Elvis Costello pitched himself as Colbert's Late Show bandleader

Elvis Costello asked Stephen Colbert to hire him and the Impostors as the house band for the Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

He made the pitch before the CBS show launched in September 2015. He told the story publicly for the first time on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, as reported by Billboard.

Colbert had asked Costello for advice about who should take the bandleader chair. Costello answered with three words: "What about me?" Colbert assumed he was joking. Costello told him, "No, I'm not joking."

Costello described the offer as "an impulsive thing to put myself forward." He said it led to "serious discussions" about him taking the job. A house band plays the theme music, backs visiting performers and covers the breaks in a television show.

The job went instead to Jon Batiste, the show's original bandleader. Louis Cato later succeeded Batiste as bandleader.

Costello said he was encouraged by the example of The Roots. They kept recording while playing four shows a week as the house band on the Tonight Show. He thought he could manage the same balance of television work and his own music.

He later concluded the plan would not have worked. His bandmates were scattered across the United States and Europe. They would have had to relocate to New York for a regular television schedule.

He also joked about his own chances. He said he would probably have been fired "in about three weeks." It would not have been Colbert who fired him, he added, but probably CBS.

The Late Show aired its final show on May 21 after cancellation by CBS. Costello was part of that farewell. He performed "Jump Up" with Colbert, Batiste and Cato as part of a medley, according to the original Rolling Stone interview.

What makes this stand out is the full circle. Costello did not get the regular job he asked for, but he closed the show's run on stage alongside the two musicians who did.