Appeal Records , owned in part by bandmate Jim Suptic . In January 2008,

8036-544: The Motown Chartbusters compilation series. By the time Costello reached his mid-teens, Joni Mitchell had become an important and enduring influence on him. When Costello moved to Liverpool, he found he did not enjoy much of the progressive rock that was popular with his peers, so, casting around for music he might like, he developed an interest in the Grateful Dead and other folk rock groups like

8200-561: The New Orleans R&;B songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint and the hip-hop group The Roots . Costello has written more than a dozen songs with Paul McCartney and had a long-running songwriting partnership with Burt Bacharach . Costello has had hits with covers of songs, including Sam & Dave 's " I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down ", Jerry Chesnut 's " Good Year for the Roses " and Charles Aznavour 's "She" . One of

8364-464: The R. White's "Secret Lemonade Drinker" commercial jingle. Ross sang the lead vocal while Costello played guitar and sang backing vocals. In the second half of 1973, Costello formed a band called Flip City with several slightly older men who, like him, were fans of Brinsley Schwarz and other pub rock bands. The members of Flip City also shared Costello's enthusiasm for The Band , the Grateful Dead , and Clover . For most of 1974, Costello shared

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8528-715: The Sex Pistols ' Never Mind the Bollocks . It further placed in other year-end lists by Rolling Stone , NME (3) and Sounds (9). In later decades, My Aim Is True has received critical acclaim, with some naming it one of the best debut albums in rock history. Terry Staunton of Record Collector magazine summarised: "As opening salvos go, My Aim Is True has to be one of the most important, impressive and enduring debuts of all time." Senior AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Costello went on to more ambitious territory fairly quickly, but My Aim Is True

8692-533: The Stop & Shop , to write a song about the historical Art Deco building he rode past every day. Although he did not record it until 1980, Costello regarded this song, "Hoover Factory", as an artistic breakthrough. In the period just prior, he had been trying to imitate songwriters Randy Newman and John Prine . "Hoover Factory", he later recalled, got him "through the door to a different, less ingratiating way of speaking" in his songwriting. The next song he wrote

8856-499: The UK Singles Chart , becoming Costello's first single to chart in any country. This was the first of an unbroken streak of eight Costello singles to reach the UK top 30. When Costello began touring the US in mid-November, he received prominent coverage in the US press, even though he played venues holding fewer than a thousand people. By this time, Costello had signed to Columbia Records , who released My Aim Is True in

9020-440: The punk revolution and due to appearing as "American hippies", they "just didn't fit in". The band resided at the country house Headley Grange during the period. My Aim Is True was recorded in a series of six four-hour sessions, from late 1976 to early 1977 for about £2,000. Costello kept his day job as a data entry clerk at Elizabeth Arden during the sessions; he would call in sick, travel to Headley Grange to rehearse

9184-570: The "Secret Lemonade Drinker" jingle featured in a series of advertisements for R. Whites , with Costello on backing vocals. Ross's father, Patrick Matthew McManus, known as Pat, was also a professional musician. Pat was raised in an orphanage from age eight, where he learned to play trumpet. He later played trumpet as an army bandsman, a ship's musician for the White Star Line , and an orchestra musician in music halls and in theaters showing silent films. Costello has said that Pat, being

9348-516: The 'English' Elvis". According to Hinton, the first 1,000 purchasers earned them a free copy of the LP to be sent to a friend of their choice. The idea originated from Warner Bros. Records ' attempts to gain American musician Van Dyke Parks a larger audience. Stiff issued "Less Than Zero" as a single on 11   March 1977, backed by the outtake "Radio Sweetheart". Despite receiving critical praise,

9512-481: The 1960s British science fiction series Thunderbirds , actor Woody Allen and Piggy from Lord of the Flies (1954). Initially, the cover art was in black-and-white on the front and came in four different colours; later reissues added seven additional variants. The first pressings of the record included a flyer that read "Help Us Hype Elvis", which asked buyers to send in a 25-word description of "why they liked

9676-732: The 1960s. Even after she no longer worked selling records, Lillian maintained a keen interest in a wide variety of music, including the popular music of the day. Costello's father, Ross MacManus (1927–2011), was a professional trumpet player and singer, born and raised in Birkenhead , across the River Mersey from Liverpool. He began his career in music in the late 1940s, playing trumpet in bebop bands in Birkenhead and Liverpool. He segued to playing trumpet and singing in modern jazz bands after moving to London in 1951. By 1954, he

9840-476: The 1970s, while in 2012, Paste placed it at number 20 in a similar list. The staff of Paste later voted it the best new wave album of all time in 2020, arguing that it set both the "musical and fashion stage" for the genre. In 2004, Charles Shaar Murray voted it the 61st best British album in a list for The Observer . In 2007, My Aim Is True was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame . The album

10004-458: The Attractions , helped define the new wave genre. From late 1977 until 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 500,000 copies in Britain. He has had more modest commercial success in the US, but has earned much critical praise. From 1977 until the early 2000s, Costello's albums regularly ranked high on

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10168-519: The Attractions , would be Costello's touring and recording band for the next seven years. Costello used the time with Goulding and Bodnar to arrange and rehearse " Watching the Detectives ". He recorded the song with them at Pathway a few days later. Costello had written the song a few weeks earlier, partly inspired by the Clash 's newly released debut album . Some of the musical ideas, which Nieve fleshed out when he overdubbed his piano and organ parts

10332-551: The Attractions conducted a short tour throughout August 1977. The gigs took place in major cities throughout Britain, alongside a residency at the Nashville Rooms in London. The setlist consisted mostly of My Aim Is True tracks plus various new songs. In the middle of the tour, Elvis Presley died of a heart attack on 16   August. Presley's death had an immediate impact on Costello: British newspapers Daily Mail and Daily Observer cancelled their planned features on

10496-690: The Beatles as his biggest musical influence. Costello was also deeply impressed by the songs of his future collaborator Burt Bacharach , which he knew through the hits British artists Cilla Black and Dusty Springfield had with them. As Costello grew into his teens, his favourites included British beat groups the Kinks , Small Faces and the Who , Jamaican rocksteady and reggae acts who were popular in Britain, and especially Motown artists, who he knew mainly through their British hit singles and through

10660-502: The Bottle Let Me Down"), Gram Parsons ("How Much I Lied") and George Jones ("Brown to Blue"). The album received mixed reviews. The first pressings of the record in the UK bore a sticker with the message: "WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause a radical reaction in narrow minded listeners". Almost Blue did spawn a surprise UK hit single with a version of Jerry Chesnut 's " Good Year for

10824-547: The British punk movement with 1950s and 1960s-style rock and roll . He found tracks like "Miracle Man", "No Dancing" and "Alison" utilise that style to create doo-wop and R&B melodies, thereby "taking the '50s and '60s ideas and adding the modern spin". The rockabilly sound is present on "Less Than Zero", "Mystery Dance" and "Sneaky Feelings". Clayton-Lea states that while it shared similarities with punk, it displayed musicianship and lyricism that were in control, showcasing

10988-707: The Byrds and the Band , and through them, country music . Costello was a well-behaved if sometimes argumentative student, but not generally an academically outstanding one. Not having scored well enough on his eleven-plus exams to go on to grammar school , he attended Archbishop Myers secondary modern school in Hounslow and then a comprehensive school in Everton, Liverpool , for sixth form . Costello did, however, show an early talent for writing. His mother told

11152-405: The Detectives " and "No Action", were quickly recorded at Pathway with bassist Andrew Bodnar and drummer Steve Goulding , with organ and piano overdubs by Steve Nieve . "Watching the Detectives", influenced by the Clash 's debut album , was a departure from the sound of My Aim Is True , displaying reggae -style rhythms. Costello later called it his "first real record". The song was issued as

11316-433: The Detectives ." By then the biggest-selling import album in U.S. history, it reached number 32. On release, My Aim Is True was met with critical acclaim, with many praising Costello's musicianship and songwriting; it appeared on several year-end lists. In later decades, commentators consider it one of Costello's finest works, one of the best debut albums in music history and has appeared on numerous best-of lists. The album

11480-439: The Detectives" as the final track on side one. By then, it was the biggest-selling import album in US history. Marketing for the American release was spearheaded by Columbia's product manager Dick Wingate, who commissioned a billboard for the LP on Los Angeles's Sunset Boulevard , which was usually reserved for more major acts. Other merchandise created included a dartboard for Columbia's staff. On 13   October, Wingate sent

11644-509: The End of the World" depicts a surrealistic narrative that takes place on a train, which Gouldstone analyses as a symbol for life. Furthermore, Costello suggests God created the universe but allowed it to be manipulated through individuals that seize power. The album cover was designed by Barney Bubbles who, like Clover, was uncredited on the sleeve. It depicts a checkerboard pattern (surrounding

11808-632: The Greatest Stiffs Live Tour. It was plagued with disorder and self-inflicted sabotage, partly due to Costello's refusal to play songs from My Aim Is True , declaring "If you wanna hear the old songs, buy the fucking record;" he reversed this stance after audience backlash. Costello also fought with fellow artist Ian Dury throughout the tour. Riviera departed Stiff around this time due to disputes with Robinson. Per his management contract, Costello–and Lowe–followed Riviera and departed Stiff for Radar Records ; his final release for Stiff

11972-519: The House" and "Living in Paradise", the first two being left off the final track list due to differences in sound and the last being properly recorded for Costello's follow-up album This Year's Model (1978). Fellow Stiff artist and house producer Nick Lowe produced the album. Regarding his role as producer, Thomson states that Lowe's priority was to keep the feel of the songs and create appropriate atmospheres for each. Lowe himself later stated that

12136-439: The House" were also recorded during the sessions, but were omitted from My Aim Is True and instead appeared on EPs and singles. According to the biographer Brian Hinton, these tracks would have contrasted with Costello's aspiring image of a "straight talking psychopath". In the liner notes for the 1993 reissue of My Aim Is True , Costello stated that the three main outtakes from the sessions were "Radio Sweetheart", "Stranger in

12300-401: The Nashville Rooms in London on disc two. The tracks from the live show were mostly from My Aim Is True , with some that appeared on This Year's Model , while the demos are previously unreleased tracks including "Blue Minute", "Call on Me", "I Don't Want to Go Home" and "I Hear a Melody". Hip-O hailed the deluxe edition as "the most definitive version of 'My Aim Is True' yet!" Despite this,

12464-546: The Rolling Stones' " Stupid Girl ". Most of the songs on This Year's Model were written while Costello was still working a full-time office job, before his first album was released. Among them was " (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea ", which was released as the album's first single in early March 1978, reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "Pump It Up" , which reached number 24,

12628-578: The Roses ", which reached number 6. Costello had long been an avid country music fan and has cited George Jones as his favourite country singer. He had appeared on Jones' duet album My Very Special Guests , contributing " Stranger in the House ", which they later performed together on a 1981 HBO special dedicated to Jones. Imperial Bedroom (1982) featured lavish production by Geoff Emerick , engineer of several Beatles records. It remains one of his most critically acclaimed records, but again it failed to produce any hit singles—" You Little Fool " and

12792-556: The UK Singles Chart and number 65 on Billboard Hot 100. Costello's 1980 Get Happy!! album featured a sound based on vintage American soul music . Some songs marked a distinct change in mood from the angry, frustrated tone of his first three albums to a more upbeat, happy manner. The single, " I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down ", was a rendition of a Sam and Dave song. Lyrically, the songs are full of Costello's signature wordplay. His only 1980 appearance in North America

12956-461: The UK and Rykodisc in the US, which featured nine bonus tracks and extensive liner notes written by Costello himself. In 2001, it was again reissued on CD by Rhino Entertainment , featuring the original album on disc one and a bonus disc of demos, live versions and outtakes, along with a new set of more elaborate Costello-written liner notes; all nine bonus tracks from the 1993 reissue were included with an added four. LeMay considers this reissue

13120-525: The UK music press through a combination of effective publicity stunts , such as Costello busking in front of the London hotel hosting the CBS Records business convention, and genuine enthusiasm for his music among music journalists. The album reached number 14 on the UK Albums Chart within a few weeks of its release. "Watching the Detectives", released in mid-October, reaching number 15 in

13284-503: The UK, Europe, Canada and the US. Released in early January 1979, Armed Forces debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and spent 28 weeks on the chart. In the US, it spent 25 weeks on the Billboard chart, peaking at number 10 in mid-March. The US release replaced "Sunday's Best" with Costello's cover of Lowe's " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding ". Costello's best-selling single, " Oliver's Army ",

13448-549: The US in early November. The album gradually climbed to number 32 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and was named among the best albums of the year by US music critics. In mid-December, Costello and the Attractions appeared on Saturday Night Live , where they angered the show's producer by unexpectedly playing the then-unrecorded song " Radio Radio " during the live broadcast. By late 1977, Costello had moved from Stiff Records to Radar Records ,

13612-421: The album combines various musical genres, including new wave , British pub rock , punk rock, and power pop . William Goodman of Billboard magazine called it "rough edged and bluesy " in a style reminiscent of New Orleans , and recognised the presence of punk, rockabilly , UK pub rock, jazz and honky-tonk country. Consequence of Sound 's Nick Freed wrote that the album combines elements of

13776-441: The album delivers passion and intelligence in equal measure." In 2007, LeMay highlighted "Alison", "Red Shoes", "Less Than Zero" and "Watching the Detectives" as tracks that represent a "vital chapter" in the development of punk and new wave. Furthermore, he found the album as a whole remains as relevant as it did when it was first reissued. Ten years later, a reviewer for Classic Rock Review stated that My Aim Is True "introduced

13940-495: The album is looking back to where he's come from and signposting where he was going to. My Aim Is True has frequently appeared on lists of the greatest albums of all time. In 2000, My Aim Is True was voted number 266 in the third edition of writer Colin Larkin 's book All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). In 1987, Rolling Stone placed it at number 29 on its list of the best albums of the past 20 years. The same magazine ranked

14104-417: The album number 168 in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and dropping to number 430 on the 2020 list. The same magazine ranked it the 21st best debut album in 2013. Uncut magazine also placed it at number 125 in their 2016 list of the 200 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, Pitchfork ranked My Aim Is True the 37th best album of

14268-506: The album was "so ridiculously good that one's immediate inclinations are to clamber effusively over the top, superlative peaking superlative." The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll voted it the best album of 1978. Rolling Stone named it among the best five albums of 1978. For the seven months following the completion of This Year's Model , Costello and the Attractions continued touring Britain, Europe and North America, playing larger venues and debuting new songs that Costello

14432-564: The album was recorded from late 1976 to early 1977 over six four-hour studio sessions at Pathway Studios in Islington , London. The backing band was the California-based country rock act Clover , who were uncredited on the original release due to contractual difficulties. At the time performing as D.P. Costello, Costello changed his name to Elvis after Elvis Presley at the suggestion of the label, and adjusted his image to match

14596-469: The album's influences came from the music Costello and the Attractions listened to while touring, from the Berlin-era records of David Bowie and Iggy Pop to ABBA and Kraftwerk . Costello later said that Armed Forces was his first album of songs he wrote with an awareness of having an audience. The album's lyrics reflected his experiences on the road in the US, as well his continued concern over

14760-470: The album's primary theme is "the unaccommodating nature of the world", which is explored in two distinct ways: "the personal songs as the microcosm, and the public as the macrocosm". The lyrics range from complex and surreal ("Waiting for the End of the World") to unsympathetic ("Less Than Zero") and misogynistic ("I'm Not Angry"). Dave Schulps of Trouser Press described the album as "12 songs of revenge, guilt, jealousy, humiliation and rage". Goodman found

14924-540: The artist while Stiff ran a new slogan for the label that read "The King Is Dead, Long Live the King". According to Thomson, Presley's death helped earn Costello more stature in the music press, with his name becoming "the mood of the zeitgeist". Four days after his death, My Aim Is True reached number 14 on the UK Albums Chart . On 3   October 1977, Costello and the Attractions embarked on another tour with other Stiff artists, including Lowe and Wreckless Eric, dubbed

15088-456: The assassin. This alternative lyric (called the "Dallas Version") was performed when playing the song live in North America. "Mystery Dance" is a 1950s-style rocker that uses dancing as a metaphor for sex, but unlike "No Dancing", concerns a couple's first experience with it; as such, the narrator is confused by it. Writing for AllMusic , Tom Maginnis considered the track reminiscent of the "sock-hop rock" of Buddy Holly. "Pay It Back" affirms

15252-533: The backing band. Starting in late November or early December, Costello travelled to Headley Grange in East Hampshire , where Clover were living, to spend the day rehearsing and working out arrangements for a batch of his songs and then recording the songs with the band the next day at Pathway. Costello still held a full-time office job, so the sessions were spaced over several weeks to accommodate his work schedule and Stiff's tight finances. My Aim Is True

15416-491: The band released a collection of demos and b-sides, available exclusively through their website. In May of the same year, they went on their first European tour, starting in Amsterdam. The band planned to go into a small hiatus after that due to Matt Pryor's involvement with The Get Up Kids. Dustin Kinsey also joined the band Koufax . In a November 2011 interview with MidcoastStation.com , Pryor said he had plans to release

15580-421: The change sparked controversy in both Britain and America, facing opposition from both Costello's supporters and Presley's fans. Costello later stated that the change was not meant to "insult" Presley; it "meant people would pause just that little bit longer". Wardrobe-wise, Costello became more exaggerated, donning Buddy Holly -style glasses, tight jackets and "turned-up" jeans. He made his live solo debut under

15744-524: The concert venues. After a concert in Columbus, Ohio, on 15 March, Costello got into a drunken argument at a hotel bar with members of the Stephen Stills band and entourage. The argument culminated in Costello disparaging James Brown and Ray Charles with racially charged insults, in comments he would later call "the exact opposite of my true feelings". When Costello's comments were reported in

15908-477: The critically acclaimed " Man Out of Time " both failed to reach the Top 40 in the UK. Costello collaborated with Chris Difford , also of Squeeze, to write the song "Boy With a Problem". Costello has said he disliked the marketing pitch for the album. Imperial Bedroom also featured Costello's song " Almost Blue ", inspired by the music of jazz singer and trumpeter Chet Baker . Baker later recorded his own version of

16072-416: The current pop hits, Ross began giving him five or six of these demonstration records per week. Costello has said, "That's why I know so many songs." Chief among Costello's early favourites among the hit-makers of the day were the Beatles . Costello has said that, having turned nine years old in 1963, he was exactly the right age to experience the full force of Beatles fandom as he grew up. He has described

16236-454: The deluxe edition received mixed reviews. LeMay felt it was inferior to the previous reissues, stating that it "lacks the reverent and enthusiastically geeky perspective of the Rhino reissue". He further noted the absence of several tracks and in-depth liner notes present on the other reissues. Erlewine similarly questioned the release of the deluxe edition, as he felt it was superfluous following

16400-525: The early version of "Ghost Train", then called "Maureen and Sam". By early 1973, Costello had determined that the music scene in Liverpool was too small to support his ambition to have a career in music, so he arranged to transfer from his job as a computer operator in the Midland Bank data centre in Bootle to a position as a clerk at the bank's Putney branch. Returning to London, Costello moved into

16564-429: The family business. Instead, they raised him in a home filled with music, encouraged his musical curiosity, and supported his efforts to find his own way toward a career in music. Lillian told journalists that she knew before he was born he would have a career in music and that she listened to a broad range of music while she was pregnant with him with the intention of giving him an early start in music appreciation. As

16728-677: The far west side of London. This meant Costello's commute to work in North Acton took him past the Hoover Building in Perivale . Around the same time, he was starting to become aware of the nascent punk movement, although he would not hear any of the British punk bands until they began releasing records. He was, however, inspired by the Modern Lovers ' song " Roadrunner ", with its reference to such quotidian landmarks as

16892-690: The fastest. Stiff had been founded by Jake Riviera , who managed several acts Costello admired, and Dave Robinson. Nick Lowe , whom Costello was on friendly terms with because he had attended so many performances by Lowe's band Brinsley Schwarz, was the label's first artist and soon became its in-house producer. Following a successful test-session in mid-September at Pathway Studios , an inexpensive studio in North London , Stiff agreed to finance more sessions for Costello with Clover , an American country-rock band from Marin County, California , as

17056-496: The first in the family to make a career in music, is the reason he himself is a musician. Costello spent most of his childhood in Twickenham , in west London, before moving to Liverpool with his mother in 1970. Costello was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy until he was 14. Costello's parents had separated by the time Costello was ten years old, after which he was raised by his mother. Ross continued to be

17220-425: The first single, My Aim Is True was delayed to July while Stiff resolved a distribution dispute with Island Records. In the meantime, Costello wanted to form a permanent backing band that better fitted his aspiring image compared to the laid-back approach of Clover. The first person hired was drummer Pete Thomas , followed by bassist Bruce Thomas (no relation). Around this time, Costello's new tracks " Watching

17384-471: The former would become one of his best-regarded and best-known songs. However, Costello was receiving increasingly prominent, positive coverage in the British music press. My Aim Is True had been completed since the end of January but its release was delayed, first because Stiff had wanted to release records by other artists who seemed more tied to transient music trends and then because of legal difficulties with Stiff's distributor, Island Records . It

17548-438: The implication that the media lies to the public. In the song, the narrator finds out not everything in life is guaranteed and feels betrayed. Hinton describes it as "deeply cynical". Meanwhile, misogyny is prevalent on "I'm Not Angry", where sex is portrayed as demeaning rather than joyful. The ideal is acknowledged through the spite in Costello's vocal performance, while the music has been likened to hard rock . "Waiting for

17712-478: The instrumentation, Stan Shaw of the Hitmen played keyboards on "Less Than Zero" while Lowe produced and sang backing vocals. Regarding his guitar work, Costello stated in his memoir that at the time, he did not own his signature Jazzmaster guitar so he used a "shrill" Telecaster on the album. He also lacked substantial knowledge on guitars themselves, saying that he played his guitar unadjusted until halfway through

17876-959: The job involved frequent periods of waiting for the mainframe computers to complete their tasks before beginning them on the next one, it gave Costello time to write songs while at work. Except for a few months in 1973 when he worked as a clerk at the Midland Bank Putney branch, he continued to work full-time as a computer operator until a few weeks before his first album was released in July 1977. Costello began writing songs and teaching himself to play guitar by age 14. To test his songs in front of an audience, he performed them in folk clubs that permitted amateur musicians to perform unpaid. He played these clubs regularly in London and continued in similar clubs when he moved to Liverpool at age 16, although folk music venues that welcomed original songs were scarcer in Liverpool than in London. By 17, he

18040-400: The lack of the Attractions and subdued production over Costello's subsequent albums. Nevertheless, the two called it a "solid" debut whose faults would be resolved the next year on This Year's Model . Many have commented on the record's influence on music. Reviewing in 2001, Adam Bresnick of Rolling Stone wrote: "Balancing the rage of punk with the formalism of the century's best songcraft,

18204-521: 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), 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

18368-414: The lyrics and production matches a bedroom performance, a sentiment echoed by LeMay, who similarly stated that Lowe's production has a "latent energy" that grants the album "all the immediacy of a live show". The painter and art critic Julian Bell wrote that Costello's work "relies heavily on being between emotions, between sensations, ideas [and] informations." Regarding Costello's vocal performance on

18532-405: The lyrics the best from a British artist in years. The Philadelphia Inquirer gave My Aim Is True three out of four stars, also praising the lyrical content and felt Costello would achieve a commercial breakthrough. Writing for Creem , Mitchell Cohen hailed My Aim Is True as one of the year's best albums and praised the songs for their "memorable" choruses and strong ideas. He criticised

18696-470: The mid-1970s. The song's chorus suggests the media suppresses knowledge of government corruption, thereby invoking censorship . Oswald Mosley is an obscure figure outside the UK, and the song only refers to the character of "Mr. Oswald" (the name Mosley is never mentioned); listeners in the United States assumed that "Mr. Oswald" was Lee Harvey Oswald , the assassin of president John F. Kennedy . Consequently, Costello wrote an alternative lyric to refer to

18860-782: The middle of the tour, and shortly before Christmas 1977, it reached number 32 on Billboard 's Top LPs & Tape chart. After leaving Stiff, Costello retained his deal with Columbia for distribution in America. Costello was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards in 1978, but lost to the group A Taste of Honey . My Aim Is True received rave reviews from British and American music journalists on release. Writing for Trouser Press , Dave Schulps hailed My Aim Is True as 1977's "most auspicious debut album", praising Costello's musicianship and songwriting, concluding he has "produced

19024-440: The misogynistic lyrics, which he compared to the mid-1960s material of Mick Jagger , concluding that Costello has "some way to go before his emotional maturity matches his prodigious artistic skill". In The Village Voice , Robert Christgau wrote: "I like the nerdy way this guy comes on, I'm fascinated by his lyrics, and I approve of his rock and roll orientation." He negatively compared Costello to Jackson Browne in that "he's

19188-422: The most essential for the album itself. Six years later, My Aim Is True was reissued again by Universal / Hip-O on 11 September 2007 in a single-disc "Original Masters" package and a two-disc deluxe edition comprising 48 tracks, 26 previously unreleased. This package features the original album, outtakes and solo demos on disc one and a complete live show (with soundcheck) recorded on 7 August 1977 at

19352-405: The most unique and exciting new albums that has graced any turntable during the last few years". According to Thomson, Costello's fame in the US skyrocketed faster than in the UK. He was earning acclaim in publications such as Time and Newsweek and was also approached to appear on NBC 's Saturday Night Live . His newfound popularity led My Aim Is True to selling 100,000 copies towards

19516-584: The musicians auditioning played as part of a band. Chosen were bassist Bruce Thomas (no relation to Pete), who was 28 years old and had ten years' experience in professional bands, the most successful being the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver ; and keyboardist Steve Nieve (then Steve Nason), a 19-year-old student at the Royal College of Music who had formal musical training but no experience in any kind of pop group. The band, soon named

19680-400: The musicians did all the work and all he contributed was "switch[ing] everything on". He rough-mixed the tracks with engineer Barry "Bazza" Farmer, the final mix completed in a single five-hour session at Pathway on 27   January 1977. At the time, Costello was performing under the stage name "D.P. Costello" as a tribute to his father. With "Less Than Zero" being readied for release as

19844-414: The narrator's freedom. The song also deals with the passage of time, which several subsequent tracks revisit. The most overtly political song on the album, " Less Than Zero " is a steady rocker that concerns the 1920s British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley . Costello accuses him of various crimes, such as brutality and possibly rape and incest, after Mosley denied any wrongdoings on television in

20008-602: The new name and look on 27 May 1977. On My Aim Is True , Elvis' raw energy comes through in a way that's never completely recaptured on later records. While the songs range from mellow country twang to full-on, spitting assault, there's a strange cohesiveness to the album simply by virtue of its rough, rushed feel. —Matt LeMay, Pitchfork , 2002 According to the biographer Tony Clayton-Lea, Costello and Lowe aimed to create "a collection of songs that were not only of their time, but which were also rooted in classic songwriting values". As such, commentators have written that

20172-405: The photo of Costello) on which the phrase "Elvis Is King" is written, which Hinton states was intended as a parody of Bridget Riley 's Swinging Sixties op art paintings. In the centre, Costello dons his new look and stands in a stiff, pigeon-toed pose clutching a Fender guitar with his large shadow behind him. The author Mick St. Michael commented: "This fellow looked like he'd find it hard to aim

20336-439: The press a few weeks later, the bad publicity was sufficiently severe and widespread to be regarded, including by Costello himself, as the reason he never achieved the top-level commercial success in the US that had been predicted for him. In June, Costello had a hit as a songwriter when Dave Edmunds released his recording of " Girls Talk ", a song Costello had written but not yet recorded. Edmunds' version reached number 4 on

20500-461: The record contained "enough potential hit singles to stock a bloody juke-box", concluding "I can think of only a few albums released this year that rival its general excellence." Roy Carr of the NME came across "sexual psychoanalysis set to a dozen superb juke joint anthems   ... a Seventies interpretation of Sixties rhythm and roll," while the songs "spill over with emotional torture and melodrama". He commented that "Costello must have taken

20664-470: The record, Gouldstone writes that his directness contributes to listeners' constant interest: "he continually grabs us by the shirtfront and harangues us, and we are sucked into the vortex." The opening track, " Welcome to the Working Week ", expresses frustration at the ruthlessness of business. The lyrics are directed at "you", which Gouldstone analyses as the song's female character, the listener or

20828-447: The recording sessions in any capacity, while the members who played on My Aim Is True — John McFee (guitar), John Ciambotti (bass), Sean Hopper (keyboards) and Mickey Shine (drums) — were not credited on the final album at the time due to contractual difficulties. (Some early marketing for the album identified Costello's backing band as "The Shamrocks", without naming any individual members. ) Costello said Clover arrived in London during

20992-505: The rise of far-right political groups in the UK; the album was originally to be called Emotional Fascism . Just before the album's completion in late September, Costello and the Attractions played to an audience of 150,000 in Brockwell Park , south London, as part of the second Rock Against Racism music festival. A few weeks later, they began six months of touring that included, for the first time, Japan and Australia, as well as

21156-443: The rising punk rock movement. Musically, My Aim Is True is influenced by a wide variety of genres, from punk, new wave and British pub rock to elements of 1950s rock and roll , R&B and rockabilly . The more downbeat lyrics are motivated by revenge and guilt, reflecting topics from relationship struggles to politically charged situations and misogynistic characters. The original monochrome cover art, showing Costello in

21320-498: The same Twickenham flat where he had lived with his mother a few years earlier, by then occupied by his father (Ross), Ross's second wife, and their infant son. When booking himself into London clubs, he began using the name Declan Costello, adopting a family name that Ross had once made a record under, because it was easier to spell and understand than MacManus when he spoke on the phone. Around this time, Costello accompanied Ross to Costello's first professional recording session, for

21484-435: The sessions. The majority of the songs on My Aim Is True were written in about two weeks. Most of them came from Costello's earlier demo tapes and live performances with his former band Flip City. Some tracks would appear on later albums, such as "Hand In Hand", which was written specifically for Lowe, who rejected it. More adventurous numbers such as "Hoover Factory", "Dr. Luther's Assistant", "Ghost Train" and "Stranger in

21648-442: The singing, and chose the cover songs they played. A friend from those days later told a journalist, "It wasn't so much that he imposed the ideas; he was the one who had the ideas." None of the other members of Flip City shared Costello's commitment to pursuing a career in music and some disapproved of his desire to make money from his music. Costello became engaged to marry a former schoolmate in late 1973. By then he had found

21812-442: The single failed to reach the UK charts. "Alison" followed on 14   May, backed by "Welcome to the Working Week", which also did not chart. In early July, Stiff released "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" as a single, backed by "Mystery Dance"; it lacked a picture sleeve and failed to chart. Regarding the poor commercial performances, Costello recalled: "I remember it being very demoralising, feeling that my only contact with

21976-583: The song. Imperial Bedroom placed first on the Village Voice' s annual Pazz & Jop poll. In 1983, he released Punch the Clock , featuring female backing vocal duo ( Afrodiziak ) and a four-piece horn section ( the TKO Horns ), alongside the Attractions. Clive Langer (who co-produced with Alan Winstanley ), provided Costello with a melody which eventually became " Shipbuilding ", which featured

22140-707: The songs from My Aim Is True . This marked the first (and to date only) live public performances of these songs by the original ensemble that recorded them. The event took place at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and was a benefit for the Richard de Lone Special Housing Fund, which assists those with Prader–Willi syndrome . My Aim Is True was first released on CD through Columbia and Demon Records in July 1986. Its first extended reissue came in October 1993 through Demon in

22304-533: The songs he is best known for, " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding ", was written by Nick Lowe and recorded by Lowe's group Brinsley Schwarz in 1974, but remained obscure until Costello released his version in 1979. Costello's own songs have been recorded by artists including Linda Ronstadt , George Jones , Roy Orbison , Johnny Cash , Dave Edmunds , Chet Baker and Alison Krauss . Costello has won two Grammy awards, two Ivor Novello awards, four Edison awards, an MTV Video Music Award ,

22468-409: The songs with Clover and head back to Pathway the next day to record. Costello recalled disliking the time at Headley Grange and that he and Clover had musical disagreements, but nevertheless praised their musicianship. According to Thomson, Clover were paid little for their contributions. Most of the tracks were recorded live and in first takes with little overdubbing . While Clover provided most of

22632-528: The strongest debut albums, stating, "You couldn't find a stronger way to bring your style to the world", further recognising Costello's influence on bands such as They Might Be Giants and the Hold Steady . Entertainment Weekly 's Armond White wrote that out of the British pub rock scene, My Aim Is True stands out as a debut "with lots to say". PopMatters ' reviewers Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger, while positive overall, commented on

22796-410: The unobtrusive rimless glasses Costello had worn to correct astigmatism since he was a teenager for a pair with large black frames. Costello's first single, " Less than Zero ", was released at the end of March 1977. It received a few brief, mixed reviews in the British music press and sold very few copies. Two further singles, " Alison " and " (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes ", also sold poorly;

22960-399: The world itself. With a runtime of only 82 seconds, the song contains a punk-style beat and handclaps and utilises elements of doo-wop and new wave. Compared to the previous track, "Miracle Man" deals with the relationship between a man and a woman rather than society. Like the next track "No Dancing", "Miracle Man" concerns a man dominated by his female companion. "No Dancing" contains

23124-402: The world to a hybrid sound that drew near equal influence from 1950s old time rock n' roll and 1970s cutting edge new wave and punk." LeMay summarised the album as: "Wordy, witty, and geeky as fuck, My Aim Is True is without question one of the finest statements of brilliant nerddom ever to be released." Gouldstone appraises My Aim Is True as "a magnificently measured cry of rage" and remains

23288-653: The world was those singles, and those people who I didn't know or I'd never met had to make or break of it…that was very depressing." Nevertheless, he continued to garner attention from music journalists, including Melody Maker 's Allan Jones and the NME 's Nick Kent , who gave positive assessments to live shows in May and June. Costello also refused to give biographical details in interviews, even telling Sounds magazine's John Ingham he did not want to be photographed. Costello left his day job at Elizabeth Arden on 5 July. Initially intended for release shortly after

23452-574: Was "Radio Sweetheart", which would become the B-side of his first single. In mid-August 1976, Costello included "Mystery Dance" and "Radio Sweetheart" on a demo tape he gave to Stiff Records , a new independent label that had just released its first single. Partly due to the airplay received from Gillett around the same time, Costello was soon evaluating offers from several record companies, including Gillett's own Oval Records. Costello chose to work with Stiff Records because they seemed prepared to move

23616-430: Was "Watching the Detectives", which became both the artist and label's first single to reach the UK top 20. In the meantime, Costello had amassed a large amount of new material that would appear on his second album This Year's Model . In mid-November, he began his first tour of America. My Aim Is True was released in revised form in the United States through Columbia Records on 1   November 1977, adding "Watching

23780-526: Was also included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . In lists ranking Costello's albums, My Aim Is True has consistently ranked as one of Costello's best. In 2021, writers for Stereogum placed it at number six, calling it "one of rock music's great opening salvos". A year later, writing for Spin magazine, Al Shipley placed it at number two, behind This Year's Model , stating that had he not made another record after My Aim Is True , he would "still be

23944-465: Was at the Heatwave festival in August near Toronto. In January 1981, Costello released Trust amidst growing tensions within the Attractions. The single " Watch Your Step " was released in the US only and played live on Tom Snyder 's Tomorrow show, and received airplay on FM rock radio. In the UK, the single " Clubland " scraped the lower reaches of the UK Singles Chart; follow-up single " From

24108-444: Was booking himself into clubs as a solo act under the name D.P. Costello, D.P. being his initials and a nickname he was sometimes called by his family. While working as D.P. Costello, he learned to sing and play guitar very loudly and developed a forceful stage presence, although he was still playing to small audiences for very little money. Few of the songs he had played with Flip City were included in these performances. Instead, he

24272-568: Was born Declan Patrick MacManus, on 25 August 1954, at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington , West London, the only child of a record shop worker and a jazz musician. Both parents were from the Liverpool area and had moved to London together a few years earlier. Costello's father was Catholic and of Irish descent, while his mother is English and was raised a Congregationalist . Costello's mother, Lillian MacManus (née Ablett, 1927–2021),

24436-602: Was born and raised in Toxteth , Liverpool, the daughter of a gas-main layer and a mother who became increasingly disabled by rheumatoid arthritis as Lillian grew up. Responsible for caring for her younger brother and sick mother, Lillian left school at 13 and took the first of a series of jobs at music stores. After moving to London with her future husband Ross in 1951, she took a job in the record department in Selfridges department store and continued selling records through

24600-575: Was debuting some of the songs that would start to get the attention of the music industry, such as "Mystery Dance" and "Wave a White Flag". Costello included both songs on a six-track demo tape he sent to London radio presenter Charlie Gillett , who thought "Wave a White Flag" was the best of the six. Gillett played several songs from the tape on his radio show later that year, the first time any Costello song received airplay. Sometime in 1976, lack of money forced Costello, his wife and their toddler son to move in with relatives near Heathrow Airport , on

24764-403: Was occasionally being paid a little money. On the eve of the release of his debut album in 1977, Costello told a journalist that by that time he had written hundreds of songs. At the beginning of 1972, Costello was invited to join a folk-rock band called Rusty by the band's founder, an 18-year-old veteran of the Liverpool music scene named Allan Mayes. As other members left, Rusty soon became

24928-498: Was recorded and mixed in six four-hour sessions for a total cost of about £1,000. The final mix was completed in late January 1977. Producer Nick Lowe, recording engineer Barry Farmer and Clover bassist John Ciambotti have all said they found Costello confident, well-prepared, and mature beyond his years during the making of the album. By February 1977, Riviera and Robinson, who were now Costello's managers, had given him his new stage name, Elvis. The reference to Elvis Presley , who

25092-423: Was recorded at Eden Studios , in west London, in eleven days. Inspirations for the album's sound included 1960s beat groups like the Who, the Kinks and Small Faces, as well as contemporary acts like Talking Heads , but the biggest influence was the Rolling Stones ' album Aftermath (1966). Costello himself called This Year's Model "a ghost version of Aftermath " and "This Year's Girl" an answer song to

25256-447: Was reissued in 1993 and 2001, both of which featured extensive liner notes written by Costello, and in 2007 as a deluxe edition. Elvis Costello —under his actual name Declan MacManus—began performing in clubs and pubs in Liverpool and London in 1970. Over the years he created some demo tapes, but had little success in obtaining a recording contract. He later told Melody Maker that he "didn't have enough money to do anything with

25420-529: Was released at a time when The Get Up Kids were already becoming more and more successful. The first five albums of the New Amsterdams were released on Vagrant Records . Two years later in January 2002, Pryor released Para Toda Vida , this time sticking almost purely to acoustic guitar, with the exception of a few tracks utilizing the harmonica and banjo as well. However, the next year, the band went

25584-445: Was released in 2005. However, it was written during a turbulent time for The Get Up Kids, who were heading towards a breakup. Because of this, Vagrant Records , the label to which both the bands were signed, didn't want to release the album until The Get Up Kids finished their farewell tour in the summer of that year. For this reason, a portion of the album was released online for free via The New Amsterdams website. In 2005 they played on

25748-637: Was released in Britain in February. Costello has said he wrote the song after his first visit to Northern Ireland and was inspired by seeing young British soldiers on the streets of Belfast as a part of the Troubles . The song reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also his biggest hit single in Ireland , reaching number 4 on the Irish singles chart. The second single, " Accidents Will Happen ",

25912-669: Was released in early May. According to Costello, the song was written in response to his own marital infidelities. The song reached number 28 in the UK. In the US, it reached number 101, missing the Billboard Hot 100 but charting higher than any previous Costello single. The concert tour promoting Armed Forces was marked by bad publicity. Costello and the Attractions played some shows that audiences considered too brief and refused to return for encores. Audiences in Sydney, Australia, and Berkeley, California, responded by vandalising

26076-403: Was released on 22 July 1977. Two weeks earlier, Costello had left his job as a computer operator at Elizabeth Arden on the condition that Stiff pay him, as an advance on future royalties, a regular stipend equal to the wages he had been earning at his job. In mid-June 1977, Costello held auditions for a bassist and keyboardist for a backing band for a tour to promote My Aim Is True , wanting

26240-406: Was still alive at the time, was simply intended to get attention. Costello neither particularly liked nor disliked Presley. Because Costello had seen his father, Ross, work under a variety of stage names, he gave little thought to the name change. Riviera and Robinson also helped give Costello a distinctive appearance that contrasted with the contemporaneous ideas how pop stars looked; they swapped

26404-744: Was sufficiently well known for his son's birth to be announced in the New Musical Express . From 1955 to 1968, he was a featured singer in Joe Loss Orchestra , one of Britain's most popular big bands . Ross had a solo cabaret act from 1969 through the 1990s, playing workingmen's social clubs in the North of England, Scotland, and Wales. Ross recorded for small record labels under a variety of aliases, including Day Costello – Costello being Ross's paternal grandmother's maiden name. He also recorded advertising jingles. In 1973, he sang

26568-525: Was the first artist signed to Stiff, but was the label's eleventh release. Stiff financed recording sessions for an album at Pathway Studios , an eight-track studio located in Islington, with members of the American country rock act Clover as the backing band. The band had moved to Britain after gaining a cult following there and signed to Phonogram Records . Clover's most famous members, singers Huey Lewis and Alex Call , did not participate in

26732-563: Was writing for his next album. In July 1978, Costello performed at the Danish Roskilde Festival , topping the bill with three other artists, premiering the song " Oliver's Army " that would become his biggest hit in the UK. Costello and the Attractions recorded his third album, Armed Forces , at Eden Studios in six weeks from August and September 1978. It was again produced by Nick Lowe, but Costello himself provided greater creative control. Like This Year's Model ,

26896-561: Was written later, while Costello was on tour with other Stiff acts, in reaction to what he later called his "first exposure to idiotic rock and roll decadence." Upon release in March, This Year's Model entered the UK Albums Chart at number 4. The US version of the album dropped "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally", a song written in response to the rise of the British National Front , and replaced them with "Radio Radio". The US release reached number 30 on

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