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Guy Edward John Garvey (born 6 March 1974) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and
BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
presenter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...
.


Early life

Garvey Garvey and O'Garvey are Irish surnames, derived from the Gaelic ''Ó Gairbhith'', also spelt ''Ó Gairbheith'', meaning "descendant of Gairbhith". ''Gairbhith'' itself means "rough peace". There are three distinct Ó Gairbhith septs in Ireland: ...
grew up in
Bury, Lancashire 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 counties of Englan ...
. His father was a
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
boy who could not afford to go to university; he spent most of his working life as a newspaper
proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional m ...
and a chemist at ICI. His mother was a
police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
who went back to university and became a
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
. One of seven siblings, Garvey has five older sisters: Gina, Louise, Sam, Karen, and Becky. His younger brother is actor Marcus Garvey.


Career

In the early 1990s, while at sixth-form college in Whitefield, near Bury, Garvey formed Elbow with Mark and Craig Potter, Pete Turner, and Richard Jupp. He serves as the lyricist of Elbow, and has been widely praised for his songwriting throughout his career. As well as vocal duties Garvey has also played a wide variety of instruments live including both electric and acoustic guitar, trumpet, and various forms of percussion. Elbow won two
Ivor Novello award 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 ...
s for best song writing for the 2008 single "
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 ...
" as well as best contemporary song for " One Day Like This". He was awarded a lifetime achievement honour by the
Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...
in 2014. In the same year, he also featured on the re-launched Band Aid charity's single to raise funds for the 2014 Ebola crisis in Western Africa. Garvey, with Elbow, was commissioned by 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. ...
...
to write the theme song for the
2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and Elbow performed this song, "First Steps" at the closing ceremony of the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. Amongst other work, Garvey produced and recorded the
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 Mercu ...
album '' Natural History'' (2001). Alongside Elbow keyboard player Craig Potter he also produced I Am Kloot's single "
Maybe I Should "Maybe I Should" is the first single I Am Kloot released after parting ways with their former record label Echo. The songs were recorded during the autumn of 2005. The single was released on 21 November 2005 by Skinny Dog label, co-founded by I A ...
" (2005, not associated with any album), their
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 ...
nominated 2010 album '' Sky at Night'' and their 2013 album ''
Let It All In ''Let It All In'' is the sixth and final studio album by English rock band I Am Kloot. Like the previous one, this record was produced by Guy Garvey and Craig Potter of the band Elbow. It was released on 21 January 2013. On 27 January, the ...
''. Elbow were themselves Mercury Music Prize nominees, in 2011, for the 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 ...
'' and won the prize in 2008 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 ...
". In addition, Garvey made an appearance on
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
's 2010 album record ''
Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
''. He is a member of the
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...
(BASCA). In April 2012 Garvey became a patron of the Manchester Craft and Design Centre. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to music he received, in July of the same year, an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
, to become a
Doctor of Arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin ''artium doctor'') is a discipline-based terminal doctoral degree that was originally conceived and designed to be an alternative to the traditional research-based Doctor of ...
. Garvey has been a presenter on
BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
since 2007 (Sunday afternoon 2 pm to 4 pm, British time) and previously presented a show on Sunday evenings on XFM. He had a monthly column in the now-defunct listings magazine '' City Life'' and is a patron of the
Mines Advisory Group The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a non-governmental organization that assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and small arms and light weapons. MAG takes a humanitarian approach to landmine action. They focus on the impact ...
(MAG), the
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 ...
-based charity responsible for clearing war zones of mines and munitions worldwide. In 2015, Garvey presented ''Music Box'', an
iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services de ...
-exclusive series covering emerging and established bands. Garvey has also read several children's stories for the
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
"Bedtime Stories" program on the BBC. In 2015, Garvey announced that he would be releasing his first solo studio album while continuing his duties as Elbow's lead songwriter. The resulting album, '' Courting the Squall'', was released on 30 October 2015, by
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
in the UK. On 27 October 2015 Garvey appeared on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's '' Later... with Jools Holland'', where he performed "Angela's Eyes" and "Belly of the Whale". In April 2017, Garvey appeared in the BBC television sitcom ''
Peter Kay's Car Share ''Peter Kay's Car Share'' is a British sitcom set around supermarket assistant manager John Redmond (Peter Kay) and promotions rep Kayleigh Kitson (Sian Gibson), and their participation in a company car-sharing scheme. The first series was fil ...
'', playing Kayleigh's brother-in-law Steve. In September 2018, Garvey appeared in the ITV television series '' The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco'', as the bar singer in the Episode "Fog of War". He sings "I Only Have Eyes for You". In 2020, he collaborated with Wise Owl Films (part of
Lime Pictures Lime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s. They produce award winning drama, and entertainment shows, for the international ma ...
) on the
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
music series, ''Guy Garvey: From The Vaults'', which features performances and interviews from a specific year in pop and rock history. Archive footage includes
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's '' The Tube'' (made by Tyne Tees), children's shows such as ''
Tiswas ''Tiswas'' (; an acronym of "Today Is Saturday: Watch And Smile") was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982, and was produced for the ITV network by ATV. It was c ...
'', '' Razzmatazz'' and '' Get It Together'', as well as clips from regional programmes such as '' So It Goes'', ''The London Weekend Show'' and '' The Geordie Scene''. Many of the performances were previously unseen or being shown for the first time since they originally aired. The series began on 18 September 2020, returning for a second season the following year and a third in 2022. Series 4 and 5 are currently in production.


Personal life

Garvey began dating actress
Rachael Stirling Rachael Atlanta Stirling (born 30 May 1977).. is an English stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama ''Tipping the Velvet'', and ...
in 2015 and the two were married in June 2016 at
Manchester Town Hall Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments. The building faces Albert Square to th ...
. The couple had their first child, a son, in 2017. In a 2019 interview, Garvey identified
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 ...
's ''
Spirit of Eden ''Spirit of Eden'' is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone Records. The songs were written by vocalist Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene and the album was compiled from a lengthy recording ...
'' and ''
Laughing Stock ''Laughing Stock'' is the fifth and final studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1991. Following their previous release '' Spirit of Eden'' (1988), bassist Paul Webb left the group, which reduced Talk Talk to the duo of singer/mul ...
'' albums as his two favourite albums of all time, and also cited Bjork's ''
Vespertine ''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 27 August 2001 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Production on the album ...
'',
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
's ''
For the Roses ''For the Roses'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was released in November 1972, between her two biggest commercial and critical successes—''Blue'' and ''Court and Spark''. In 2007 it was one of 25 rec ...
'', and the work of
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 Mercu ...
and
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 ...
as other favourites, among many others.


Discography


With Elbow

*''
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)


Solo

*'' Courting the Squall'' (2015)


References


External links


Elbow official website''Guy Garvey's Finest Hour''
(BBC Radio 6 Music) {{DEFAULTSORT:Garvey, Guy 1974 births BBC Radio 6 Music presenters British DJs English male singer-songwriters English record producers English rock guitarists English tenors English people of Irish descent British columnists Living people Music in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Musicians from Manchester People from Bury, Greater Manchester Fiction Records artists English male guitarists 21st-century English singers 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century British male singers