Elvis Costello Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clover

Clover was Huey Lewis's original band. They happened to be around when Costello recorded MAIT during sick days and off time from his day job as a computer operator. Huey Lewis was not a part of the MAIT sessions.

Answer: Pete Thomas

Pete Thomas was the drummer for the Attractions until Costello disbanded the group in 1986. Thomas rejoined the Attractions when they were reformed for 1994's Brutal Youth. The Attractions were ended for the final time after the tour supporting the 1996 album 'All This Useless Beauty'.

Answer: Almost Blue

'Almost Blue' was recorded in 1981 during a period that had Costello pissed off at the music business in general. His infatuation with Country Music led him to Nashville, where he met Billy Sherrill. Elvis and the Attractions recorded 'Almost Blue' in less than two weeks and scored a minor hit in the UK with 'Good Year For The Roses'.

Answer: 7

Nick Lowe produced Costello's first five studio albums, as well as 'Brutal Youth' and 'Blood and Chocolate'.

Answer: the pogues

The Pogues are an Irish band that Elvis Costello produced an early album for. He fell in love with Cait O'Riordon and later married her. She left the band so that she could spend more time with her husband. An interesting fact, Shane MacGowan immortalized Elvis and Cait with a line in Spanish in the song 'Fiesta'.

Answer: Shipbuilding

Costello met Chet Baker in a jazz club during the recording sessions for the album 'Punch The Clock'. Baker agreed to come in for a session, in which he played the touching trumpet line on 'Shipbuilding'. When asked what he wanted to be paid, he simply said 'Scale'. Costello believes that he about doubled it.

Answer: Bruce Thomas

Bruce Thomas was the bass player from the 1977 formation of the band until its disbanding in 1986. He wrote a very insulting tell all book about his years playing with Elvis (I believe it's called 'The Big Wheel'). Personal differences between Bruce and EC are believed to have led to the final breakup of the Attractions after the ATUB tour.

Answer: Pop Life

It started out as a cover of 'Pop Life', but the purple one refused permission for the recorded cover. This came about the same time as his contract was ending with Warner Brothers. Elvis remade the tracks recorded into 'The Bridge I Burned', which is considered by most to be a slap at the record company that he credited with nearly destroying his career.

Answer: Ray Charles

This misunderstanding plagued Elvis for years. He has apologized for it numerous times and still claims to this day to have been so completely drunk that he barely remembers the incident.

Answer: (What's so Funny Bout ) Peace Love and Understanding?

'Peace, Love and Understanding' was written and performed by Nick Lowe, but Costello's version did so well that Lowe all but relinquished it to him.

Answer: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Costello and Bacharach serenaded stars Mike Myers and Heather Graham in 'The Spy Who Shagged Me'. The setting was 1969 in London, despite the fact that Costello would have been only 15 years old. Costello briefly appeared in 'Spice World', much to the chagrin of many of his true fans. Bacharach appeared alone in the first Austin Powers movie. 'Americathon' was his first screen appearance, with him performing 'Crawling To The USA'.

He had a bit part as a butler in 'Straight to Hell'.

Answer: 1954

Elvis Costello was born on August 25, 1954.

Answer: Declan MacManus

Elvis Costello was born Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus. His father was bandleader Ross MacManus. Costello is his grandmother's name; he took the name Elvis as a joke. It turned out the joke was on him when Elvis Presley died about eight months after him choosing that stage name.

Answer: Geoff Emerick

Geoff Emerick was a sound engineer on several of the Beatles recordings back in the 60s. 'Imperial Bedroom' was the first heavily produced album that Costello had been a part of. The layered sound of the album is often considered one of his best. They tried to recreate that magic with 1996's 'All This Useless Beauty', but Warner Brothers and internal band conflicts marred the production of that album.

Answer: Paul McCartney

The MacManus and McCartney collaborations produced a number of songs, including McCartney's 'My Brave Face' and other tracks appearing on several future albums by both artists.

Answer: Less Than Zero

Lorne Michaels and NBC didn't want EC to play 'Radio Radio' because it was an anti-media song. He decided to pull a Jimi Hendrix and switch in the middle, throwing a nice curve to both of them. It was 12 years before he was allowed back on the program.

Answer: Bruce Springsteen

EC revealed during the taping of VH1's 'Storytellers' segment that he wrote this song about Bruce Springsteen after seeing him in Nashville in 1978. In his show at the Showbox Theatre (Seattle, May 1996) EC introduced this song by saying: 'It's really hard to fall in love with someone from row 97 ...

This here song is a song I wrote in 1978 in Nashville, TN, I was in row 97 actually, at a concert by a very famous American rock singer, and I was looking at him and thinking, ' Wow, this is getting tough for this guy'. I know he's real, but it's getting like he's not allowed to be real anymore. I said 'That'll never happen to me. Fame will never go to my head .'

Answer: Steve Nieve

Steve Naive, born Steve Mason, was the piano and keyboard genius behind most of the imaginative lines during the Attractions years. He ended up being the only member of the Attractions that Costello later played with, having done numerous piano and guitar concert tours during the late 1990s.

Another bit of trivia: Steve has used numerous names while with the Attractions. A few of the more interesting ones were Maurice Worm ('Goodbye Cruel World') and Steve Hart ('Trust').

Answer: 'The Fall of the World's Own Optimist' and 'The Other End of the Telescope'

"The Other End of the Telescope' was written for the Til Tuesday album 'Everything's Different Now' with Elvis doing backing vocals. 'The Fall of the World's Own Optimist' appears on Aimee's album 'Bachelor no 5'. Costello re-recorded 'Telescope' for his 1996 album 'All This Useless Beauty'.

Answer: Mary Burgoyne

Elvis married her in 1974 and the marriage ended about ten years later. He had a son, Matthew, from that first marriage.