Elvis Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus in London, England, and raised in Liverpool. The son of British bandleader Ross MacManus, Costello took his pseudonym from Elvis Presley and his father's stage name (Day Costello). He began performing professionally in 1969 and was a musician and/or singer in many bands around London before forming a moderately successful pub-rock band called "Flip City" in the mid-1970s. Working full time as a computer operator, he landed his first record deal with Stiff Records in 1977 and recorded his first album "My Aim Is True" while on vacation. The album was a smash hit in England and landed Costello a worldwide distribution deal with Columbia records. Forming his backup group, "The Attractions," for his second album, Costello recorded several popular and influential albums over the next decade. Today, he is regarded as one of the most influential and famous singer/songwriters in modern music. In 1998, he collaborated with legendary tunesmith Burt Bacharach on a highly successful album of love songs, "Painted From Memory."
Costello has been married three times. He wed first wife Mary Burgoyne in 1974; the couple divorced in 1984. Two years later, he married musician Cait O'Riordan of the Pogues. The two parted ways in 2002, and the following year, Costello wed Canadian jazz singer/pianist Diana Krall. The two worked together on her 2004 album The Girl in the Other Room.