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Elvis Costello is a writer and part-time musician who made a number of records in the 20th Century, some of which are still remembered today.
He was born in London and raised there and in Liverpool.
Costello is the composer or lyricist of over six hundred published titles, including fifteen songs co-written with Paul McCartney and renowned collaborations with Allen Toussaint, the Brodsky Quartet and T Bone Burnett.
Costello's songwriting alliance with Burt Bacharach, began in 1995 with the song, "God Give Me Strength", which led to the 1998 album, "Painted From Memory", before their work was collected in 2023, on the four-album set, "The Songs Of Bacharach & Costello".
Elvis Costello songs have been recorded by Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Chet Baker, Dusty Springfield, Solomon Burke, George Jones, Linda Ronstadt and Bjork, while among the artists with whom he has written songs are Loretta Lynn, Carole King, Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson and his wife, Diana Krall.
Working purely as a lyricist, Costello has provided words for the music of Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Peterson and for twelve Charles Mingus compositions and as a composer, set twelve unpublished lyrics by Bob Dylan.
2024 will see the opening of "A Face In The Crowd", Sarah Ruhl's stage adaptation of the Budd Schulberg story for which Elvis Costello composed the songs.
"A Face In The Crowd" will open at the Young Vic in London on INSERT DATE, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah and produced by Adam Kenwright.
Elvis Costello is the author of "Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink", a more than six-hundred page memoir which has been translated into six languages. He has received a range of awards over his 45 year old career of which the induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame is probably the most significant.
Although he holds two honorary doctorates in music - one from the University of Liverpool and another from the New England Conservatory- Elvis Costello is known for playing the guitar with almost no regard for common sense.
Costello currently performs with The Imposters; his long time companions, drummer, Pete Thomas and pianist, Steve Nieve, bassist of twenty-three years standing, Davey Faragher and their special guest, Texas guitarist, Charlie Sexton.
He's a legend - we love him, But I did not understand why he is playing unrecognizable versions of songs we are all desperate to sing to in the tempo we know. When he plays the classics, the roof exploded. Hearing This Poisoned Rose etc unrecognizable is pointless. I can listen to other songs if I want that.
Elvis Costello is no impostor; he's the real thing: original, heartfelt, and epic! He has a songbook with decades of hits, and played many of them to an adoring audience in a city that knows the importance of peace, love, and understanding. Bravo!
I've seen Elvis Costello perform a couple dozen times. This was not one of the best times. The mix sounded off and a little muddied in the beginning of the set, and didn't get a whole lot better as the show went along. Puzzling, since the acoustics at the Masonic are usually good. Elvis went for tea after every song. Maybe his voice was bothering him. The acoustic set didn't do anything for me. I get not wanting to play the early songs exactly as they were recorded, but Elvis never played acoustic in this period. (The Angels Wanna Wear) My Red Shoes came off weird as folksy ballad. The final third of the show was rocking and great, and made up for the issues I had with the preceding two thirds of the show. All and all, not a great show, but not a bad one, either.
It was a great show in many respects, Elvis will always be a badass and a half, but, and I’ve confirmed this with people who have gone to other shows, Elvis’ voice is gone. Declan, it’s time to lay it down. Much as we all love you, with all respect due to you our dear Brother and mentor, let it go.
I enjoyed the show but the quality of the sound was quite poor for an act with as much experience as Elvis and the Imposters. The first half especially was super muddy-sounding. Too much bass, too much kick drum, all mid-range with no audio separation. I hardly heard Charlie's guitar at all except when he was literally the only one playing. IMO this is an issue at the masonic, not the band.
What’s so funny about Peace, Love, and Understanding
What a shame. Elvis put on a decent show, but the venue was very poor and the sound suffered for it. Should have been in the ElDorado showroom for a much better experience.
When I walked in to the venue the music sounded terrible. I was hoping it was an opening act. I have always enjoyed Elvis Costello's music and was really looking forward to seeing him perform in person. It was actually Elvis and his band playing. Elvis's voice was hoarse, he was singing off key, and the tempo of the songs was slowed down so much I didn't even recognize the music. The performance was so painful to listen to that I left after just 45 minutes. I was very disappointed! Save your money and listen to your CDs of Elvis Costello. A live performance is definitely not worth the expense.
I've been a fan of Elvis Costello since 1979, but never went to a concert. I sort of lost track of his career in the 90's, but when I saw he was touring and performing his early material I knew I had to go. He performed for a solid two hours, and was every bit as energetic as he was 45+ years ago.
Elvis Costello was great, still Rockin'. Actually Managed to get aging crowd off its feet and dancing. Silver Legacy room is old, dated. Rows uncomfortably close. Don't know why these big-name bands are not booking Grand Theater at Grand Sierra, the great modern concert Hall.
The poor quality sound system really distracted from the band’s music. I’ll never see a show at the Silver Legacy again.
I went to the new Fontainebleau and saw Daryl Hall and Elvis Costello. The venue was nice and everyone who worked there was great. But it had the worst sound I have ever heard and was the worst concert I have ever been to. Elvis Costello sounded like he was under water or in a box and was so hard to understand. It literally sounded like he was speaking backwards, that was how hard it was to understand him. And it didn't get better as the concert progressed. Even when Daryl Hall came out, who did sound better, he was so upset as he could hear how terrible the sound was. He had to yell at the technicians twice to try and fix it. I love Daryl Hall and felt bad for him. I will never see another show at this venue. It was a waste of money. Be careful if you buy concert tickets for this place.
Elvis is hilarious and what an entertainer! Sound was great, liked the variety of songs he played.
The bass was very loud, even shaking the seats in the balcony. Elvis played his well known songs but put a twist on them. Fans come out to hear songs as they know them. Altogether not my favorite Elvis show.
I am a lifelong fan of Elvis Costello but had never had the chance to see him live. I was really looking forward to the show at the DPAC but I thought the quality of sound was very distracting. Elvis and his band were good. I didn't love the selection of songs but I can't really complain about that. Everybody has their favorites and he can't please them all. The thing that more or less ruined the show for me was that damn kick drum. To my ears it was insanely loud and overpowered a lot of what was happening on stage. I'm genuinely curious if it was just me? Was it my seat? There were a couple songs when Steve didn't play a full kit and those were highlights because you could hear everybody else. I will say that the overly loud and bass heavy kick drum did work to good effect on the dub rendition of watching the detectives.
Quick, easy checkin. All staff friendly and helpful. Sound was great. Lights were a show in themselves. And of course, Elvis was unmatched!
I'm an Eliv Costello fan. Having said that, I was less than impressed with the concert. I've seen other Rock shows at DPAC and even very loud performers can sound great there because of the excellent acoustics. The sound tech didn't have the levels dialed in and consequently it sounded like listening to a concert through an inch of water.
I first heard the voice of Elvis Costello on January 14, 1981, during the first date I had with my husband. He was a big Costello fan and Bill followed his career until we lost Bill to cancer in 2017. He said Costello was a real story teller, and I learned to think of his songs as poetry set to music. I never thought I would have the opportunity to see him near my home in North Carolina, so I was thrilled to see tickets go on sale in Durham a few months ago. I'm sure Bill was with me in spirit to see this extraordinary performance. Having Steve Nieve on the piano was a special bonus. Costello is 69 now, and he treated us to a range of musical styles and songs that make the show special. He also was very conversive with the audience, giving us some memories of his family and giving the backstory on some of the songs. I loved every minute of it!
Outstanding concert, very entertaining. Elvis was outstanding at his storytelling between songs.
Overall was disappointed with the Elvis Costello concert featuring Charlie Sexton. The main issue was the bass drum was way too loud, to the point it was uncomfortable & distracting. The vibration was literally coming through our seats. Unfortunately the bass drum overpowered every other instrument as well as overpowered the singing. The only respite was when Costello sang a quieter number or sang solo with his guitar or the piano, then the bass drum was much quieter or perhaps not present for certain songs.
