Elvis Costello – British singer and songwriter
Elvis Costello (real name Declan Patrick McManus) was born on 25 August 1954 in London. Declan was a big fan of different music genres since he was a child thanks to his dad, who sang with a band, and his mom, who worked at a record store. Costello became popular due to mixing several genres. His music was a combination of punk energy and new wave structure. Elvis’ most popular songs are "Good Year For The Roses," "Alison," "Everyday I Write the Book," and "Veronica."
McManus’ music career began when he was just 16 years old. Together with a friend, Declan created a duo, which performed folk style music. Then the aspiring musician went to college and obtained an ordinary profession of a computer programmer. He settled for working in the office. Declan switched several office jobs before he realized that the time has come to start doing what he really enjoyed.
The new round of McManus’ career began in the 1970’s. He adopted the pseudonym Elvis Costello and formed his first band Flip City, which existed between 1974 and 1976. Costello wrote new songs and looked for an opportunity to start and solo career. He finally got a chance in 1977 and signed a contract with an independent label Stiff Records. Shortly Costello released his first single “Less Than Zero”. The song didn’t make it into the charts. However, the album, which featured it, My Aim Is True (1977), turned out to be very successful. It reached the 14th spot on the UK Albums Chart and the 32nd place on Billboard 200. The LP made it into several European charts. It earned a platinum status in the USA and became silver in the UK.
