Costello biographer Graeme Thomson

Pretty self-explanatory
johnfoyle
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Costello biographer Graeme Thomson

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 44-7178823

Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello
Graeme Thomson



Hardcover 528 pages (October 2004)
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
ISBN: 1841955442
Last edited by johnfoyle on Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by johnfoyle »

Mark Perry , former publisher of Beyond Belief ( fab. Costello fanzine) made these comments in a Costello/Bruce Thomas debate on listserv in March 2003 -



Don't give up hope of hearing Bruce's side of the story, though. I
understand that a "major" Costello biography has been commissioned,
scheduled for publication in 2004 to coincide with EC's 50th birthday. I
have spoken to the writer a couple of times and can confirm that he seems
to be doing some proper research, rather than just the usual rehash of all
the tired old press clippings. I don't want to jinx things by saying too
much at this stage, but I think it's fair to say that there are some
interesting prospective interviewees lined up, quite possibly including a
certain ex-professional bass player.


>> Who's the author of the bio, if you can say?

The author's name is Graeme Thomson. I don't know much about him as a
writer, but he seems a decent bloke with a good sense of what has been
lacking in previous Costello books. He also seems to have the budget to do some real research (something which Brian Hinton, for instance, never had). Oh, and I checked: he does know EC's correct birthdate (something which Tony Clayton-Lea, for instance, never did).
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Post by Jackson Doofster »

Don't want to speak to soon, but maybe we are finally going to get a decent biog.
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Post by Otis Westinghouse »

His only previous publications (going by Amazon) seem to be translations from Italian. Canongate: decent publisher, riding high in the last couple of years with the huge success of Booker-winning Life of Pi. So, yes, maybe we can get our hopes up. Lord knows EC deserves it. 'Complicated Shadows' is a promising enough title (in terms of engaging with complexity and not superficiality).
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Post by johnfoyle »

Just got this -

A new comment has been posted on your blog
CostelloNews.com, on entry
#1219
(New Costello bio. due Oct. 2004).
http://www.elvis-costello.com/news/archives/001219.html


Name: Graeme Thomson


Hi,
I’m writing to alert you of my forthcoming book,
Complicated Shadows:
The Life & Music of Elvis Costello (due September,
Canongate Books). I
know the estimable Mark Perry has already given me a
little plug on your
site, but I thought I might give you a little more
information. The
biog is extremely comprehensive - about 140,000 words
in length - and is
the result of over two years research. It features
much previously
unpublished information on EC and corrects many
inaccuracies which have
grown up around his life and career.

For the first time in an Elvis book there is copious
use of first hand
accounts and contemporary sources. There are nearly 50
exclusive
interviews used as primary sources in the book, dating
from all periods of
his life. Significant interviewees include:
schoolfriends from Declan’s
primary and secondary schools; Allan Mayes (Rusty);
Ken Smith and Steve
Hazelhurst (Flip City); ‘Honky Tonk’ DJ Charlie
Gillet; Dave Robinson
(Stiff); John Ciambotti and John McFee (Clover); Bruce
Thomas; Wreckless
Eric; Ian Gomm; Roger Bechirian (co-producer); Clive
Langer; Andrew
Lauder (Radar & F-Beat); Chris Difford (Squeeze);
various members of The
Pogues; Bebe Buell; Paul Cassidy (Brodsky Quartet);
Alex Cox; Steve
Earle; Mitchell Froom; Bob Geldof; Richard Harvey;
Marc Ribot; Bill
Frisell; David Sefton (The South Bank and UCLA); Ricky
Skaggs, Jerry Scheff &
Ron Tutt and many others. In this way, I have been
able to paint a
rounded picture of Elvis as both a man and a musici!
an.

I hope I can confidently state that this is the
definitive work on
Costello to date. In addition to a thoroughly
comprehensive analysis of his
life and his entire musical output, both on stage and
in the studio,
there are 36 pages of photographs, the oldest dating
back to when he was
8 years old and many of which have never been seen
before. The book
also features previously unpublished lyrics from his
earliest songs.

My favourite EC song? Well having looked at the
set-lists over the last
few weeks I have a real yearning to hear ‘Indoor
Fireworks’ today. I’m
sure tomorrow I’ll be in a more ‘Luxembourg’ frame of
mind. All the
Best, and I hope you enjoy the book.
Graeme Thomson, Edinburgh, May 23, 2004
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Post by maria »

Wonderful...I suppose...although for me the only EC writing worth serious attention in my estimation is his own: especially his songs...
oh I just dunno where to begin
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Post by El Vez »

It baffles science as to why there are NO respectable overviews of his life and career on the shelves of Barnes & Noble when you just about trip at every step over the tomes devoted to Hilary Duff, KISS (sorry, Oily), Nick & Jessica and Simon Cowell.
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Post by oily slick »

Sorry Oily? (and it is oily, by the way; this is a constant problem) i don't think i don't own any Kiss records.
I'm not concerned about the very poor.
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Post by bobster »

I think it's a good sign that EC apparently hasn't tried too hard to prevent people from talking to the guy on the record. It's not the same thing as an authorized biography, but at least some of those people would probably want to work with EC again in the future (Mitchell Froom comes quickly to mind). Still, he's missing a couple of obvious big ones -- Nick Lowe, for example.
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Post by wehitandrun »

Exciting!
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Post by johnfoyle »

Yet another Elvis Costello biography is on the way -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 76-0067866

Elvis Costello: Diving for Pearls
Paul Mathur

Hardcover 256 pages (September 2004)
Publisher: Piatkus Books
ISBN: 0749950145

Paul Mathur is also listed by amazon as having done books on Oasis , Madonna and Pete Waterman .
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Post by martinfoyle »

Methinks Paul Mathur is of the George Tremlett school of writing, while Graeme Thomson is more Johnny Rogan.
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Post by laughingcrow »

So...including the book he's writing, that's 3 biogs coming out! Im looking forward to the first two, but will Diving for Pearls just be another load of crap...e.g Paul Mather's books so far;

I Wish I Was Me: Pete Waterman - The Autobiography
Take Me There: "Oasis" Story
Madonna: The Definitive Biography

Im expecting these to be like the big colourful books they try and flog in HMV, that look nice but are usually trash. BUT WHO AM I TO JUDGE
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Post by martinfoyle »

This, no doubt, fine book can now be pre-ordered.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 72-2131854
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Post by verbal gymnastics »

Of all the pictures in the world to use they use that one! Still, never judge a book by its cover, eh?
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Post by johnfoyle »

This cover photo can be dated by the combination of Elvis' hat and glasses. Factoring in Elvis not looking terribly old - or young - I glanced through my cuttings folders from the early 1980's .

Doing this I reckon the photo is by Peter Anderson and was first used in a NME feature dated October 8 1983. The hat is a straw one with a check band. A more memorable shot from the same session - done to promote Punch The Clock - shows Elvis sauntering down the street with a ghetto blaster balanced on his shoulder. Elvis wore the same hat when he was photographed by Derek Ridgers for the NME in 1985 ( 11 May feature with Phil Chevron and Agnes Bernelle) but he wore glasses with blue frames then.

I can't find 'net links for any of these at the moment - not even John E's site has them . I'll send him scans and maybe he'll post them.
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Post by johnfoyle »

The 'crash' lost loads of this thread ; whatever this latest review has just appeared in March issue of Uncut -



Complicated Shadows:
The Life And
Music Of Elvis
Costello

GRAEME THOMSON
CANONGATE, £16.99
****
Definitive Declan biog

Thomson here returns one of rocks most elusive figures to flesh and blood. The pre-Costello musical life of Declan MacManus in folk clubs and forgotten pub-rock bands, expunged on pain of broken legs by brutal manager Jake Riviera during his charge’s snarling ‘70s rise, is filled in for the first time, as former band-mates break their omerta.

Industrious interviewing also lays open Costello’s tempestuous first marriage, obsessive affair with super-groupie Bebe Buell, courting of Cait O’Riordan (the older Elvis being dubbed “Uncle Brian” by her co-Pogues), and the “unfathomable” coke- and drink-fuelled self-destruction of the ‘79 US Armed Forces tour, which immolated Costello’s chance of Springsteen-scale stardom.

Despite the entertaining presence of bitchy and embittered ex-Attraction Bruce Thomas, Thomson’s calm writing integrates potentially salacious revelations into an evenly weighted account of Costello’s work. His description of the insane pressure and excess of Costello’s career-defining punk ‘70s gives the music new texture. Dislikeable and on occasion despicable, this young Elvis gives way to the equally consumed but gentler musical polymath of his middle years. Thomson’s sympathetic account of his derided but genuine late-blooming love of classical music is as revelatory as anything in this prosaic but vital read.

NICK HASTED

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The same issue of Uncut has editor Allan Jones continue his memoirs of his time as a reporter with the Melody Maker. This month he writes about touring with The Damned in November 1977 , including this Costello story -

By Sheffield everyone’s calmed down a bit, and the Captain is telling me an amusing story about Elvis Costello. Seems The Damned and Elvis and The Attractions were returning by coach from the Biltzen festival.

( Aug 11 '77 . 14th Bilzen Festival, Lie'ge, Belgium (support bands Elvis Costello and The Damned)
Image

Elvis had apparently got howlingly drunk on the evening prior to departure and the next morning was bundled onto the coach close to death.

Jake Riviera — then managing both EC and The Damned, or “The Dimmed” as he liked often to call them — told the delinquent Sensible and equally disruptive Rat Scabies that under no circumstances whatsoever were they to attempt to tease, torment or generally molest the suffering Elvis.

“Then Costello fell asleep’ the Captain recalls wit an evil little grin, horns sprouting from the side of his head.” With his mouth open’

He’s chuckling like a bastard now.

“Anyway, the Captain continues, “me and Rat tipped an ashtray into his mouth and then set fire to his shoelaces. He woke up with his feet on fire, tried to scream and nearly choked on the dog-ends.”

The memory of this hilarious incident keeps the Captain chuckling until we get to Middlesbrough, when things turn bleak again.

We’re sitting in a cold, miserable dressing room backstage at the Town Hall when the woman who’s promoting tonight’s show announces gravely that there are punks fighting in the hall and her bouncers have lost control. She corners Sensible and tells him The Damned must adopt a responsible attitude. “Tell them:’ she beseeches, “that if they don’t behave, like, there’ll be no more poonk in Middlesbrough.”

“Too fucking right there’ll be no more punk in Middlesbrough,” Sensible fairly wails. “If they start throwing bottles and looking for a fight, there’ll bent more punk and no more Damned. We’ll be off home. don’t worry about that. I maybe a c***t says Sensible “but I’m not fucking stupid?’



The original Melody Maker story -

http://www.geocities.com/vintageinterviews/damned.html
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Post by johnfoyle »

The U.S. edition of this is due out in a few days , so time to bump up this thread.

This link will earn this forum a percentage of the sale -

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 8?v=glance

Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello
by Graeme Thomson



Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Grove Press (April 10, 2005)
ISBN: 1841956503

http://www.canongate.net/ComplicatedShadows/Hardback

Image

Graeme Thomson

Graeme Thomson is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to several publications, including MOJO, the Herald, the Observer Sports Monthly, Four Four Two and Maxim. His work also features in the books The MOJO Collection and Ten: The Best of The OSM's Tens.
Last edited by johnfoyle on Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by wardo68 »

Will make for happy reading in between Memphis DVD screenings!
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Post by mood swung »

My copy was supposed to ship between 4/14 and 4/16 - inquiries netted this
Our latest information indicates that "Complicated Shadows: The Life
and Music of Elvis Costello" has not yet been released and the
expected release date is not known. As soon as a release date has
been determined for this item, we will add that information to our
web site.
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Post by martinfoyle »

According to this, it has been defferred to May 2005.
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Post by mood swung »

thank you again, Mr. Marvelous!
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Post by johnfoyle »

Graeme Thomson tells me -

The US edition of CS was always planned late spring. I guess at some point early on some speculative info was passed from the publisher to Amazon saying that it would be out April, but as far as I was concerned, the May pub. date has been set in stone since before Xmas.

These things are always up in the air, coming down to schedules etc. Certainly, there has been no last minute delay - really, someone at Atlantic in NY should have sent the amended pub. info on to Amazon etc. to avoid confusion and disappointment. But it will be out in about a month.

NB. The paperback will be released in the UK in late June. It brings the story up to date with some additional pages at the end, and the existing copy has also been slightly revised.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 97-7942228

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Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello
Graeme Thomson

Paperback 384 pages (July 18, 2005)
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
ISBN: 1841956651
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Post by mood swung »

the existing copy has also been slightly revised.
Mr. Westinghouse's corrections included, I hope.


May is good. I'm re-reading the Dark Tower books, so I'm good until then.
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Post by wardo68 »

[quote="johnfoyle"]Graeme Thomson tells me -

as far as I was concerned, the May pub. date has been set in stone since before Xmas.

Please thank him for the update Mr. Foyle -- I was concerned that the passed April date meant it was cancelled completely. (And does this mean the updated text due in the UK paperback is included in the US?)
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