Elvis Costello was born Declan Patrick McManus and immersed into music at an early age, being the only child of a trumpeter and record store owner. Costello was naturally musically adept, first performing his songs at local folk clubs in the 1970s and graduating to join local groups.

A demo tape was recorded that saw Costello - who adopted his mother's maiden name coupled with that of the king of rock 'n' roll Elvis Presley for his moniker - signed as a solo artist to the independent Stiff label and recorded his debut album My Aim is True in 1977.

Costello formed a steady backing band - The Attractions - and lyrically was becoming more outspoken, with his next two releases, This Year's Model and Armed Forces, littered with political references. For all his advances as an activist, and the breakthrough success of singles 'Watching the Detectives' and 'Oliver's Army', his credibility was undone after an incident on tour in 1979 where he made a racial slur regarding Ray Charles.

The 1980s saw somewhat of a career recovery and musical experimentation for Costello with releases ranging from soul and country covers to lush orchestral pop albums, as well as collaborations with various producers and songwriters including Paul McCartney. In between a catalogue of more than 40 albums Costello has pursued creative outlets including lecturing about music, film and stage roles, and producing albums; he also wrote an album for former Transvision Vamp vixen Wendy James.

A new romance in Costello's life - Canadian jazz chanteuse Diana Krall - rubbed off on his own music, with the 2004 album North comprising a set of piano-based jazz ballads. 2009 album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane is Costello's first acoustic album for 23 years and gave him his highest chart position since his 1980s release Get Happy.