Elvis Costello at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, 2020.
Photo: Getty Images for The Recording A, Rich Fury. All rights reserved.
Elvis Costello & The Imposters’ new album “The Boy Named If” will be released on January 14, 2022. The first single “Magnificent Hurt” has already been released as a harbinger of the long player. To celebrate the album release, we’re giving away four signed vinyl singles of the song.
The Boy Named If is produced by Sebastian Krys and Elvis Costello. It’s a compilation of thirteen snapshots that, according to Costello, “starts with the last days of a confused boy going through puberty to the humiliating moment when you’re told to stop acting like a kid, which for many men (and perhaps some women) covers a time span that may well be within the next 50 years.”
“There was a time when I didn’t know what a kiss could do”
The musician then reveals the content of the lyrics: “There was a time when I didn’t know what a kiss could do. Everything that lay ahead was still a mystery. I didn’t know yet what was to come, that the future would also be painful, passionate and much more. I don’t even want to start with all the baggage of guilt and shame that you have to shed before you can start your journey to paradise”.
Finally, there is also a backstory to the album title: “The full title of the album is actually ‘The Boy Named If (And Other Children’s Stories)’. ‘I’ is in this case the nickname for your imaginary friend, your secret self that knows everything you deny. The one you can always blame and hold responsible for the dishes and hearts you broke. There is more about this boy in the song entitled ‘Boy’.
There are four signed 7-inch singles to win for the album release of the new long player by Elvis Costello & The Imposters. Simply fill out the form and enter “If” as the solution term. The closing date for entries is January 31, 2022. The legal process is excluded.