Editing Elvis Costello (section)

==Early life==
Elvis Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus,{{efn|Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus. He changed his legal name to Elvis Costello after he became successful under that stage name, according to him, to rebut the insinuations of "smartarse customs officials" and "obnoxious journalists who accused me of being a novelty act".<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=King of America liner notes|title-link=King of America (Elvis Costello album) |year=2005 |first=Elvis |last=Costello |type=booklet |publisher=[[Rhino Records]]}}</ref> In 1985, he changed his legal name to Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus.<ref name="Levin">{{Cite magazine|last=Levin |first=Eric |date=6 June 1986 |title=Elvis Costello |magazine=People |volume=25 |issue=23}}</ref> The extra middle name is a reference to a character played by the comedian [[Tony Hancock]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kent|first=Nick|date=March 1986 |title=The happy death of Elvis Costello |magazine=The Face|location=London }}</ref>}} on 25 August 1954, at [[St Mary's Hospital, London|St Mary's Hospital]] in [[Paddington]], West London, the only child of a record shop worker and a [[jazz]] musician.<ref name="Chalmers2009">{{Cite magazine|last=Chalmers|first=Robert|date=October 2009|title=Men of the year, 2009; Elvis Costello, outstanding achievement|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/elvis-costello-2007|magazine=British GQ|access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref> Both parents were from the [[Liverpool]] area and had moved to London together a few years earlier.{{sfn |Thomson|2004||p=12}} Costello's father was of Irish descent and a Catholic,{{sfn |Thomson|2004|p=10-11}} while his mother is English and was raised a [[Congregationalist]].{{efn|Some sources state that Costello's mother is of Irish descent and Catholic. However, in ''Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink'', Costello writes that his maternal grandparents "were unusual for a Merseyside couple in not having any Irish, Scottish, or Welsh blood between them"{{Sfn |Costello|2015|p=137}} and that his mother was raised Congregationalist.{{sfn |Costello|2015|p=537}}}}{{sfn |Costello|2015|p=137}}

=== Family background ===

Costello's mother, Lillian MacManus (née Ablett, 1927–2021), 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.{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=136–137}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clayton-Lea |first=Tony |date=15 January 2022 |title=Elvis Costello: 'What you get is this face and this voice that has changed' |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/elvis-costello-what-you-get-is-this-face-and-this-voice-that-has-changed-1.4760262}}</ref> Responsible for caring for her younger brother and sick mother,<ref name="Chalmers2009" /> 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 the 1960s.{{sfn |Costello|2015|p=405}}<ref name="Rowland1989">{{Cite magazine|last=Rowland|first=Mark|date=March 1989|title=Elvis Costello in love and war|magazine=Musician}}</ref> 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.{{sfn |Thomson|2004|p=17}}

Costello's father, [[Ross MacManus]] (1927–2011), was a professional trumpet player and singer, born and raised in [[Birkenhead]],<ref name="Laing2011">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/dec/21/ross-macmanus|title=Ross MacManus obituary|last=Laing|first=Dave|date=21 December 2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref> 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.{{sfn |Costello|2015|pp=26–27}} He segued to playing trumpet and singing in modern jazz bands after moving to London in 1951.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|pp=11–12}} By 1954, he was sufficiently well known for his son's birth to be announced in the ''[[New Musical Express]]''.{{sfn|Costello|2015|p=405}} From 1955 to 1968, he was a featured singer in [[Joe Loss|Joe Loss Orchestra]], one of Britain's most popular [[big band]]s.<ref name="Laing2011" /> Ross had a solo cabaret act from 1969 through the 1990s, playing workingmen's social clubs in the North of England, Scotland, and Wales.{{sfn |Costello|2015|p=125}}<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Lawley, Sue (Presenter) |date=23 February 1992 |title=Desert Island Discs, Elvis Costello |medium=radio program |language=English |url=https://soundcloud.com/desert-island-discs-99/elvis-costello |access-date=28 May 2018 |publisher=BBC Radio 4}}</ref> Ross recorded for small record labels under a variety of aliases,{{sfn |Costello|2015|pp=206-207}} including Day Costello – Costello being Ross's paternal grandmother's maiden name.<ref name="Schruers1999">{{cite magazine |last=Schruers|first=Fred|date=11 November 1999|title=Fathers & Sons: The Costellos|magazine=Rolling Stone |location=New York}}</ref> He also recorded advertising jingles.{{sfn |Costello|2015|p=155}} In 1973, he sang the "Secret Lemonade Drinker" jingle featured in a series of advertisements for [[R. Whites]], with Costello on backing vocals.{{efn|Some sources incorrectly state that Ross is the actor seen singing the jingle in the television ads, the writer of the jingle, or both. The onscreen actor is [[Julian Chagrin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/322894/40-years-on-lemonade-advert-stars-are-back|title=40 years on, lemonade advert stars are back|last=Sheldrick|first=Giles|date=28 May 2012|website=Express|access-date=14 May 2018}}</ref> The jingle was written by [[Rod Allen (advertising executive)|Rod Allen]], the jingle-writing member for the advertising agency Allen, Brady, and Marsh.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marquis|first1=Simon|title=Farewell to the jingle maestro|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/17/mondaymediasection12|access-date=14 May 2018|work=The Guardian|date=17 September 2007}}</ref>}}{{sfn |Costello|2015|pp=155–157}}<ref name="Laing2011" />

Ross's father, Patrick Matthew McManus,{{efn|Ross changed the spelling of his surname to MacManus early in his career as a musician.{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|pp=9-10n}}{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=1–2}}}} known as Pat, was also a professional musician.<ref name="Laing2011" /> 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 theatres showing silent films.<ref name="Laing2011" />{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=273, 276–277, 283–284}} Costello has said that Pat, being the first in the family to make a career in music, is the reason he himself is a musician.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Elvis Costello at Plymouth Pavilions|date=25 July 2015|work=Plymouth Herald}}</ref>

=== Childhood and early musical influences ===

Costello spent most of his childhood in [[Twickenham]], in west London, before moving to Liverpool with his mother in 1970.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|pp=22–23}} Costello was raised [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] and served as an altar boy until he was 14.{{Sfn|Costello|2015|p=537}}{{Sfn|Thomson|2004|p=20}}

Costello's parents had separated by the time Costello was ten years old, after which he was raised by his mother.<ref name="Chalmers2009" />{{sfn|Costello|2015|p=537}} Ross continued to be a significant presence in Costello's life and the two remained close until Ross's death in 2011.<ref name="Schruers1999" />{{sfn|Costello|2015|p=536}} 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.<ref name="Schruers1999" /><ref name="Rambali1983" />

Costello's parents never insisted he take music lessons or otherwise pushed him to follow in 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 towards a career in music.<ref name="Schruers1999" /> 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.<ref name="Chalmers2009" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Ouellette|first=Dan|date=November 2003|title=Northern exposure|magazine=Downbeat}}</ref>

As 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.{{sfn|Kidel|2014|loc=at 7 minutes}} 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.{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=40–42}} When Costello grew old enough to have an interest in 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".{{sfn|Kidel|2014|loc=at 10 minutes}}

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.<ref name="Costello-2010">{{Cite magazine|last=Costello|first=Elvis|date=2 December 2010|title=100 greatest artists:The Beatles|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/the-beatles-20110420|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref> He has described the Beatles as his biggest musical influence.<ref name="Doggett-1995">{{cite magazine |last=Doggett|first=Peter|date=September 1995 |title=Elvis Costello [interview] |magazine=Record Collector|location=United Kingdom }}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=201–202, 504–505}}

As Costello grew into his teens, his favourites included British [[Beat music|beat]] groups [[the Kinks]], [[Small Faces]] and [[the Who]],<ref name="Doggett-1995" /><ref name="Marcus1982">{{cite magazine|last=Marcus|first=Greil|date=2 September 1982|title=Elvis Costello explains himself|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/elvis-costello-repents-19820902|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York|access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref> Jamaican [[rocksteady]] and [[reggae]] acts who were popular in Britain,<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Doggett|first=Peter|date=2008|title=I stand accused|magazine=Mojo Classic|pages=Vol. 2, No. 5|url=https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Mojo_Classic,_Vol._2,_No._5,_2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=White|first=Timothy|date=3 August 1989|title=Give Thanks and Praises|url=http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Beat,_August_3,_1989|magazine=The Beat|location=Glendale, CA}}</ref> and especially [[Motown]] artists, who he knew mainly through their British hit singles and through the [[Motown Chartbusters]] compilation series.{{sfn|Costello|2015|p=106}} By the time Costello reached his mid-teens, [[Joni Mitchell]] had become an important and enduring influence on him.<ref name="Costello-2004">{{Cite magazine|last=Costello|first=Elvis|date=November 2004|title=Joni's last waltz?|url=http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Vanity_Fair,_November_2004|magazine=Vanity Fair|publisher=Conde Nast}}</ref> 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 [[the Byrds]] and [[the Band]], and through them, [[country music]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes|last=Mahoney|first=Michael|date=27 August 2009|work=Dallas Observer}}</ref><ref name="Graham-2018">{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Jane |date= 7–13 May 2018 |title=Letter to my younger self |work=The Big Issue |url=https://www.bigissue.com/interviews/letter-to-my-younger-self/elvis-costello-i-knew-my-band-was-way-better-than-our-contemporaries/ |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref>

=== Education and decision to pursue a career in music ===

Costello was a well-behaved if sometimes argumentative student, but not generally an academically outstanding one.{{sfn|Thomson|2004|pp=14–15, 17–18, 29}}{{sfn|Kidel|2014|loc=at 11 minutes and 13 minutes}} Not having scored well enough on his [[eleven-plus]] exams to go on to [[Grammar school#In the Tripartite System|grammar school]],<ref name="Chalmers2009" /> he attended [[St Mark's Catholic School, Hounslow|Archbishop Myers]] [[secondary modern school]] in [[Hounslow]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/local-news/elvis-costellos-school-celebrates-anniversary-6001613|title=Elvis Costello's school celebrates anniversary|first=Robert|last=Cumber|date=20 January 2010|website=My London}}</ref> and then a [[comprehensive school]] in [[Everton, Liverpool]], for [[sixth form]].{{efn|Some sources incorrectly state that Costello attended the grammar school [[St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool]]. He did not. He attended Campion Catholic High School in [[Everton, Liverpool]] a comprehensive school that had previously shared a campus with St Francis Xavier's College when the combined schools were known as St Francis Xavier Bi-Lateral School.{{sfn |Thomson|2004|p=23}}{{sfn |Costello|2015|pp=16–17}}}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|pp=17–18, 23, 29}} Costello did, however, show an early talent for writing. His mother told 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.<ref name="Chalmers2009" /> 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.<ref name="Rambali1983">{{cite magazine |last=Rambali|first=Paul|date=August 1983 |title=Elvis Costello [interview] |magazine=The Face|location=London }}</ref>{{sfn |Costello|2015|pp=23–24}}

Although he never had any alternative career plan, Costello had previously been reluctant to commit to 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".{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=13–15, 23}}

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 a steady wage while he pursued a career in music.<ref name="Marcus1982" /> 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.{{efn| Britain had no national minimum wage in 1972, but £20 a week, when adjusted for inflation, is approximately equal to 75% of the 2023 national minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation|title=Inflation|website=Bank of England|access-date=23 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates|title=National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates|website=UK.gov|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref>}}<ref name="Rowland1989" />{{sfn |Costello|2015|p=142}} According to Costello, the job consisted of essentially manual labour such as mounting [[Magnetic tape data storage#Open reels|tape reels]] and loading [[punched card]]s.<ref name="Marcus1982" /> Because 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.<ref name="Marcus1982" /> 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.{{sfn |Costello|2015|pp=142–143}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|p=91}}