Don't start me talking....

I am back from a long weekend in Birmingham and I survived it! I haven’t been to Birmingham for several years and it was nice to be back. The purpose of my visit was to attend a concert on Saturday night at the Symphony Hall by Elvis Costello and the Imposters. This meant a lot to me as it is the 46th time I have been to see him live.

It all started in the summer of 1977. Some may remember that was when punk first started. Like other teenagers at the time, I did enjoy the bands like The Clash and the Sexpistols but I was much more interested in the new music from a rather nerdy looking singer called Elvis Costello. He may have snarled a but then but he was a wordsmith and the songs were personal. I was hooked and for the next 49 years am as devoted a fan as you can imagine. It’s hard to explain the attraction but I do know that his music is the soundtrack to my life. I can relate events that happened to me against the background of songs he released at those points.

Costello stood head and shoulders above his peers to my mind and his dense lyrics, puns, and sincerity appealed enormously. He has always been a serious artist and I like that.

And now its 2026 and here I am sitting four rows from the front and he is right in of me.

He hits 72 in August but bounded on stage with the energy of a 22 year old. He then entertained us for more than two hours and his music is intense but he carried if off very well. The voice isn’t quite as strong as it used to be, particularly on slow ballads like “Indoor Fireworks” and “Shipbuilding”. But for 95% of the songs he was good and the band helped with the mix.

Here he is doing his biggest hit, “Oliver’s Army”….

That got a massive cheer! There were about 2000 or so in the audience.

He finished, as always, with the Nick Lowe penned “What’s so funny bout peace love and understanding” by which point the jive was jumping…

And then it was over. In an eccentric twist, the band left the stage to “Donald, where’s your trousers”!

I don’t believed there is anyone quite like Costello. His music has changed over th years and the anger and angst of the early years has tended towards poignancy and sympathy in recent times. He is NOT an angry old man, but a mature balanced artist.

Each time I see him, in recent years, I wonder will this be the last.

Based on Saturday night, I don’t think it will be.

For that, I am grateful. Music transcends all other art in my view

Next year will bring the 50th anniversary of his emergence and if I can, I will see him one more time.