When Elvis Costello visited with me at WFUV in April 2002, it was the day before the official release of his then latest album When I Was Cruel. It was already the nineteenth album of his career that began in the mid 1970’s; and in the years since he’s released six more.
In addition to his own work, he’s also participated in numerous other collaborative efforts and was commissioned to compose an opera and a ballet. He’s hosted a critically acclaimed television music interview show “Spectacle” and continued to tour extensively. His 2015 memoir Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink offers almost seven hundred pages discussing many of these subjects, and is a thoughtful perspective on his career. In this interview we talked about his return to an earlier “sound,” while still moving ever forward in exploring different stylistic approaches. He was charming and witty and related how appearing in a brief cameo in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” provided a new opportunity to attract fans.
Ringo Starr
Dennis Elsas with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr has just released his 20th solo studio album What’s My Name following a very successful 30th anniversary tour with his band The All Starrs. In October the Beatles classic album Abbey Road was reissued with a brand new 2019 mix crafted by Giles Martin, son of original Beatles producer George Martin.
The new package also contained bonus material of previously unreleased alternate session takes. I’ve spoken with Ringo several times over the years and it was great to talk with him again just recently to get his perspective on all of it, including his cover of John Lennon’s “Grow Old with Me” featuring Paul McCartney on bass.