Elvis Costello honours Burt Bacharach during opening night of New York residency

10 February 2023, 16:48 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

(Elvis Costello)

During the opening night of his residency at New York’s Gramercy Theatre, Elvis Costello honoured his late friend and longtime collaborator Burt Bacharach with a couple of covers.

Yesterday (9 February) it was revealed that Burt Bacharach, one of Costello's longtime collaborators, died aged 94 at his LA home.

Just last month Costello and Bacharach announced their The Songs of Bacharach & Costello box set to celebrate their 30-year songwriting partnership that started in 1995. The box set will feature the remastered Painted From Memory album, a new collection titled Taken From Life, live recordings, new and unreleased songs, a 10,000-word essay by Costello, unseen photographs and more.

Last night (9 February) Costello kicked off his 10-date residency at New York's Gramercy Theatre, and as well as covering The Shirelles' "Baby It's You", written by Bacharach, Luther Dixon and Mack David, Costello performed Dionne Warwick's "Anyone Who Had a Heart", also written by Bacharach.

He told the crowd, "It’s been a tough day, I can’t deny. A really great man left us yesterday. And when somebody reached a great age, people say, ‘Well, it was a good ending.’ Yeah, it’s never time to say goodbye to somebody if you love them. I’m not ashamed to say I did love this man for everything he gave, Mr. Burt Bacharach."

The Songs of Bacharach & Costello box set will arrive via UMe on 3 March, and is available to pre-order now.