C4 Costello series features Clinton, Elton

Guests including Bill Clinton, Sir Elton John and Lou Reed have been secured for a new Channel 4 series fronted by Elvis Costello.

Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... is a combined talk and music show being made by John's production company Rocket Pictures and a Canadian firm.

John is said to have invited Clinton, who plays the saxophone, through the AIDS campaign work they have done together. It is thought the ex-president will not perform but will discuss the influence of music on his career.

Clinton, Reed, John and Tony Bennett are the subjects of the first four of 13 programmes in the series, which will be broadcast later this year. It is billed as "a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time".