The one performance Elvis Costello would never forget: “Charmed everybody”
Punk’s war on the mainstream music industry was fought, not in the singles charts but in the grassroots venues which garnish every major town and city across the land.
It is no surprise, then, that the angry young man who arose from punk’s rebellion, Elvis Costello, enjoys a reputation as a truly incredible live performer, with a knack for spotting other talent, too.
Given the length, breadth, and undeniable quality of Costello’s own discography, it is often easy to forget just what an impact the bespectacled songwriter has had on the wider musical realm. Even during his early years, shortly after leaving Stiff Records in 1978, Costello was keen to support various up-and-coming acts that he believed in. Namely, he produced the majority of The Specials’ early work, helping to spread the gospel of 2 Tone ska around the globe.
In the years that followed, Costello went on to carry out production work for everybody from The Pogues to Nick Lowe, and even Paul McCartney for 1989’s Flowers in the Dirt. Tirelessly dedicated to his craft, the songwriter managed to do all of that while constantly working on new material and touring his live act around the world. During those various extensive tours, Costello never passed up an opportunity to rub shoulders with his fellow artists, either.
The list of artists who have performed alongside Costello is as extensive as his own discography and spans the spectrum from Burt Bacharach to Beastie Boys. Out of all those musical comrades and collaborators, though, Jeff Buckley is the one figure whose impact has always stuck with Costello.
It was back in 1995 that the pair crossed paths, with Costello curating the line-up of that year’s Meltdown festival in London. “I hope that people who liked him resist the temptation to turn his life and death into some dumb romantic fantasy – he was so much better than that,” Costello said of Buckley, following the performer’s tragic death in 1997.
His prevailing memory of Buckley revolves around that Meltdown performance, in which the songwriter chose to perform a version of Henry Purcell’s 17th-century masterpiece ‘Dido’s Lament’.
While certainly not an obvious choice for a cover song, Buckley performed a beautiful rendition of the classical track, leaving the likes of Elvis Costello utterly stunned. “When he started singing Dido’s Lament at the rehearsal, there were all these classical musicians who could not believe it,” Costello remembered.
“Here’s a guy shuffling up on-stage and singing a piece of music normally thought to be the property of certain types of specifically developed voice, and he’s just singing, not doing it like a party piece, but doing something with it,” he continued. “My last memory of him was at the little party in the green room afterwards. […] He’d charmed everybody.”
Adding, “I’d much rather remember that than anything.”
It is fair to say that Elvis Costello has been around the block more than a few times over the course of his multiple decades in music, and so the fact that his encounter with Jeff Buckley still stands out so clearly in his mind is testament to just how incredible a performer Buckley was; a one in a lifetime talent, equally adept at performing his own, heartbreaking tracks, contemporary cover songs, or interpretations of sacred classical compositions.
