A LIVERPOOL lad with a transatlantic accent last night earned seven standing ovations at the venue where his "mam" once worked as an usherette.

Elvis Costello,’s early career was always associated with punk rock. But his umpteenth home-coming gig last night blew away the notion that New Wave had seen off intelligent musicianship.

Costello, with the help of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, breezed through opera, jazz, film scores and even classical scores.

The opening song, All This Useless Beauty, from his 1996 album recorded with The Attractions, however, began with the simple strum of an acoustic guitar.

From this point on, the first half lurched through some difficult and unfamiliar material.

A duet with "Swedish nightingale" Gisela Stille played out the story of Danish children’s author Hans Christian Andersen and his doomed infatuation with soprano Jenny Lind., part of an unfinished opera commissioned by the Royal Danish Opera.

The three Secret Songs that made up this segment were accomplished, but Costello had to work hard to involve the audience.

"I wonder what could have drawn me to a story about an ugly misfit falling in love with an unobtainable woman," he joked rubbing a grizzled chin.

Despite his efforts and a fine Chet Baker inspired rendition of Almost Blue, the sheer range of styles and material gave the audience a lot to digest.

Warm applause greeted old friend the shape of Greenshirt, at the beginning of the second half.

This was followed by the three-chord rock of Veronica, which blossomed into a sweeping orchestral arrangement.

By the time he introduced Shipbuilding, which still feels raw today, the audience was enthralled, on its feet and shedding the odd tear.

A combination of big band songs which name checked Count Bassie and medleys that ran Smokey Robinson’s classics into Costello’s own spikey compositions from the 70s kept the pace high.

He then blasted out two numbers co- authored with Burt Bacharach before abandoning his mic to whisper the last song, earning tireless applause.

Many artists simply hire an orchestra to pad out their songs, afraid or incapable of taking greater risks. Last night, Costello’s range challenged the audience and left them wanting more.