Elbow
It’s widely regarded that Elbow’s past as a band-unit up to 2000 was – quite frankly – crap, though this is grossly untrue... ‘Crap’ is an understatement.
Mark Potter (guitar), Richard Jupp (drums), Craig Potter (organ), Pete Turner (bass) and Guy Garvey (vocals) met over a decade ago at sixth-form college in Bury, a small town in the north of the UK. Despite being born and raised in what they viewed as a mind-numbing, going-nowhere location, the friends managed to find solace in their musical interests that they shared: U2, Hendrix, Dylan and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, namely. Their compatibility and similarity in ideas allowed them to form a band, the feebly-titled Soft.
Soft began in the vein that Pete recalls as, ‘chilled funk’, of the ‘shit’ variety. On moving to Manchester, they changed their name to Elbow (which was ‘the most sensuous word in the world,’ according to a nurse in Dennis Potter\'s television-series, \'The Singing Detective\') and began to mould a different sound, which was far more interesting than the music produced of old. Merging haunting piano and organ with biting guitars and Guy’s improved vocal, the songs’ expansive quality is what prompted them to be deemed as ‘The Next Big Thing’.
But, this is when it went wrong. Signed to Island in 1998, they departed to a leafy area of France to record their first material, in almost the equivalence of isolation. ‘It was strangely like \'Big Brother\',’ Garvey remembered of the time. ‘It ended with the biggest row we\'ve ever had. It lasted 16 hours or something stupid.’ Barely twelve months following this, Island dropped them. Even a following deal with EMI collapsed just weeks later.
In all stories such as this, though, where talent is sufficient enough to bring you to the other side, Elbow’s luck started to change. Manchester’s UglyMan label released two EP’s from the group, ‘Newborn’ and ‘Any Day Now’, the former of which sold out so quickly that it’s now a hot collectors-item. The records allowed them to gain a fan-base, rave reviews and – most importantly – the confidence and strength to continue.
V2 Records soon signed the quintet following the sudden surge of success, and this allowed them to piece together the puzzle of what formed their debut LP, 2001’s ‘Asleep In The Back’. Revered by the end of the year as one of the greatest albums of the last twelve months, there was little wonder why this was the case: from the melting harmonies of ‘Powder Blue’ or ‘Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)’, to the sheer awesome collision of genres on ‘Bitten By The Tailfly’, the album proved that Elbow were not just a group of great range and soul, but an act that hinted towards possible successors to the crown held by Radiohead as the most innovative and exciting group in Britain.
Following hit singles and sell-out tours, Elbow have now found themselves in a most favourable position. About to release a new single – oddly enough entitled ‘Asleep In The Back’, despite its non-inclusion on the record of the same name – it seems that Elbow are now faced with the challenge of recording Album Number Two. So why could this be viewed as ‘favourable’? Well, because it’s now their chance to carry on where they left off – and win the hearts of thousands of more new fans across the globe.
So, let this be a lesson to you; given the unique talent, if you keep going through thick and thin and stick to what you believe in, you’ll get to where you want in the end. Don’t give up. Be like Elbow.
London Astoria Live Pix - Andrew Future
ELBOW.CO.UK: This is the official site, and contains all sorts of interesting info, plus news and video-clips.