Elbow (band)
Encyclopedia
Elbow are an English
rock
band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!
, released in March 2011. In the UK all of their albums have made the top twenty and seven of their singles have been in the top forty.
In 2008 they won the Mercury Music Prize for their album The Seldom Seen Kid
and in November 2011 it was reported that they will be composing the BBC's 2012 Olympic coverage theme tune.
met guitarist Mark Potter at Stand College in 1990 at the age of 16. Potter asked Garvey to sing in a band he was in with drummer Richard Jupp and bassist Pete Turner. Together, the four men formed the band Mr Soft. (The name was later changed to Soft.) Mark Potter's brother Craig Potter joined the band soon after on keyboards. That year members of the band first played together at The Corner Pin pub in Stubbins
, Rossendale
(bordering the town of Ramsbottom
, Bury
, a borough of Greater Manchester
).
By 1997, they had changed their name a third time to Elbow, after a line in the BBC TV drama The Singing Detective
. A character (Philip Marlowe
) says that the word "elbow" is the most sensuous word in the English language; not for its definition, but for how it feels to say it. The band signed a deal with Island Records
, and recorded an album that was to be their début, produced by Steve Osborne
. However, when Island was bought out by major label Universal, the band was dropped in a mass cull and the album never released.
They continued to record on the iconic independent label Ugly Man
, and released The Noisebox EP
, The Newborn EP
, and The Any Day Now EP
. This gained them extensive airplay by BBC Radio 1
.
, released on V2 in 2001, was hailed as a seminal album of the new millennium, gaining them a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a BRIT Award
nomination. Their second album, Cast of Thousands
sealed their reputation as innovators in UK music. The title is a reference to their performance at Glastonbury
in 2002, when they recorded thousands of people singing, "We still believe in love, so fuck you". That recording was featured on the song Grace Under Pressure.
In January 2001 Elbow donated their unreleased original (Island) version of "Scattered Black and Whites" to the Manchester Aid to Kosovo Manchester compilation "Cohesion
". In 2002, Elbow recorded a cover of "Something in the Air
" (3.31) for the War Child
compilation "1 Love
".
In 2004, Elbow went on a tour of Cuba
, playing songs from Asleep in the Back and Cast of Thousands at venues in and around Havana. British documentary maker Irshad Ashraf
was present on the tour and filmed a large portion of it. The resulting short film was shown at festivals in 2004, but remains commercially unavailable. Their acoustic cover of Destiny's Child
's "Independent Women", recorded exclusively for a BBC Radio 1 session, was turned into a popular web animation by Rathergood.com's Joel Veitch
. The animation features a band of flat-capped northern kittens "performing" the song. In the same year, their song "Fallen Angel" appeared in the film 9 Songs.
, was entirely self-produced at Blueprint Studios in Salford, a space the band hired for the duration of their recording sessions. They teamed up with video artists The Soup Collective to produce an integrated music and video DVD.
In mid-2006, Elbow headlined the Ukula
Bright Lights Festival in Toronto's Distillery District. Asked before the show about what he thought about his Manchester-influenced imagery in his songs, Guy Garvey said, "I think lyrics are one of the tools of the box in order to try to get the feeling across. I don’t think it matters if you use local imagery as long as it’s part of the bigger picture."
Elbow contributed a song "Snowball" (5.00) to the War Child
compilation Help!: A Day in the Life, in September, 2005. Already recorded for the "Cast of Thousands
" record, they didn't think it fit the album and left it off. The song and lyrics are highly political, suiting the compilation. Another cover "Working Class Hero
" (5.03) was recorded as part of a tribute album "Lennon
: Covered Vol. 1" given away with Q Magazine
, in 2005. A The The
cover of "August and September" (4.55) was recorded as part of a tribute album "Q
Covered: Best of 86/06" in 2006.
in late 2007, which was produced and mixed by keyboard player Craig Potter. The album was released in March 2008 and has sold over 1 million copies to date. Elbow and Bournemouth-based band Air Traffic
embarked on an extensive North American tour in May 2008, which was greatly received by the media including Blender and Spin magazine. Elbow performed at Delamere Forest
in Cheshire on 14 June 2008 as part of the Forestry Commission's 2008 music tours. They were supported by I Am Kloot. The band commented before the show, "We always love playing gigs in unusual places. We've never done a gig in a forest before so we're really looking forward to it." Elbow appeared on the Other Stage at the Glastonbury Festival
on 28 June 2008, joined on stage by many violinists and cellists. They performed in the Obelisk Arena at the Latitude Festival
on 19 July 2008. In August, They played at the Electric Picnic
festival. On 9 September, the performed at the National Movie Awards
broadcast on ITV. On 23 September Elbow appeared on BBC2's "Later Live" show hosted by Jools Holland. On 9 September 2008, Elbow won the Mercury Music Prize for The Seldom Seen Kid. The award was presented to them by Jools Holland
.
In 2009, Elbow contributed to War Child
's Heroes album, covering U2
's "Running to Stand Still
". Garvey said: "When the band first met each other aged 17, Mark and Craig’s father Gareth would lend us his Volvo to get our gear around. It seemed that for a year and a half all that we listened to in that car was Rattle and Hum. I remember the excitement every time a U2 album was released, we just loved them. The first song we ever covered together before we had enough of our own songs to do a performance was 'Running To Stand Still'. For ‘Heroes’ we've changed the order of things but kept every musical theme in the song. We wrote it with the members of U2 in mind. War Child do exactly what it says on the tin. These kids shouldn't be in such circumstances in the first place, but they are, so thank god someone's doing something about it."
In May 2009, the band won two prestigious Ivor Novello awards: the song 'One Day Like This' won the main award for Best Song, and 'Grounds for Divorce' was voted Best Contemporary Song. Elbow exclusively performed their album "The Seldom Seen Kid" for BBC Radio 2
and BBC 6 Music
with the BBC Concert Orchestra
and London-based chamber choir Chantage
at the Abbey Road Studios
on 17 January 2009 (first broadcast on 31 January 2009).
On 14 March 2009, they played Wembley Arena
. Elbow performed at the Meteor Awards in Dublin on 17 March 2009. At this awards ceremony they also won Best International Band. On 3 July 2009, Elbow played to an audience of 80,000 at Rock Werchter. The next day, Elbow played a gig at Roskilde Festival, Denmark, to an audience of approximately 15,000. On stage, Garvey remarked that "last time we played in Denmark, 7 people came." As part of the Manchester International Festival
, they performed with The Hallé
Orchestra and Youth Choir at the Bridgewater Hall
on the 8th and 9 July 2009. These concerts featured specially-commissioned orchestral and choral arrangements of material spanning all 4 albums, the band themselves playing with the Hallé musicians and Garvey singing positioned just to the right of the conductor, Joe Duddell, onstage.
On 11 July 2009, they played the Main Stage at Oxegen 2009
in Punchestown Racecourse
, County Kildare
. The band performed on the Main Stage at T in the Park
on 12 July 2009 in Balado
, Kinross
, Scotland. And on 18 July, they played the "Escenario Verde" at FIB 2009 in Benicassim, Spain.
They opened for Coldplay
at several stops on the Viva la Vida Tour
's 2009 North American leg. They performed at All Points West Music & Arts Festival
in Jersey City and the Osheaga Festival
in Montreal
; Coldplay also played at both festivals. On 4 August 2009, Elbow headlined their second show at the 9:30 Club
in Washington, DC and on 8 August 2009, they performed at the Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta. They opened for U2 on 14 August 2009 at Wembley Stadium, London, UK and at the Sheffield Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield, UK.
On 15th November 2009 Britain's long running arts series The South Bank Show
aired a 60 minute documentary about Elbow on ITV 1. Combining live footage of Elbow's September 2009 live performance at Manchester Evening News Arena
with an in depth interview between Guy Garvey
and The South Bank Show
presenter Melvyn Bragg
, the first half of the documentary
focused on Elbow's early career and attempts to get a record deal. The second half of the documentary featured elucidations of songs on Asleep in the Back
, Leaders of The Free World
and The Seldom Seen Kid
. The documentary also contained sequences of Craig Potter
demonstrating Elbow's unusual recording techniques at Blueprint Studios, Mark Potter
driving around Elbow's old neighbourhood in Bury
, Lancashire
, Peter Turner showing cameras around Manchester
's Northern Quarter, where the band played their first gigs as Elbow, and sequences of Guy Garvey reading through old and new lyric books. Some of the lyrics Garvey read out in these sequences became the lyrics to Jesus Was a Rochdale Girl and High Ideals on Elbow's 2011 album Build a Rocket Boys!
, was released on 7 March 2011. Upon its release the album hit Number 2 in the UK album charts, the highest position of any Elbow album to date.
The album had had the working title 'Lippy Kids'. Guy Garvey told BBC 6 Music's Shaun Keaveney "It's quite a nostalgic thing. I've got a thing about growing up, Not needing to! But a certain period of your life when – well kids are called 'hoodies' these days aren't they when they reach their teens. I remember it being an amazing important time, so I've written a lot about that." On Saturday 11 June 2011, Elbow played at Pinkpop, the Netherlands. Again, the band preceded Coldplay. On Saturday 25 June 2011, Elbow played the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury 2011. Music journalist Stuart Maconie stated that this performance by Elbow was 'Career defining'. It was announced on 20 July that 'Build a Rocket Boys!' had been nominated for the prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Prize. It was Elbow's third nomination and came just three years after they won the award with 'The Seldom Seen Kid'. The award was won by PJ Harvey
. Along with a busy year of releases, between the 26 and 28 August 2011, Elbow performed at both Reading and Leeds Festivals after a long tour of British festivals including Glastonbury 2011.
Elbow's Guy Garvey had confirmed to The Daily Mirror that the band is now working on new material for a follow-up to their current effort Build a Rocket Boys!
with a new recording technique to start the writing process.
, and the Mojo Magazine Song of the Year 2009.
(in particular the Peter Gabriel
era), Talk Talk
and Radiohead
. Guy Garvey has said: "I grew up listening to every Genesis record. I learned to write harmonies by listening to Peter Gabriel." He has also claimed: "There would be no Elbow without Radiohead." He credits the band's sense of dynamics to the influence of Talk Talk
and has said: "Volume dynamics are an essential part of classical music
, but a lost art with guitar music. I think it's incredibly boring and shortsighted if a band sticks with just one sound song for song. An album should take people on a journey."
In a recent interview for ShortList about the British Music scene, Guy Garvey said: "We now live in a time where music is coming direct from the bedroom, written for a worldwide audience without being messed with or filtered."
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys! is the fifth studio album by the indie rock/alternative rock band Elbow, released on 4 March 2011 in the UK. Coinciding with the UK release, the album was available digitally in the United States on 8 March and released in the physical format on 12 April...
, released in March 2011. In the UK all of their albums have made the top twenty and seven of their singles have been in the top forty.
In 2008 they won the Mercury Music Prize for their album The Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid is the fourth studio album by the progressive rock/alternative rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States...
and in November 2011 it was reported that they will be composing the BBC's 2012 Olympic coverage theme tune.
1990–2001: Formation and first EPs
Lead singer Guy GarveyGuy Garvey
Guy Edward John Patrick Garvey , is the singer/guitarist in the band Elbow, as well as a presenter for BBC 6 Music and A&R manager of Skinny Dog Records...
met guitarist Mark Potter at Stand College in 1990 at the age of 16. Potter asked Garvey to sing in a band he was in with drummer Richard Jupp and bassist Pete Turner. Together, the four men formed the band Mr Soft. (The name was later changed to Soft.) Mark Potter's brother Craig Potter joined the band soon after on keyboards. That year members of the band first played together at The Corner Pin pub in Stubbins
Stubbins
Stubbins is an industrial village in the southern part of the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire.It is half a mile north of Ramsbottom town centre on the A676 between Bolton and Edenfield. For local government purposes, it receives services from Rossendale Borough Council and Lancashire County Council...
, Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
(bordering the town of Ramsbottom
Ramsbottom
Ramsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester...
, Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, a borough of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
).
By 1997, they had changed their name a third time to Elbow, after a line in the BBC TV drama The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....
. A character (Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
) says that the word "elbow" is the most sensuous word in the English language; not for its definition, but for how it feels to say it. The band signed a deal with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, and recorded an album that was to be their début, produced by Steve Osborne
Steve Osborne
Steve Osborne is a multi-platinum selling British record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, such as New Order, Doves, U2 and KT Tunstall. During the 1990s, Osborne was half of the Perfecto Records team, a production and remix collaboration with Paul Oakenfold; the artists...
. However, when Island was bought out by major label Universal, the band was dropped in a mass cull and the album never released.
They continued to record on the iconic independent label Ugly Man
Ugly Man Records
Ugly Man Records was started as a Manchester-based independent record label, but it is now based in Leeds. The label released debut singles for many Manchester bands, including Elbow, the Man From Delmonte and I Am Kloot. Ugly Man Records was set up in Bootle, Merseyside in 1986 with the release of...
, and released The Noisebox EP
The Noisebox EP
The Noisebox EP is Elbow's very first release and EP, limited to 150 copies. At the time, the band was still unsigned with any record label...
, The Newborn EP
The Newborn EP
The Newborn EP is Elbow's second release. This EP was released through Elbow's first record label Ugly Man Records. Two songs were later included on their first full length album Asleep in the Back....
, and The Any Day Now EP
The Any Day Now EP
The Any Day Now EP is Elbow's third release. This EP was released through Elbow's first record label Ugly Man Records, as well as their second record label V2 Records. Both EPs each have a different track listing....
. This gained them extensive airplay by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
.
2001–2004: Asleep in the Back and Cast of Thousands
Their debut album, Asleep in the BackAsleep in the Back
Asleep in the Back is the debut album by British rock band Elbow, first released in May 2001. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was only included as a bonus track on later editions of the album after it had been released as a single and became the band's first Top 20 hit...
, released on V2 in 2001, was hailed as a seminal album of the new millennium, gaining them a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a BRIT Award
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
nomination. Their second album, Cast of Thousands
Cast of Thousands
Cast of Thousands is the second album by British rock band Elbow, released on 18 August 2003 in the UK and on 27 January 2004 in the US by V2 Records. The album title refers to the song "Grace Under Pressure", whose refrain was recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2002, as sung by the...
sealed their reputation as innovators in UK music. The title is a reference to their performance at Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in 2002, when they recorded thousands of people singing, "We still believe in love, so fuck you". That recording was featured on the song Grace Under Pressure.
In January 2001 Elbow donated their unreleased original (Island) version of "Scattered Black and Whites" to the Manchester Aid to Kosovo Manchester compilation "Cohesion
Cohesion
Cohesion may refer to:* Cohesion , the intermolecular attraction between like-molecules* Cohesion , a measure of how well the lines of source code within a module work together...
". In 2002, Elbow recorded a cover of "Something in the Air
Something In The Air (song)
"Something in the Air" is a song recorded by Thunderclap Newman, a band created by Pete Townshend for The Who's former roadie John 'Speedy' Keen who wrote and sang the song, from their only album Hollywood Dream. It was a UK #1 single for three weeks in July 1969...
" (3.31) for the War Child
War Child (charity)
War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...
compilation "1 Love
NME In Association With War Child Presents 1 Love
NME In Association With War Child Presents 1 Love is a charity album by various artists. The New Musical Express is a pop music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. War Child is a charitable organization that works with children affected by war in Iraq,...
".
In 2004, Elbow went on a tour of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, playing songs from Asleep in the Back and Cast of Thousands at venues in and around Havana. British documentary maker Irshad Ashraf
Irshad Ashraf
Irshad Ashraf is a British documentary film maker with a reputation for making stylish, visually innovative documentary films about history, art and politics....
was present on the tour and filmed a large portion of it. The resulting short film was shown at festivals in 2004, but remains commercially unavailable. Their acoustic cover of Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
's "Independent Women", recorded exclusively for a BBC Radio 1 session, was turned into a popular web animation by Rathergood.com's Joel Veitch
Joel Veitch
Joel Veitch is a British web animator, singer-songwriter, and member of the humour website B3ta. Veitch is owner of the web site RatherGood where he showcases many of his animations. Joel has also created the Mr...
. The animation features a band of flat-capped northern kittens "performing" the song. In the same year, their song "Fallen Angel" appeared in the film 9 Songs.
2004–2006: The Leaders of the Free World and covers
Their third album, Leaders of the Free WorldLeaders of the Free World
Leaders of the Free World is the third studio album from the British rock band Elbow, released on 12 September 2005 in the UK and 21 February 2006 in the US on the V2 record label. The Japanese version of the album features two bonus tracks, "McGreggor" and "The Good Day", which were both B-sides...
, was entirely self-produced at Blueprint Studios in Salford, a space the band hired for the duration of their recording sessions. They teamed up with video artists The Soup Collective to produce an integrated music and video DVD.
In mid-2006, Elbow headlined the Ukula
Ukula
UKULA Magazine was an independent arts and culture quarterly founded in 2004, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was created by co-founders Kevin Renton and Graeme Maclean, who first started out DJing under the now well known UKULA moniker at the city's Andy Poolhall in 2002. Copies of UKULA...
Bright Lights Festival in Toronto's Distillery District. Asked before the show about what he thought about his Manchester-influenced imagery in his songs, Guy Garvey said, "I think lyrics are one of the tools of the box in order to try to get the feeling across. I don’t think it matters if you use local imagery as long as it’s part of the bigger picture."
Elbow contributed a song "Snowball" (5.00) to the War Child
War Child (charity)
War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...
compilation Help!: A Day in the Life, in September, 2005. Already recorded for the "Cast of Thousands
Cast of Thousands
Cast of Thousands is the second album by British rock band Elbow, released on 18 August 2003 in the UK and on 27 January 2004 in the US by V2 Records. The album title refers to the song "Grace Under Pressure", whose refrain was recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2002, as sung by the...
" record, they didn't think it fit the album and left it off. The song and lyrics are highly political, suiting the compilation. Another cover "Working Class Hero
Working Class Hero
"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Theme:The song is a take on the class split of the 1940s and 1950s, and of the 1960s in which he was famous. The song appears to tell the story of someone growing up in the working...
" (5.03) was recorded as part of a tribute album "Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
: Covered Vol. 1" given away with Q Magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, in 2005. A The The
The The
The The are an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member.-Early years :...
cover of "August and September" (4.55) was recorded as part of a tribute album "Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
Covered: Best of 86/06" in 2006.
2006–2009: The Seldom Seen Kid and the Mercury Music Prize
In 2006 the band moved to Fiction Records and completed their fourth studio album, The Seldom Seen KidThe Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid is the fourth studio album by the progressive rock/alternative rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States...
in late 2007, which was produced and mixed by keyboard player Craig Potter. The album was released in March 2008 and has sold over 1 million copies to date. Elbow and Bournemouth-based band Air Traffic
Air Traffic
Air Traffic was a British alternative rock band from Bournemouth. Formed in 2003, the band consists of Chris Wall , David Ryan Jordan , Tom Pritchard and Jim Maddock ....
embarked on an extensive North American tour in May 2008, which was greatly received by the media including Blender and Spin magazine. Elbow performed at Delamere Forest
Delamere Forest
Delamere Forest or Delamere Forest Park is a wood in the Cheshire West and Chester area of Cheshire, England, near the town of Frodsham. It includes of mixed deciduous and evergreen woodland, centred at around , making it the largest area of woodland in Cheshire...
in Cheshire on 14 June 2008 as part of the Forestry Commission's 2008 music tours. They were supported by I Am Kloot. The band commented before the show, "We always love playing gigs in unusual places. We've never done a gig in a forest before so we're really looking forward to it." Elbow appeared on the Other Stage at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
on 28 June 2008, joined on stage by many violinists and cellists. They performed in the Obelisk Arena at the Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006....
on 19 July 2008. In August, They played at the Electric Picnic
Electric Picnic
The 2005 festival took place on Saturday 3 September and Sunday 4 September. It is best remembered for Arcade Fire's performance which came before their subsequent mainstream success...
festival. On 9 September, the performed at the National Movie Awards
National Movie Awards
The National Movie Awards is a British movie awards ceremony broadcast by ITV in which the winners of the awards are chosen via popular vote. The awards were initiated in 2007 following the success of the National Television Awards, the highest-rating awards ceremony for television...
broadcast on ITV. On 23 September Elbow appeared on BBC2's "Later Live" show hosted by Jools Holland. On 9 September 2008, Elbow won the Mercury Music Prize for The Seldom Seen Kid. The award was presented to them by Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
.
In 2009, Elbow contributed to War Child
War Child (charity)
War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...
's Heroes album, covering U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's "Running to Stand Still
Running to Stand Still
"Running to Stand Still" is a song by rock band U2, and it is the fifth track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. A slow ballad based on piano and guitar, it describes a heroin-addicted couple living in Dublin's Ballymun flats; the towers have since become associated with the song...
". Garvey said: "When the band first met each other aged 17, Mark and Craig’s father Gareth would lend us his Volvo to get our gear around. It seemed that for a year and a half all that we listened to in that car was Rattle and Hum. I remember the excitement every time a U2 album was released, we just loved them. The first song we ever covered together before we had enough of our own songs to do a performance was 'Running To Stand Still'. For ‘Heroes’ we've changed the order of things but kept every musical theme in the song. We wrote it with the members of U2 in mind. War Child do exactly what it says on the tin. These kids shouldn't be in such circumstances in the first place, but they are, so thank god someone's doing something about it."
In May 2009, the band won two prestigious Ivor Novello awards: the song 'One Day Like This' won the main award for Best Song, and 'Grounds for Divorce' was voted Best Contemporary Song. Elbow exclusively performed their album "The Seldom Seen Kid" for BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
and BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
with the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
and London-based chamber choir Chantage
Chantage
Chantage is a London based chamber choir conducted by James Davey. Drawing singers from all over the country and all walks of life, the choir won the 2006 Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition....
at the Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
on 17 January 2009 (first broadcast on 31 January 2009).
On 14 March 2009, they played Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
. Elbow performed at the Meteor Awards in Dublin on 17 March 2009. At this awards ceremony they also won Best International Band. On 3 July 2009, Elbow played to an audience of 80,000 at Rock Werchter. The next day, Elbow played a gig at Roskilde Festival, Denmark, to an audience of approximately 15,000. On stage, Garvey remarked that "last time we played in Denmark, 7 people came." As part of the Manchester International Festival
Manchester International Festival
The Manchester International Festival is an international cultural festival of original new work, held in the English city of Manchester. It is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009 and 2011...
, they performed with The Hallé
The Hallé
The Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI...
Orchestra and Youth Choir at the Bridgewater Hall
Bridgewater Hall
The Bridgewater Hall is an international concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build and currently hosts over 250 performances a year....
on the 8th and 9 July 2009. These concerts featured specially-commissioned orchestral and choral arrangements of material spanning all 4 albums, the band themselves playing with the Hallé musicians and Garvey singing positioned just to the right of the conductor, Joe Duddell, onstage.
On 11 July 2009, they played the Main Stage at Oxegen 2009
Oxegen 2009
Oxegen 2009 was the sixth Oxegen festival to take place since 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 10 July, Saturday, 11 July and Sunday, 12 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in County Kildare, Ireland...
in Punchestown Racecourse
Punchestown Racecourse
Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland....
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
. The band performed on the Main Stage at T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
on 12 July 2009 in Balado
Balado
Balado is a park and former airfield within the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland. It is now the venue of the annual T in the Park music festival.Poultry sheds of Balado Poultry Farm now occupy the old concrete runways of the airfield...
, Kinross
Kinross
Kinross is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was formerly the county town of Kinross-shire.Kinross is a fairly small town, with some attractive buildings...
, Scotland. And on 18 July, they played the "Escenario Verde" at FIB 2009 in Benicassim, Spain.
They opened for Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
at several stops on the Viva la Vida Tour
Viva la Vida Tour
Viva la Vida Tour was the fourth concert tour by English band Coldplay. The tour was in support their fourth studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The tour was a massive commercial and critical success visiting Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia...
's 2009 North American leg. They performed at All Points West Music & Arts Festival
All Points West Music & Arts Festival
The All Points West Music & Arts Festival was an annual music and arts festival held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. First held in August 2008, it is hosted by Goldenvoice/AEG Live events, the same company that hosts the similar annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival...
in Jersey City and the Osheaga Festival
Osheaga Festival
The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival is a multi-day rock festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held annually at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène every summer. The 2006 festival attracted a crowd of around 25,000 people. The second edition was held on September 8 and 9, 2007...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
; Coldplay also played at both festivals. On 4 August 2009, Elbow headlined their second show at the 9:30 Club
9:30 Club
Foo Fighters Promise to come back to D.C. and play the 9:30 ClubNightclub 9:30 is a nightclub and concert venue in Washington, D.C. Originally located at 930 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C., in the 1970s it was called the "Atlantis Club", and hosted primarily rock, New Wave, and punk bands...
in Washington, DC and on 8 August 2009, they performed at the Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta. They opened for U2 on 14 August 2009 at Wembley Stadium, London, UK and at the Sheffield Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield, UK.
On 15th November 2009 Britain's long running arts series The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
aired a 60 minute documentary about Elbow on ITV 1. Combining live footage of Elbow's September 2009 live performance at Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
with an in depth interview between Guy Garvey
Guy Garvey
Guy Edward John Patrick Garvey , is the singer/guitarist in the band Elbow, as well as a presenter for BBC 6 Music and A&R manager of Skinny Dog Records...
and The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
presenter Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
, the first half of the documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
focused on Elbow's early career and attempts to get a record deal. The second half of the documentary featured elucidations of songs on Asleep in the Back
Asleep in the Back
Asleep in the Back is the debut album by British rock band Elbow, first released in May 2001. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was only included as a bonus track on later editions of the album after it had been released as a single and became the band's first Top 20 hit...
, Leaders of The Free World
Leaders of the Free World
Leaders of the Free World is the third studio album from the British rock band Elbow, released on 12 September 2005 in the UK and 21 February 2006 in the US on the V2 record label. The Japanese version of the album features two bonus tracks, "McGreggor" and "The Good Day", which were both B-sides...
and The Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid is the fourth studio album by the progressive rock/alternative rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States...
. The documentary also contained sequences of Craig Potter
Craig Potter
Craig Potter may refer to:* Craig Potter , former VFL/AFL footballer from Queensland* Craig Potter , Scottish footballer playing for Dumbarton F.C.* Craig Potter , member of British band Elbow...
demonstrating Elbow's unusual recording techniques at Blueprint Studios, Mark Potter
Mark Potter
Mark Potter has been a well-known sports broadcaster in Eastern Ontario for over thirty years. Born and raised in Portsmouth Village in Kingston, Potter has worked both hockey and baseball broadcasts on TV & radio spanning four decades...
driving around Elbow's old neighbourhood in Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Peter Turner showing cameras around Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
's Northern Quarter, where the band played their first gigs as Elbow, and sequences of Guy Garvey reading through old and new lyric books. Some of the lyrics Garvey read out in these sequences became the lyrics to Jesus Was a Rochdale Girl and High Ideals on Elbow's 2011 album Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys! is the fifth studio album by the indie rock/alternative rock band Elbow, released on 4 March 2011 in the UK. Coinciding with the UK release, the album was available digitally in the United States on 8 March and released in the physical format on 12 April...
2009-present: Build a Rocket, Boys!
Elbow's fifth studio album, Build a Rocket Boys!Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys! is the fifth studio album by the indie rock/alternative rock band Elbow, released on 4 March 2011 in the UK. Coinciding with the UK release, the album was available digitally in the United States on 8 March and released in the physical format on 12 April...
, was released on 7 March 2011. Upon its release the album hit Number 2 in the UK album charts, the highest position of any Elbow album to date.
The album had had the working title 'Lippy Kids'. Guy Garvey told BBC 6 Music's Shaun Keaveney "It's quite a nostalgic thing. I've got a thing about growing up, Not needing to! But a certain period of your life when – well kids are called 'hoodies' these days aren't they when they reach their teens. I remember it being an amazing important time, so I've written a lot about that." On Saturday 11 June 2011, Elbow played at Pinkpop, the Netherlands. Again, the band preceded Coldplay. On Saturday 25 June 2011, Elbow played the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury 2011. Music journalist Stuart Maconie stated that this performance by Elbow was 'Career defining'. It was announced on 20 July that 'Build a Rocket Boys!' had been nominated for the prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Prize. It was Elbow's third nomination and came just three years after they won the award with 'The Seldom Seen Kid'. The award was won by PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
. Along with a busy year of releases, between the 26 and 28 August 2011, Elbow performed at both Reading and Leeds Festivals after a long tour of British festivals including Glastonbury 2011.
Elbow's Guy Garvey had confirmed to The Daily Mirror that the band is now working on new material for a follow-up to their current effort Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys!
Build a Rocket Boys! is the fifth studio album by the indie rock/alternative rock band Elbow, released on 4 March 2011 in the UK. Coinciding with the UK release, the album was available digitally in the United States on 8 March and released in the physical format on 12 April...
with a new recording technique to start the writing process.
Discography
- Asleep in the BackAsleep in the BackAsleep in the Back is the debut album by British rock band Elbow, first released in May 2001. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was only included as a bonus track on later editions of the album after it had been released as a single and became the band's first Top 20 hit...
(2001) - Cast of ThousandsCast of ThousandsCast of Thousands is the second album by British rock band Elbow, released on 18 August 2003 in the UK and on 27 January 2004 in the US by V2 Records. The album title refers to the song "Grace Under Pressure", whose refrain was recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2002, as sung by the...
(2003) - Leaders of the Free WorldLeaders of the Free WorldLeaders of the Free World is the third studio album from the British rock band Elbow, released on 12 September 2005 in the UK and 21 February 2006 in the US on the V2 record label. The Japanese version of the album features two bonus tracks, "McGreggor" and "The Good Day", which were both B-sides...
(2005) - The Seldom Seen KidThe Seldom Seen KidThe Seldom Seen Kid is the fourth studio album by the progressive rock/alternative rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States...
(2008) - Build a Rocket Boys!Build a Rocket Boys!Build a Rocket Boys! is the fifth studio album by the indie rock/alternative rock band Elbow, released on 4 March 2011 in the UK. Coinciding with the UK release, the album was available digitally in the United States on 8 March and released in the physical format on 12 April...
(2011)
Awards
Awards won by the band include the Brit Award, the Ivor Novello award, the Mercury Music Prize the South Bank Show Pop award, the NME awardNME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
, and the Mojo Magazine Song of the Year 2009.
Musical style and influences
Elbow have cited a number of influences on their music, including GenesisGenesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
(in particular the Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
era), Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
. Guy Garvey has said: "I grew up listening to every Genesis record. I learned to write harmonies by listening to Peter Gabriel." He has also claimed: "There would be no Elbow without Radiohead." He credits the band's sense of dynamics to the influence of Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
and has said: "Volume dynamics are an essential part of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, but a lost art with guitar music. I think it's incredibly boring and shortsighted if a band sticks with just one sound song for song. An album should take people on a journey."
In a recent interview for ShortList about the British Music scene, Guy Garvey said: "We now live in a time where music is coming direct from the bedroom, written for a worldwide audience without being messed with or filtered."