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ELVIS COSTELLO

Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
Fri 11 July
It’s been nearly 40 years since Elvis
Costello first arrived with My Aim Is
True, an album of witty, acerbic songs fully
of clever wordplay (he once mockingly
referred to himself as “rock’n’roll’s
Scrabble champion”). Although initially
lumped in with punk his songwriting was
generally more musically adept and lyrically
complex than the rest of the class of 1976.
Costello has released 30 albums in the
course of his career, and, not willing to
stagnate stylewise he’s collaborated with
a wild variety of artists, including classical
string quartet the Brodsky Quartet,
songwriting legend Burt Bacharach, and
electronic pioneer Brian Eno.
Although he’s not far off getting his bus
pass he doesn’t seem to be showing any
signs of slowing down. Last year he sold
out the Albert Hall over three nights,
played Hyde Park and Glastonbury and
released a critically lauded album with the
Roots. This year he’s touring the USA, the
UK and Europe with a one-man show.
Reports from his recent solo shows have
been very encouraging, with critics cooing
over his performance, as well as being
impressed with the length of his shows
(32 songs spanning the whole range of
his back catalogue over two and a half
hours), and his performance at Swansea’s
Brangwyn Hall look