Bruce Thomas, bass player for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is born.
Pete Thomas, drummer for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is born.
Elvis Costello is born in London, England.
Steve Nieve, keyboardist with Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is born.
Dropping by the offices of the independent label Stiff Records, Elvis Costello is signed on the spot by label founder Jake Riviera.
Elvis Costello joins forces with the Attractions
Elvis Costello’s first album, My Aim Is True - produced by Nick Lowe and recorded before his union with the Attractions - is released in the U.K.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ undertakes their first U.S. tour, beginning in San Francisco and ending in New York. My Aim Is True is released in the U.S.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions appear on Saturday Night Live, where they spontaneously perform “Radio Radio” instead of the song they were scheduled to play.
This Year’s Model - Elvis Costello’s second album (and first with the Attractions) - enters the U.S. charts, where it will peak at #30.
Armed Forces, by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is released. It will become Costello’s highest-charting U.S. album, reaching #10.
“Oliver’s Army,” Elvis Costello’s biggest U.K. hit, enters the British charts, where it will peak at #2.
Elvis Costello’s fourth album, Get Happy!! - recorded in Holland with producer Nick Lowe - is released.
Trust, Elvis Costello’s fifth studio album, is released. It features “From a Whisper to a Scream,” a duet with Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions record Almost Blue, an album of country-music covers, in Nashville with producer Billy Sherrill.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions perform at the Royal Albert Hall with the 92-piece Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Imperial Bedroom, Elvis Costello and the Attractions most ambitious album, is released.
Elvis Costello’s eighth album, Punch the Clock, yields his first Top Forty single in the U.S., “Everyday I Write the Book” (#36).
Elvis Costello and the Attractions begin recording Goodbye Cruel World, their tenth U.S. release.
Elvis Costello produces Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, the breakthrough album by Ireland’s Pogues.
King of America, by Elvis Costello (and credited to “The Costello Show”), is released. Recorded in Los Angeles with American musicians, it is Costello’s first album without the Attractions since My Aim Is True.
Elvis Costello marries Caitlin O’Riodan, former bassist with the Pogues.
Elvis Costello releases Blood & Chocolate, which reunites him with the Attractions and producer Nick Lowe.
Having moved from Columbia to Warner Bros., Elvis Costello releases Spike, his first album in two and a half years.
Elvis Costello’s biggest U.S. hit, “Veronica” (#19), enters the U.S. chart. The song is one of two from Spike cowritten with Paul McCartney.
A double-disc Elvis Costello retrospective, compiled by the artist, is issued. Its lengthy title
Mighty Like a Rose, Elvis Costello’s thirteenth studio album, is released. “The Other Side of Summer” is the leadoff single.
Elvis Costello’s challenging and unconventional collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet, The Juliet Letters, is released.
Elvis Costello reunites with the Attractions and producer Nick Lowe on Brutal Youth. A five-month world tour, beginning in May, follows.
The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, consisting of 22 tracks handpicked by Costello, is released.
All This Useless Beauty, by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, with songwriting contributions from Paul McCartney and Aimee Mann, is released.
The Elvis Costello-Burt Bacharach collaboration “God Give Me Strength,” composed for the film Grace of My Heart, is nominated for a Grammy Award.
Elvis Costello moves from Warner Bros. to PolyGram. He signs an innovative deal allowing him to release albums in a variety of genres on different PolyGram labels.
Painted by Memory, a collaboration between two pop songwriting giants from different generations - Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach - is released on Mercury Records.
When I Was Cruel, by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is released. It is Costello’s first rock album in six years.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the eighteenth annual induction dinner. Elton John is their presenter.
