NOTThe next month marks the return of one of the UK’s most enduring and versatile singer-songwriters: Elvis Costello, whose new album with his band The Imposters, The Boy Named If, will be released on January 14. Along with the post, it will answer questions from Guardian readers, which you can post in the comments section below.

Originally rooted in the righteous wrath of the punk scene and pub rock populism, Costello has been a source of strident and melodious musical writing since its breakthrough in 1977. Oliver’s Army, Pump It Up and I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea are defining moments in the New Wave era, while ballads such as Alison also remain celebrated.

Her impeccable and varied taste meant that soul, jazz, and country music were also incorporated into her sound as the ’80s progressed, but her quill remained sharp: trade, Margaret Thatcher and – on the matchless. Shipbuilding – the cruelty of war were among its lyrical targets. He has also produced classic albums for groups such as Madness, Squeeze and the Specials, and other collaborators over the years have included Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Alison Krauss.

Opera, New Orleans R&B, ballet score, orchestral works, jazz piano… Costello remained curious and adventurous in the decades that followed, his creativity only briefly curtailed in 2018 by prostate cancer. “Aggressive” that he managed to overcome.

Now back in a rhythm of regular albums and tours, Costello, 67, is ready to answer your questions about his remarkably varied career. Post them in the comments section below by January 3. We will publish his answers in the January 7 edition of the Film & Print Music section, as well as online.