CityLife

Elbow prepare for biggest homecoming yet

ARENA TIME, AT LAST: Elbow

QUITE why it took the world so long to catch on to Elbow – especially when one considers the fact they were nominated for a Mercury seven years before they had the honour of taking one home – continues to mystify and perplex CityLife in equal measure.

Pop on their first record, 2001’s Asleep In The Back, and you’ll find the same ambitious density of layers, the same eloquence of songsmithery, and the same evocative tenor that got frontman Guy Garvey dubbed as the new Peter Gabriel.

Or give the follow up, 2003’s Cast Of Thousands, another spin and you’ll notice that same misty melancholy, that same poetic attention to detail, and that same genre-bending propensity to drive gospel into a slow-motion, head on collision with funk, rock and blues.

As it happens, another third, critically acclaimed album (2005’s Leaders Of The Free World) would slip under the public’s noses before that special, second Mercury nomination came knocking, bringing with it a 688 per cent boost in album sales of the winning record, The Seldom Seen Kid.

South Bank Show

An NME Award for outstanding contribution, a Brit Award for Best British Band and a South Bank Show gong sealed the deal.

At last, though, Elbow are rightly regarded among the UK’s big stadium bands, and it’s with this expanded but still just as fond fan base that they pack out the M.E.N. Arena on Friday – their biggest headline show in the city to date.

If you can get a ticket now, you’ll be in the rafters – decent seats have, unsurprisingly, sold out, 1) because the last 12 months have been a ride the band will never forget, and 2) because it’s going to be Manchester’s last chance to see Elbow in quite some time.

The group has spoken about taking a little ‘us time’ away from the industry before going back into the studio to work on album five.

And then there’s that I Am Kloot record, that Guy and keyboardist Craig Potter are working on into Spring next year. 

Beg and borrow for a standing spot, or settle for a seat in the gods and suck in the atmosphere. Either way, this is one event you shouldn’t miss.

Elbow play the M.E.N. Arena on Friday, September 18. £27.50. Call 0844 847 8000. The Fiery Furnaces support.