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Elvis Costello was the angry young king of punk who fell from grace. But now he's back on top again.
In the last few months he has bounced into the charts with two singles.
"Pills and Soap" and "Everyday I Write the Book" both made the Top Thirty. And his new single, "Let Them All Talk," is just out.
It pleases him mightily. "It's a relief when good songwriters collide with fashion." he says, "I am gratified by success."
Well, as Costello says himself, there is no point in false modesty.
"I'm no great shakes as an instrumentalist. All my band play better than I do.
"I write pretty good songs, That sustains me through times when I'm not selling well. I don't write empty-headed pop. I want to show realities."
It was a piece of inspired cheek when Declan MacManus took the name Elvis Costello in the year that the king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, died.
It made people take note of this emaciated figure with the horn-rim-med specs.
But it was the quality of his songs that made him a world star.
Then in a drunken moment in 1979 he called R & B singer Ray Charles a "blind ignorant nigger."
Costello has never fully explained the reasons for that unforgivable out-burst. But the resulting row nearly finished him. His next album, ironically called Get Happy, was intended to be his last.
He says: "It was all I had to say at the time." But instead of giving up, Elvis Costello grew up. He experimented and matured.
His latest album, Punch The Clock, has dark songs. But in troubled times, It carries a message of hope.
"It's about keeping yourself going and not giving in to the world. My early image was born out of genuine anger. The rage is still there. I'm just not shouting any more."
Costello, 28-year-old son of big band singer Ross MacManus, was married and a computer operator before becoming a professional musician.
Despite a much-publicised liaison with an American model, he has kept his marriage intact.
He shields his wife Mary and eight-year-old son Matthew from prying eyes. And he keeps the myths of the music business at bay by debunking them.
"Pop stars are supposed to have hidden secret knowledge. I don't.
"But I'm still proud of what I do. Overall it's quite a hoot to survive the wear and tear of fashion."
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