Hot Rock, November 1978: Difference between revisions
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Elvis has come a long way from his life as Declan Patrick MacManus, computer programmer. Only twenty-three, he has been writing songs for nine years. The product of a broken home, he grew up in a rather depressing section of London. The name "Elvis" was chosen as a tribute to Presley, and the "Costello" was an old family name. He got his act together, and forced people to listen to it, to the point of staging a street corner serenade outside the hotel where some record company executives were staying. It got him arrested, but it also got him a contract with Columbia Records. Hits like "Alison" and "Less Than Zero" soon followed, and an album, ''My Aim Is True''. | Elvis has come a long way from his life as Declan Patrick MacManus, computer programmer. Only twenty-three, he has been writing songs for nine years. The product of a broken home, he grew up in a rather depressing section of London. The name "Elvis" was chosen as a tribute to Presley, and the "Costello" was an old family name. He got his act together, and forced people to listen to it, to the point of staging a street corner serenade outside the hotel where some record company executives were staying. It got him arrested, but it also got him a contract with Columbia Records. Hits like "Alison" and "Less Than Zero" soon followed, and an album, ''My Aim Is True''. | ||
He has the spirit of a true punk. Commenting on his U.S. tour, Elvis observed, "I ... hate the Americans because they've got so much and they do so little with it." Why did he prefer Chicago to the other cities he played here? Because "People were rude, you know? People on the West Coast were so nice it was driving me mad. If one more person said 'Have a nice day!', I thought I might kill him." | He has the spirit of a true punk. Commenting on his U.S. tour, Elvis [[Time, December 26, 1977|observed]], "I ... hate the Americans because they've got so much and they do so little with it." Why did he prefer Chicago to the other cities he played here? Because "People were rude, you know? People on the West Coast were so nice it was driving me mad. If one more person said 'Have a nice day!', I thought I might kill him." | ||
A natural-born iconoclast, Elvis is not even impressed by his own success: "There are a lot of people who should be successful. If ability had anything to do with success then there would be a whole lot of obscure people who'd be famous, and there would be a lot of famous people who'd be lingering in obscurity." | A natural-born iconoclast, Elvis is not even impressed by his own success: "There are a lot of people who should be successful. If ability had anything to do with success then there would be a whole lot of obscure people who'd be famous, and there would be a lot of famous people who'd be lingering in obscurity." |
Latest revision as of 17:38, 3 June 2023
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