Elvis Costello, OBE, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and author. His career spans more than 30 years during which time he has sold more than 40 million records worldwide. He is known for his distinctive voice and his eclectic mix of musical styles. Costello's work has encompassed rock music, pop music, cabaret, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and the avant-garde
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He has collaborated with a number of artists and has made contributions to the field of popular musicology through his writing.Costello was born in London in 1957. He spent much of his childhood in working class areas of South London where he attended John Radley Technical School in Croydon before being expelled for truancy in 1971. He formed his first band in 1977 called Attitude, which later became famous as The Attractions.
In 1979 he formed what became known as The Attractions with his brother Pete Thomas. After the release of the single "This Year's Model" in 1982 they became famous as The Costellos after changing their name to avoid confusion with an American band by that name. In 1981 they released their first album as a four-piece band, Armed Forces which featured a 16-minute song titled "Veronica".In 1982 Costello moved from England to New York City to be closer to publishing companies and record labels who were more receptive to new material from musicians who were based there.
In 1985 he released his first solo album Veronica having left The Attractions on poor terms due to alleged artistic differences with Pete Thomas. This was followed by My Aim Is True on which he played all the instruments himself on some tracks including a 1980s disco feel song called "Shoeshine Boy"; this was followed by Brutal Youth (1987) on which Costello played all the instruments himself again except for drums where he used Iain Matthews from Squeeze as well as guitar on two songs; this was followed by Spike (1989) on which Costello played all the instruments himself again except for drums where he used Iain Matthews from Squeeze as well as guitar on one song; this was followed by Armed Forces Volume 2 (1991) on which he played all the instruments himself again except for drums where he used Iain Matthews from Squeeze as well as guitar on two songs; this was followed by Get Happy!! (1992) on which he played all the instruments himself again except for drums where he used Iain Matthews from Squee