# Elvis Costello always wanted to write songs like his hero. In 1983, he ended up ripping him off

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/elvis-costello-always-wanted-to-write-songs-like-his-hero-in-1983-he-ended-up-ripping-him-off/
- Published: 2026-11-02T15:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T15:55:52+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/elvis-costello-hero-1983-ripping-him-off/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Costello called ‘Everyday I Write the Book’ a knockoff of a Nick Lowe song.
- Lowe had been his songwriting hero since he was 17.
- Lowe produced Costello’s first six albums.

## Summary

Elvis Costello has said that Nick Lowe was the songwriter he most wanted to emulate, and that his 1983 song ‘Everyday I Write the Book’ was directly modelled on Lowe’s ‘When I Write the Book’. The admission shows how a long-standing influence became a deliberate tribute, shaped by the friendship and working relationship between the two musicians.

Costello said he had wanted to write songs as good as Lowe’s since he was 17. He added that Rodgers and Hart also influenced the song; Lowe had produced Costello’s first six albums, though they had parted ways by the time of *Punch the Clock*, which included the track.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.