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Fog this morningMagazine
Plenty of room for our Elbow
by Conrad Astley26/ 5/2005
JUST four years after Elbow's debut album, Guy Garvey says he is
surprised to find himself in the position of being "an elder
statesman of rock".
"We're all 30 or thereabouts now. That's elder statesman territory
in music terms. I don't feel any older, but I'm no longer the
skinny-hipped Robert Plant rock star I once was."
However, he joked of this weekend's performance alongside
Manchester legend and genuine elder statesman, former Stone Roses
singer Ian Brown: "That's going to make me feel fresh and
young."
Elbow are one of the acts playing Saturday's Carling Live 24, a
series of gigs across the city covering 24 hours.
The event, following a successful version held in London last
month, will take place at The Roadhouse, the Apollo, and the
Academy, before ending up with an after show party at Guy's
favourite bar - Big Hands on Oxford Road - with a DJ set by former
Inspiral Carpet Clint Boon.
Unlike the capital's event, which featured bands from all over the
country, almost all the acts to be featured have a close link with
Manchester. Even the London-based Chemical Brothers started out
DJing as students in the city.
Guy said: "I don't know about going to see I Am Kloot at half seven
in the morning, much as I love them, but it's a brilliant
idea.
"The venues are all different sizes and the smaller ones tend to be
on early, so I think they'll all be full.
"I don't know if anyone will be able to go to the whole thing
without some sort of help."
Elbow, named after a line from Dennis Potter's The Singing
Detective, first met at sixth form college in Bury in the early 90s
and, after moving to Manchester, were signed by Island - but the
record company dropped them within a year. EMI also showed interest
before dumping them within months.
Their debut album Asleep In The Back, which they said took them 10
years to write, was not released until 2001, when it was
shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. And, although their second
album Cast Of Thousands was also critically acclaimed, that was
delayed after Guy lost his book of song lyrics. He said the city's
strong creative community has helped the band pull through: "I've
never been anywhere as inspiring as Manchester, in terms of art and
music," he said.
"There're so many good bands from Manchester that people end up
coming here to make music. The place has got such history to
it."
"I met a lad the other day who told me he was from Heywood. He said
he'd been in a band for 10 years, and because they were from the
north they thought nothing could ever happen, and it'd never take
off.
"But, he said `knowing you lads came from Bury has encouraged us to
carry on.' It made me really proud to think we'd inspired someone
because we were from the next town along."
Guy says he's looking forward to performing songs from the new
album, The Stops, and that the sound is a little more extreme than
previous albums. "I wouldn't say it's gone smoothly. It's not coal
mining or having a milk round. It's been troublesome in places, but
that's always where your best ideas come from."
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