Any man who is prepared to take on the first name of the King of Rock 'n' Roll has to have enough confidence in his own talent not to care what the critics think of him, and this is certainly the case with Mrs. McManus' little boy. From the sneering 'psychotic bank clerk' look and short, sharp, splenetic singles of his early days with the Attractions, through the period when he wore a beard and made serious music with the Brodsky Quartet, to his mellow, tuneful songs written with BurtBacharach, Costello has always been a musical chameleon. Commercial success has been sporadic, but Costello's refusal to follow fashion or bow in the face of often vitriolic criticism has marked him out as uncompromising, determined, and focused on exploring the boundaries of his craft. His influence on the next generation of artists remains unquestioned, and his acceptance as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of the last twenty years is assured. The book includes a chronology and completediscography.