Costello is coming to town, Monday, September 9, 2002

manchesteronline.co.uk

Elvis Costello and The Imposters will be riding into town this September to play at the Carling Apollo as part of their When I Was Cruel world tour.

Elvis' new album, When I Was Cruel, was released in April and went into the Top 20 in the US, spending most of the Summer at the top of the US College Radio Charts and No 1 in the Japanese charts. A veteran survivor of the seventies punk era, Costello - now 47 - was last in Manchester in June 2001 playing at The Bridgewater Hall. There aren't many artists who've remained as restlessly inventive, broadly talented and quite so intoxicated with the endless possibilities of the popular song as Costello.

Over the last two decades, he has earned a reputation as a brilliant songwriter, consummate performer, sought-after record producer, and fearless talker.

He has come a long way since he spat out 'Alison' on Tony Wilson's music programme So It Goes and, aside from recording with his own band, The Attractions, he has worked in pop, classical, and country music with a host of talented collaborators from Bob Dylan, The Chieftains, Paul McCartney and the Brodsky Quartet to the Count Basie Orchestra, Tony Bennett, John Harle, The Pogues and The Specials.

In 1998, he completed two years of work with the legendery pop composer Burt Bacharach with the lush and lovely, jointly-credited Painted From Memory.

This September, he will be back with his band The Imposters, aka Steve Nieve on keys, Pete Thomas on drums (both original members of the Attractions) and bass player Davey Faragher.

Having just completed the US leg of his tour, Elvis will finish gigging in Japan before heading back to Australia and Europe for a run of festival shows.

Chris Difford, of Squeeze, will make a special guest appearance as support.

Thanks to Torben K.S.