Born in London and raised there and in Liverpool, D.P. MacManus later came to be known as “Elvis Costello”, a writer and part-time musician who made a number of records in the 20th Century, some of which are still remembered today. He has been performing in public for over fifty years.
Starting out in 1977 with his band The Attractions, he has played for the last 23 years with The Imposters. Costello has shared many stages with pianist Steve Nieve and appeared with the Mingus Big Band, the Metropole Orkest, The Jazz Passengers and on one occasion in 1983, for a television appearance with the Count Basie Orchestra with Tony Bennett. He has performed as a solo artist since 1969.
Costello has sung in many symphony halls including with the orchestras of San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Sydney, Melbourne, Honolulu and Tokyo as well as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Boston Pops and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
He made his Carnegie Hall debut as the guest of Spinal Tap in 2001 before making his own solo concert debut in 2014 with a two-night stand shortly before his 60th birthday.
Elvis Costello is the composer and lyricist of over six hundred published titles, including fifteen songs co-written with Paul McCartney and renowned collaborations with Allen Toussaint, the Brodsky Quartet, T Bone Burnett and his wife, Diana Krall.
Costello has composed songs for Roy Orbison, Georgie Fame, Chet Baker, Dusty Springfield, Solomon Burke and Johnny Cash and has written songs with Carole King, Loretta Lynn, Bill Frisell, Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson. His compositions have been recorded by George Jones, Linda Ronstadt and Bjork, while his lyrics for “Shipbuilding” with music by Clive Langer was originally written for Robert Wyatt, while Costello’s own recording features the trumpet solo by Chet Baker.
Elvis Costello has written lyrics for the music of Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Peterson and for twelve Charles Mingus compositions, as well as writing music for twelve unpublished lyrics by Bob Dylan.
