Elvis Costello

The son of band singer Ross MacManus (aka Day Costello), Elvis Costello's life as a performer began in 1974 with country-rock group Flip City, while making ends meet with an IT job. In 1977 Costello signed as a solo artist to Stiff Records, releasing his first single, Less Than Zero, later the same year. Despite being produced by Nick Lowe and with support from US band Clover, the single failed to chart, as did its follow-up Alison. Costello then went on to form his own backing band The Attractions, releasing the album This Year's Model in 1978 and the group enjoyed success with a string of releases including Pump It Up and (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea. Album Armed Forces followed with single Oliver's Army reaching Number 2 in the UK charts. Collaborations followed over the next two decades - notably with Paul McCartney on 1989's Spike, classical musicians Brodsky Quartet on 1993's The Juliet Letters and Burt Bacharach on 1998 hit Painted From Memory. In 2002, Costello's 20th album When I Was Cruel (recorded with The Imposters) went to Number 17 in the UK album chart and Number 20 in the Billboard 200, but, either in tandem with others or alone, he has seen little chart success since.