Elvis Costello may have everyone from The Beatles to Burt Bacharach to thank for his success, but a little-known songwriter inspired an entire album from The Attractions frontman. Costello said that songwriter Dan Penn was a massive influence on his North album, a release that split fans and critics upon release.
Despite the lacklustre response to North, Costello maintains it’s one of his most personal albums. The Pump It Up hitmaker dug deep into his influences for the album, too, noting a Penn-written song felt like the missing piece. While Penn’s song, The Dark End of the Street, would not feature, Costello would say back in 2004 that it felt like a crucial part of the album.
He said: “You know, we musicians can get a bit sentimental about our songs, and can be accused of trying to elevate ourselves to the status of people in whose league other ears may not put us. But I did put an acknowledgement on this record for some people who have been important to me as a listener. One of them is Dan Penn, the great songwriter whose songs James Carr made famous.”
Costello would go on to name Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player, Hubert Sumlin, and James Carr, as influences on the album. He added: “The Dark End of the Street, which Dan Penn wrote, is almost like the missing track from this record. Another is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player, who I’ve met on a few occasions. He is an absolutely sweet man whose daredevil approach to the guitar is something that I wish could match.
“And of course, there’s James Carr. I don’t know whether you want to go to the place he was living in his head — he was always quite a tortured character and not a happy story. But his records are so vivid because they don’t sound morbid or self-pitying; they just sound really emotional.”
Costello has been open about his influences in the past, and credits Bob Dylan for giving him one of his best songs. Costello would use the song Subterranean Homesick Blues as the basis for Pump It Up. Costello’s song then formed the basis for Olivia Rodrigo’s track, Brutal.
The Sour track from Rodrigo was released back in 2021, and many observed at the time how familiar the guitar riff sounded. Some detractors believed Costello had a case to sue the hitmaker, who recently headlined Primavera Sound 2026 alongside The Cure and Gorillaz. But Costello opted not to take legal action against Rodrigo, supporting the chart-topping sensation at a time when her detractors were egging the Shipbuilding songwriter to sue.
Costello told The Times: “That’s too silly to talk about. Well, I met Olivia and she was lovely. I said, ‘Look, this is just a riff,’ and how could I be arrogant enough to sue on the basis of originality when my song is based on Subterranean Homesick Blues? Did Bob Dylan sue me? He teased me about it but didn’t sue. And did Chuck Berry sue Bob because his song was like Too Much Monkey Business?”
Dylan did not sue Costello, and instead, the pair would appear on stage together occasionally in the 1990s. Dylan had also pitched Costello a studio album collaboration that caught the Radio Radio hitmaker by surprise. The collaboration never came to pass.
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