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Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1997. The band consists of Guy Garvey (lead vocals, guitar), Craig Potter (keyboard, piano, backing vocals), Mark Potter (guitar, backing vocals) and Pete Turner (bass guitar, backing vocals). They have played together since 1990, adopting the name Elbow in 1997. Drummer Alex Reeves replaced Richard Jupp in 2016. The band have released nine studio albums: ''
Asleep in the Back ''Asleep in the Back'' is the debut studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, first released in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2001, and in the United States on 22 January 2002. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was o ...
'' (2001), ''
Cast of Thousands ''Cast of Thousands'' is the second studio album by English 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 rec ...
'' (2003), ''
Leaders of the Free World ''Leaders of the Free World'' is the third studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, released on 12 September 2005 in the UK and 21 February 2006 in the US on the V2 Records, V2 record label. The Japanese version of ...
'' (2005), ''
The Seldom Seen Kid ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' is the fourth studio album by English 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 album debut ...
'' (2008), ''
Build a Rocket Boys! ''Build a Rocket Boys!'' is the fifth studio album by English 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 f ...
'' (2011), ''
The Take Off and Landing of Everything ''The Take Off and Landing of Everything'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Elbow, released in the UK, Europe, and Australia through Fiction Records and Polydor Records on 10 March 2014 and in the US on Concord Records on 11 March 2 ...
'' (2014), ''
Little Fictions ''Little Fictions'' is the seventh studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, released on 3 February 2017 on Polydor Records and Concord Records. Produced by pianist and keyboardist Craig Potter, the album is the band's fi ...
'' (2017), ''
Giants of All Sizes ''Giants of All Sizes'' is the eighth studio album by British alternative rock band Elbow, released on Polydor Records on 11 October 2019. The album has a darker lyrical tone than previous Elbow albums, with singer Guy Garvey's lyrics relating to ...
'' (2019) and ''
Flying Dream 1 ''Flying Dream 1'' is the ninth studio album by British alternative rock band Elbow. It was released on 19 November 2021, through Polydor Records. Composition and recording ''Flying Dream 1'' was written remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, wi ...
'' (2021). Their studio albums, as well as their B-sides compilation ''
Dead in the Boot ''Dead in the Boot'' is a B-sides compilation album by English rock band Elbow, released in the UK on 27 August 2012. The title is a reference to the band's debut album ''Asleep in the Back'' and was suggested by singer Guy Garvey's sister Beck ...
'' (2012), all reached the top 15 of the British album chart. Seven of their singles placed in the top 40 of the British singles chart. Their most recent album, ''
Flying Dream 1 ''Flying Dream 1'' is the ninth studio album by British alternative rock band Elbow. It was released on 19 November 2021, through Polydor Records. Composition and recording ''Flying Dream 1'' was written remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, wi ...
'', was released on 19 November 2021. In 2008, Elbow won the
Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
for their album ''
The Seldom Seen Kid ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' is the fourth studio album by English 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 album debut ...
'', and in 2009 they won the
Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
for Best British Group. In 2012, they released " First Steps", the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
theme for the 2012 London Olympics.


History


1997–2001: Formation and first EPs

Garvey, then aged 16, met guitarist Mark Potter in 1990, while both were attending
Bury College Bury College is a further education college located within the Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The college offers a wide range of subjects from the A-Level, BTEC, and diploma format among other subjects provided. Overview Bury Co ...
in
Bury, Greater Manchester Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the historic county boundarie ...
. Potter asked Garvey to sing in a band he was in with drummer Richard Jupp and bassist Pete Turner. Together, the four formed the band 'Mr Soft' (the name was later shortened to 'Soft'). Potter's brother Craig then joined the band on keyboards. That year the band played their first gig together at the Corner Pin pub in
Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, northwest of Bu ...
. They changed their name a second time to 'Elbow' in 1997, inspired by a line in the BBC TV drama ''
The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". The ser ...
'' in which the character Philip Marlow describes the word "elbow" as the loveliest word in the English language. After winning a local Battle of the Bands, the band signed with
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
and recorded their first album with producer
Steve Osborne Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, Do ...
at
Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real ...
. However, Island sold out to major label
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...
. The band was dropped in a mass cull and the album was not released. Elbow continued to record with independent label
Ugly Man Records Ugly Man Records is a British independent record label based in Rhos on Sea, Wales, originally in Manchester. It released debut singles for many Manchester bands, including Elbow, the Man From Delmonte and I Am Kloot. It was set up in Bootle, ...
and released ''
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. It contains three early, original versions of songs ("Powder Blue", "Red" and "Can't Stop") that ...
'', ''
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 ("Newborn" and "Bitten by the Tailfly") were later included on their first full-length album ''Asleep in the Back ...
'', and ''
The Any Day Now EP ''The Any Day Now EP'' is Elbow (band), Elbow's third release. This Extended play, 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 listin ...
''. These releases garnered extensive airplay on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
.


2001–2004: ''Asleep in the Back'' and ''Cast of Thousands''

Elbow's debut album ''
Asleep in the Back ''Asleep in the Back'' is the debut studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, first released in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2001, and in the United States on 22 January 2002. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was o ...
'' was released in May 2001 on
V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...
. The album was written over the course of six years, and contains six rerecorded tracks from the Real World Studios sessions. ''Asleep in the Back'' was shortlisted for the
Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
and earned the band a
BRIT Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
nomination for Best New British Band. The band's second album ''
Cast of Thousands ''Cast of Thousands'' is the second studio album by English 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 rec ...
'' was released in August 2003. The title of the album is a reference to their performance at the 2002
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
, where they recorded the audience singing, "We still believe in love, so fuck you". The recording is featured on the song "Grace Under Pressure". In 2004 Elbow toured
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, playing songs from ''Asleep in the Back'' and ''Cast of Thousands'' at venues in and around Havana. British documentary maker
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. After studying film theory in London in the mid 1990s, Irshad moved to Tokyo to teach ...
filmed a large portion of the tour. The resulting short film was shown at film festivals in 2004, but remains commercially unavailable.


2004–2006: ''Leaders of the Free World''

Their third album, ''
Leaders of the Free World ''Leaders of the Free World'' is the third studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, released on 12 September 2005 in the UK and 21 February 2006 in the US on the V2 Records, V2 record label. The Japanese version of ...
'', was released in 2005. It was self-produced at Blueprint Studios in Salford, a studio the band hired for the 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.


2006–2009: ''The Seldom Seen Kid''

In 2006, the band moved to
Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...
and completed their fourth studio album ''
The Seldom Seen Kid ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' is the fourth studio album by English 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 album debut ...
'' in late 2007, which was produced and mixed by Craig Potter. The album was released in March 2008 and sold over 1 million copies. On 9 September 2008, they were awarded the Mercury Music Prize for ''The Seldom Seen Kid'', and in May 2009 the band won two
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
: " One Day Like This" won the main award for Best Song, and "
Grounds for Divorce Grounds for divorce are regulations specifying the circumstances under which a person will be granted a divorce. Adultery is the most common grounds for divorce. However, there are countries that view male adultery differently than female adultery ...
" was voted Best Contemporary Song. Elbow were also awarded Best International Band at the
Meteor Awards A Meteor Ireland Music Award was an accolade bestowed upon professionals in the music industry in Ireland and further afield. They had been bestowed each year since 2001, replacing the Irish Recorded Music Association, IRMA Ireland Music Award ...
in Dublin on 17 March 2009. Elbow and Bournemouth-based band
Air Traffic Air Traffic are an English alternative rock band from Bournemouth signed to EMI Records. Formed in 2003, the band consists of Chris Wall (piano, lead vocals), David Ryan Jordan (Drums), Tom Pritchard (guitar) and Jim Maddock (bass guitar). ...
embarked on an extensive North American tour in May 2008, which was very well received by the media including
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...
and Spin magazine. Elbow performed at
Delamere Forest Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and ...
in Cheshire on 14 June 2008 as part of the Forestry Commission's 2008 music tours, supported by
I Am Kloot I Am Kloot were an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1999. The band was composed of vocalist/guitarist John Bramwell, bassist Peter Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves. The band released six studio albums, and was nominated for the Mer ...
. 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 (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
on 28 June 2008, joined on stage by violinists and cellists. They performed in the Obelisk Arena at the Latitude Festival on 19 July 2008, and in August played at the
Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...
festival. On 9 September, they performed at the
National Movie Awards The National Movie Awards (NMA) was a British film awards ceremony broadcast by ITV in which the winners of the awards were chosen via popular vote. The awards were initiated in 2007 following the success of the National Television Awards, the ...
broadcast on ITV, and appeared on BBC2's "Later Live" show hosted by Jools Holland on 23 September. On 17 January 2009, Elbow gave an exclusive performance of their album ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' for
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
and BBC 6 Music together with the
BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert 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 BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...
and London-based chamber choir
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. On 17 January 2009 Chantage backed Mercury Award-w ...
at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio 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 c ...
(first broadcast on 31 January 2009). On 14 March 2009, they played
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
. On 3 July 2009, Elbow played to an audience of 80,000 at Rock Werchter. The next day, Elbow played for approximately 15,000 at Roskilde Festival, Denmark; on stage, Garvey remarked that "last time we played in Denmark, 7 people came." They performed with
The Hallé The Hallé is an English symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It supports a choir, youth choir, youth training choir, children's choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasiona ...
Orchestra and Youth Choir at the Bridgewater Hall as part of the
Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first taking ...
on 8 and 9 July 2009. These concerts featured specially-commissioned orchestral and choral arrangements of material spanning all 4 albums. The Hallé musicians and Garvey singers were positioned just to the right of conductor and arranger
Joe Duddell Joe Duddell (born 26 July 1972)
profile at 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Kings ...
at
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 known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...
, County Kildare. The band performed on the Main Stage at
T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...
in Balado, Kinross, Scotland, on 12 July 2009. And on 18 July, they played the "Escenario Verde" at FIB 2009 in Benicassim, Spain. They opened for
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
at several stops on the
Viva la Vida Tour The Viva la Vida Tour was the fourth concert tour undertaken by British rock band Coldplay. It was launched in support their fourth studio album, '' Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008), becoming a massive commercial and critic ...
's 2009 North American leg. They performed at
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 was hosted by Goldenvoice/AEG Live events, the same company that hosts the simila ...
in
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Osheaga Festival The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (french: Festival musique et arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages ...
in Montreal. 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 Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. They opened for U2 during their August 2009 UK shows at Wembley Stadium in London and the Sheffield Don Valley Stadium.


2009–2011: ''Build a Rocket Boys!''

In November 2009, Britain's long-running arts series ''
The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...
'' aired a 60-minute documentary about Elbow on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. Combining live footage of Elbow's September 2009 live performance at
Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has the ...
with an interview between Guy Garvey and presenter
Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...
, the first half of the documentary focused on Elbow's early career and attempts to get a record deal. The second half discussed songs from ''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, Greater Manchester Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the historic county boundarie ...
, Pete Turner showing cameras around
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
'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 lines Garvey recited became the lyrics to "Jesus Was a Rochdale Girl" and "High Ideals". Elbow's fifth studio album, ''
Build a Rocket Boys! ''Build a Rocket Boys!'' is the fifth studio album by English 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 f ...
'', was released on 7 March 2011. Upon its release the album hit Number 2 in the UK album charts, the highest of any Elbow album to date. ''Build a Rocket Boys!'' also earned the band their third nomination for the Mercury Prize. The album 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." The album was supported by the Build a Rocket Boys! Tour. On Saturday 11 June 2011, Elbow played at
Pinkpop The Pinkpop Festival is an annual music festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (''Pinksteren'' in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in June. ...
in the Netherlands. On Saturday 25 June 2011 Elbow played the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury 2011, in a performance which music journalist Stuart Maconie described as "career-defining". Between 26 and 28 August 2011 Elbow performed at both Reading and Leeds Festivals, after a long tour of British festivals including Glastonbury 2011.


2011–2012: ''Dead in the Boot''

In November 2011, it was announced that Elbow were to compose the theme for the BBC's 2012 Olympic coverage. The six-minute anthem entitled " First Steps" was recorded with the
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at MediaC ...
and the NovaVox gospel choir. Elbow were also one of the few artists chosen to perform at the
2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry of Wales representing Queen Elizabeth II. The clo ...
, where they performed "Open Arms" and " One Day Like This" as the athletes began their entrance into the stadium. This resulted in a sales increase of over 1000%, among the highest of any performers. Elbow headlined the 2012 Latitude Festival on 14 July. Elbow told
Festival Republic Festival Republic is a UK music promoter. It was founded as Mean Fiddler Group in 1982 by Irish-born chairman John Vincent Power, as a venue-management and music-promotion group. After the group was taken over by Hamsard Ltd in 2005, the focus b ...
that they would only headline the Saturday of Latitude 2012 so they could celebrate the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
by closing their set with a large fireworks display in honour of
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
. A compilation album called ''
Dead in the Boot ''Dead in the Boot'' is a B-sides compilation album by English rock band Elbow, released in the UK on 27 August 2012. The title is a reference to the band's debut album ''Asleep in the Back'' and was suggested by singer Guy Garvey's sister Beck ...
'' was released on 27 August 2012. Described by Garvey as "a real late night vibe", it features B-sides and "hard to find non-album tracks". The title is a reference to Elbow's debut album ''Asleep in the Back''.


2012–2014: ''The Take Off and Landing of Everything''

In June 2011, Garvey confirmed to the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' that the band had started working on new material for the follow-up to ''Build a Rocket Boys!'', saying, "Rich rummer Richard Juppwent into the studio and recorded several different drum patterns for me. I'll go away next week and try and write lyrics for them. We've never worked this way before, but we'll see what happens." The band started recording the album in November 2012, with Turner telling '' Q'' magazine that the new album would be "experimental": "We've been going very left-field with things. We are trying out new things". On 30 September 2013, the band simultaneously announced a live album, '' Live at Jodrell Bank'', and the release date of their next studio album as 10 March 2014. Garvey said in an interview with ''Q'' that the Manchester band's sixth LP would be called ''Carry Her Carry Me'', after previously having the working title of ''All at Once''. The group spent two weeks working on the early stages of the album at
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
's Real World Studios near Bath. Garvey told ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', "It's the least aptly-named studio in the world. Real World? Is it fuck. But when you're there, you get six months work done in two weeks. To go and live and breathe your record without the distractions of the rest of life, you make creative decisions you would not have made at home." In January 2014, the band announced that the album's title had changed to ''
The Take Off and Landing of Everything ''The Take Off and Landing of Everything'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Elbow, released in the UK, Europe, and Australia through Fiction Records and Polydor Records on 10 March 2014 and in the US on Concord Records on 11 March 2 ...
''. The album was released on 10 March 2014 and debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, becoming the group's first chart-topper.


2015–2018: Departure of Richard Jupp and ''Little Fictions''

In July 2015, Elbow released the ''Lost Worker Bee'' EP. Announced in June to the NME, Garvey stated "Elbow are involved in various solo projects and collaborative endeavours for the next few months and we just felt we really wanted to get 'something' away to tide fans over until the next album." In October 2015, Guy Garvey released his first solo album '' Courting the Squall'', preceded by a short UK tour. On 13 January 2016, Elbow released a 45-second long video filmed by Mark Potter with the tagline "Elbow 7. vibes.", showing the band working on guitar, keyboard and rhythm parts, as a possible indication that the band were in early stages of writing for their seventh album. It was announced on 6 March 2016, that drummer Richard Jupp would be leaving the group and their forthcoming album would go ahead without him. They have since worked with session drummer Alex Reeves, taking an official photo with him in 2019. On 27 July 2016, Elbow announced that their new album would be released on 3 February 2017, and would coincide with a British tour that would take place late February through March of the same year. They later released dates and a pre-order link through their website, with the initial cover art being a white background with black text reading "Elbow". On 6 December 2016, Elbow released further details of the new record. It was revealed the title was ''
Little Fictions ''Little Fictions'' is the seventh studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, released on 3 February 2017 on Polydor Records and Concord Records. Produced by pianist and keyboardist Craig Potter, the album is the band's fi ...
'', and that it would be released on CD, on vinyl, for digital download, and as a limited edition boxset, all available through their webstore. The lead single, "Magnificent (She Says)", debuted on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show and was later added to the Elbow YouTube page. On 10 February 2017, ''Little Fictions'' reached number 1 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, making the record their second to top the chart. The band kicked off their US Tour in support of the album on 1 November with a sold-out show at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA. The band performed "Magnificent (She Says)" on ''
The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' on 2 November 2017. Also recorded, but not aired was a shorter version of "One Day Like This" which was released to the Tonight Show's YouTube channel. On 10 November 2017, Elbow released a cover of "
Golden Slumbers "Golden Slumbers" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the sixth song of the album's climactic B-side medley. The song is follow ...
" by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. It was used in the 2017
John Lewis Christmas advert The John Lewis Christmas advert is an ongoing television advertising campaign released by British department store chain John Lewis & Partners in the build-up to Christmas. John Lewis & Partners launched their first Christmas advert in 2007. It ...
, titled ''Moz the Monster''.


2019: ''Giants of All Sizes''

On 1 August 2019 Elbow released the track "Dexter & Sinister" on their official YouTube channel. On 7 August 2019, Elbow announced their eighth studio album ''
Giants of All Sizes ''Giants of All Sizes'' is the eighth studio album by British alternative rock band Elbow, released on Polydor Records on 11 October 2019. The album has a darker lyrical tone than previous Elbow albums, with singer Guy Garvey's lyrics relating to ...
'' for release on 11 October 2019. On 4 October 2019, Elbow released the track 'White Noise White Heat' on their official YouTube channel.


2021: ''Flying Dream 1''

On 1 September 2021, Elbow announced their ninth studio album ''Flying Dream 1'' for release on 19 November 2021. They have released two songs from the album called 'The Seldom Seen Kid' and 'Six Words' On 4 June 2022 the band performed the song " One Day Like This" at the
Platinum Party at the Palace The Platinum Party at the Palace was a British music concert, held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2022, in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The concert began at 20:00 ( BST). Comedian Lee ...
.


Contributions and collaborations

Elbow recorded an acoustic cover of
Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
's "
Independent Women "Independent Women Part I" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for the soundtrack to the 2000 film adaptation of the television program '' Charlie's Angels''. It was written and produced by production duo Poke & Tone, consisti ...
" for a
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
session which was turned into a popular web animation by
Joel Veitch Joel Veitch (born 28 March 1974) 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. Stabby an ...
, featuring a band of flat-capped northern kittens "performing" the song. In January 2001, Elbow donated their unreleased original version of "Scattered Black and Whites" to Manchester Aid to Kosovo's compilation ''Cohesion''. The band released several songs for War Child compilations. In 2002 Elbow recorded a cover of "
Something in the Air "Something in the Air" is a song by English rock band Thunderclap Newman, written by Speedy Keen who also sang the song. It was a No. 1 single for three weeks in the UK Singles Chart in July 1969. The song has been used for films, television ...
" for the compilation '' 1 Love''. Elbow contributed the song "Snowball" to another compilation, '' Help!: A Day in the Life'', in September 2005. The song was originally recorded for the ''
Cast of Thousands ''Cast of Thousands'' is the second studio album by English 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 rec ...
'' record but omitted from the final album as the band felt it did not fit; the political lyrics suited the Warchild compilation. In 2009 Elbow contributed their cover of U2's " Running to Stand Still" to ''
War Child Presents Heroes ''War Child Presents Heroes'' is a 2009 charity album devoted to the War Child charity's aid efforts in war-stricken areas, such as Iraq, Uganda, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a theme of "placing faith in the next genera ...
''. Garvey explained: "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". A cover of "
Working Class Hero "Working Class Hero" is a song by John Lennon from his 1970 album ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', his first album after the break-up of the Beatles. Theme Stridently political, the song is a commentary on the difference between social clas ...
" was recorded by the band as part of a
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
tribute album, ''Lennon: Covered Vol. 1'', given away with
Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...
in 2005. A
The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...
cover of "August and September" was recorded as part of a tribute album ''Q Covered: Best of 86/06'' in 2006. In 2010, Peter Gabriel released a version of Elbow's song "Mirrorball" on his album ''
Scratch My Back ''Scratch My Back'' is the eighth studio album (and fifteenth album overall) by English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released in February 2010. The album, recorded at Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, ...
''. In return, Elbow recorded a version of Gabriel's song "
Mercy Street "Mercy Street" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album '' So''. Background and recording The song was inspired by the personal and confessional works of the American poet Anne Sexton, who wrote a play titled '' ...
" from his 1986 album '' So'', which appeared on the album of Gabriel cover versions ''
And I'll Scratch Yours ''And I'll Scratch Yours'' (originally announced as ''I'll Scratch Yours'') is a compilation album developed by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. Initially slated for release in 2010, the album was released on 24 September 2013. The origi ...
'', released in 2013. The song "Fallen Angel" appeared in the 2004 film ''
9 Songs ''9 Songs'' is a 2004 British art romantic drama film written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The film stars Kieran O'Brien and Margo Stilley. The title refers to the nine songs played by eight different rock bands that complement the s ...
'', and the song "The Night Will Always Win" was used in the opening credits and title sequence of 2012's '' Call of Duty: Black Ops II''. Elbow created the song "What Time Do You Call This?" for the film Man Up, where it was featured in the end credits. Elbow covered the song "Golden Slumbers" by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
for the 2017 John Lewis Christmas commercial.


Musical style and influences

Elbow's musical style has been described as
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
,
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
,
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
,
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
,
art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
,
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
,
dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...
,
post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
, and
post-Britpop Post-Britpop is an alternative rock subgenre and is the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following Britpop, when the media were identifying a "new generation" or "second wave" of guitar bands influenced by acts like Oasis and Blur, but ...
. Elbow have cited a number of influences on their music, including
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
(in particular the
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
years featuring
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
and
Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...
),
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk (Talk Talk s ...
and
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
. Guy Garvey has said: "I grew up listening to every Genesis record. I learned to write harmonies by listening to Peter Gabriel." The song "
Newborn An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
" from Elbow's debut album was directly influenced by " Entangled" from the Genesis album ''
A Trick of the Tail ''A Trick of the Tail'' is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released in February 1976 on Charisma Records and was the first album to feature drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist following the departu ...
''. Garvey has also said "there'd 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."


Band members

Current members * Guy Garvey – lead vocals, guitar (1997–present) * Craig Potter – keyboard, piano, backing vocals (1997–present) * Mark Potter – guitar, backing vocals (1997–present) * Pete Turner – bass guitar, backing vocals (1997–present) Session musicians * Alex Reeves – drums, percussion ( session member): 2016–present) Former members * Richard Jupp – drums, percussion (1997–2016)


Discography

Studio albums * ''
Asleep in the Back ''Asleep in the Back'' is the debut studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, first released in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2001, and in the United States on 22 January 2002. The title track, "Asleep in the Back", was o ...
'' (2001) * ''
Cast of Thousands ''Cast of Thousands'' is the second studio album by English 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 rec ...
'' (2003) * ''
Leaders of the Free World ''Leaders of the Free World'' is the third studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, released on 12 September 2005 in the UK and 21 February 2006 in the US on the V2 Records, V2 record label. The Japanese version of ...
'' (2005) * ''
The Seldom Seen Kid ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' is the fourth studio album by English 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 album debut ...
'' (2008) * ''
Build a Rocket Boys! ''Build a Rocket Boys!'' is the fifth studio album by English 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 f ...
'' (2011) * ''
The Take Off and Landing of Everything ''The Take Off and Landing of Everything'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Elbow, released in the UK, Europe, and Australia through Fiction Records and Polydor Records on 10 March 2014 and in the US on Concord Records on 11 March 2 ...
'' (2014) * ''
Little Fictions ''Little Fictions'' is the seventh studio album by English Rock music, rock band Elbow (band), Elbow, released on 3 February 2017 on Polydor Records and Concord Records. Produced by pianist and keyboardist Craig Potter, the album is the band's fi ...
'' (2017) * ''
Giants of All Sizes ''Giants of All Sizes'' is the eighth studio album by British alternative rock band Elbow, released on Polydor Records on 11 October 2019. The album has a darker lyrical tone than previous Elbow albums, with singer Guy Garvey's lyrics relating to ...
'' (2019) * ''
Flying Dream 1 ''Flying Dream 1'' is the ninth studio album by British alternative rock band Elbow. It was released on 19 November 2021, through Polydor Records. Composition and recording ''Flying Dream 1'' was written remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, wi ...
'' (2021)


Awards

*
Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
– 2001 (nomination) *Mercury Music Prize – 2008 *
Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
– "Best British Group" – 2009 *
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
– "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" ('One Day Like This') and "Best Contemporary Song" ('Grounds for Divorce') – 2009 *
South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...
Award – "Pop" – 2009 *
NME Award The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...
– "Outstanding Contribution to British Music" – 2009 *
Mojo Magazine ''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...
– "Song of the Year" – 2009 *Mercury Music Prize – 2011 (nomination) *Brit Award – "Best British Group" – 2012 (nomination) *Ivor Novello Award – "Best Song Musically and Lyrically": 'Magnificent (She Says)' – 2018


Television appearances


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elbow (Band) Music in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Brit Award winners English indie rock groups Post-Britpop groups Polydor Records artists Musical groups established in 1997 NME Awards winners V2 Records artists Fiction Records artists Musical groups from Greater Manchester