Dangerous Amusements: the Elvis Costello playlist

On Elvis Costello's 70th birthday, we reach the finale of the 70@70 series. Best-selling author, musician and actor Mark Billingham joins me to discuss the top 10 in my countdown of 70 essential Costello songs.

Author Libby Cudmore joins me for the penultimate episode of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series. We've reached the top 20 now in my rundown of 70 essential Elvis Costello songs to celebrate his 70th birthday. Libby offers her take on the tracks I've chosen from 20-11.

For the fifth part of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series, it's my great pleasure to be joined by producer, engineer and Costello collaborator Steve Mandel. We chat about songs 30-21 on my rundown of 70 essential Elvis songs to mark his upcoming 70th birthday.

It's a warm welcome back to the podcast to music journalist Paul Stokes for the fourth instalment of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series. We're at the midway point of my countdown of 70 essential Costello songs to celebrate his upcoming 70th birthday. Paul and I discuss numbers 40-31 on the playlist.

Music writer Allison Rapp is my guest for the third instalment of the Elvis Costello 70@70 series. I've put together a list of 70 essential Elvis Costello songs to celebrate his 70th birthday in August 2024. In this episode, Allison and I chat about tracks 50-41 in the countdown. Make sure you check out Allison's terrific show The Big Yellow Podcast, celebrating the life and music of Joni Mitchell.

Comedian, actor and writer Connor Ratliff joins me for the second episode in the Elvis Costello 70@70 countdown. To mark Costello's 70th birthday in August 2024, I've picked out 70 of his most essential songs. Connor and I discuss numbers 60-51 in the countdown.

This is the first of seven episodes counting down the Elvis Costello 70@70. To mark Costello's 70th birthday in August 2024, I've picked out 70 of his most essential songs. Joining me to discuss the first 10 songs in the countdown is music writer, author and musician Tom Doyle.

Acclaimed author and journalist Simon Garfield says of his love of Elvis Costello’s music, “no other artist has had such a deep or sustained impact on me or introduced me to such a wide range of music”. He has been a fan of Costello since hearing the Honky Tonk demos and attending early gigs at the Dominion as a teenager. Simon has gone on to interview Elvis on a number of occasions, including after every night of his 2023 residency at New York’s Gramercy Theatre. We chat about those experiences, hear about Simon’s favourite Costello songs and discuss Elvis’s stage musical projects, Cold War and A Face in the Crowd.

Photographer Tony Sacchetti has been taking pictures of Elvis Costello onstage and off it for more than 40 years. His shots have appeared everywhere from Costello fanzines and his fantastic Instagram page to official Elvis album booklets. Tony tells me about the art of music photography, covering memorable Costello gigs and his interactions with Elvis over the years. And, of course, Tony adds six of his favourite EC songs to the playlist.

Jeremy Dylan is a film maker, record producer, artist manager and journalist. He's also a huge fan of Elvis Costello. We chat about Jeremy's love of Elvis's music and his experience of interviewing the man himself for a documentary film. Along the way, Jeremy shares fascinating insights into working with a host of key Costello associates, including Pete Thomas, Davey Faragher, Nick Lowe, Jim Lauderdale and Jim Keltner. Jeremy also hosts the terrific My Favourite Album podcast.

BBC broadcaster Becky Want has interviewed a host of illustrious names during her career in radio and television, including her hero, Elvis Costello. In this episode, Becky recalls her experiences of interviewing Elvis and having the opportunity to ask him about her favourite album, Painted From Memory. She tells me about some of her favourite Costello gigs and picks six terrific EC tracks to add to my playlist.

Singer/songwriter and musician Jeff Slate joins me ahead of the release of his new album, The Last Day of Summer. We chat about his love of Elvis Costello's music and its influence on his own songwriting. Jeff recalls the many and varied Costello gigs he's attended over the years and picks out some of his favourite EC songs. Jeff tells me about recording Imposters and Attractions, his album of music inspired by Elvis, which also featured a couple of Costello covers. Also an acclaimed music writer and broadcaster, Jeff looks back on his different Costello interviews and features for Rolling Stone and Esquire, among others. Check out Jeff's new single (Broken) Without You and look out for his new album in May 2024.

My guest is writer, editor and podcaster, Courtney E Smith. The host of Songs My Ex Ruined discusses her love of Elvis Costello’s music and selects some of her favourite EC tracks for the playlist. Courtney recalls meeting Elvis during her time at MTV and shares her memories of some incredible Costello gigs, including VH1’s Decades Rock Live and his performance with the Roots at the Brooklyn Bowl.

Something a bit different to kick off 2024. This is a mini episode reflecting on how a stunning duet by Elvis Costello and Elton John introduced me to the wonderful music of David Ackles. They performed a beautiful version of Ackles' Down River on Spectacle, backed by James Burton, Allen Toussaint, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher. In this episode, I look back at that performance and the career of David Ackles, who released four fine albums between 1968 and 1973.

Kenton Hall is a man of many talents: songwriter, musician, actor and director. He’s also a huge Elvis Costello fan. In this episode, Kenton tells me how he discovered Costello’s music, what it means to him and how it has influenced his own songwriting. We chat about some of his favourite Elvis records, memorable gigs and how Steve Nieve came to record a track for Kenton’s recent album Omniopath. Make sure you check out Kenton’s brilliant audio drama, London After Midnight, which he has adapted from the Tod Browning movie and in which he stars alongside Art Malik and others.

Music writer Tim Riley is the author of acclaimed books about the Beatles, John Lennon and Bob Dylan, among others. He’s also closely followed the career of Elvis Costello and tells me about the impact the early Elvis records had on him. We discuss memorable Costello gigs, Elvis’s talent for interpretation, his collaboration with Paul McCartney and the EC song that should have appeared in the Barbie movie. Tim also picks out six of his favourite Costello songs for the Powder and Perfume playlist. Check out Tim’s website to find out more about his music writing.

Writer and editor Jorge Farah describes Elvis Costello’s music as “the soundtrack to my life”. In this episode, we discuss how he came to be a Costello fan, chat about some of his favourite records and how he came to be one of the author’s of the popular Trunkworthy feature, The Elvis Costello Song of the Week. In addition, Jorge recommends some of his favourite artists from his adopted homeland of Argentina whose music he thinks will appeal to Costello fans. You can check out the featured tracks below: Barbi Recanati – Que No Emily And – Flasheando Amor Maria Pien – Una Pelicula Mariana Michi – Admiracion Nahuel Briones – Bases y Condiciones

A L Kennedy is an award-winning author, playwright, comic and performer. Among her acclaimed works is a collection of short stories named after the Elvis Costello song, All The Rage. In this episode, she tells me about her love of Costello’s music and his use of language. We also dig deep into Tramp The Dirt Down with a fascinating reflection on Britain in the 1980s and the anger towards Margaret Thatcher which inspired Costello’s totemic song. You can visit A L Kennedy’s website here. Her song choices are on the Bedroom Alibis playlist.

New York Times features editor Jim Windolf is the man behind the legendary Costello’s 500 feature for Vanity Fair. In the landmark November 2000 essay, Elvis identified 500 albums “essential to a happy life”, from ABBA to Zamballarana. In this episode, Jim recalls his inspiration for the feature and the process of working on it with Costello. He also reflects on interviewing Elvis and an incredible range of live gigs he’s watched over the years. Jim also picks six of his favourite Elvis Costello songs to add to the Bedroom Alibis playlist.

Connor Ratliff is an actor, comedian and host of the acclaimed Dead Eyes podcast. He is also an Elvis Costello fanatic. In this episode, Connor tells me how he came to Costello's music in the 1990s, his Elvis "parlour games" and we dig into some of his favourite EC songs. We also chat about watching Costello live and what is was like to be on the front row, in Elvis's eyeline, for the 10 nights of the Gramercy Theatre residency in 2023. Connor has added six songs to the Bedroom Alibis playlist which will be published at the end of the season.