New Album And Northern Dates For Northern Icons Elbow

Manchester music icons Elbow, who secured their seventh UK Top 10 album with the November release of Flying Dream 1,have announced two Northern live dates for 2022 with headline shows at the Lytham Festival (Thursday 7 July) and Scarborough Open Air Theatre (Saturday 9 July). Their live shows are the stuff of legend, none more so than their unforgettable headline performance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage in 2011.

Formed in Bury in the 1990s when Guy Garvey (lead vocals, guitar), Mark Potter (guitar, backing vocals), Craig Potter (keyboard, piano, backing vocals) and Pete Turner (bass, backing vocals) were together at sixth form college, Drummer Richard Jupp was replaced by Alex Reeves in 2016. Elbow’s history now encompasses nine studio albums a long list of awards including a BRIT and Ivor Novello Award.

Now in their third decade together, Flying Dream 1 finds Elbow at their strongest artistically and personally and their creativity is testament to the strength of the partnership between their four members. It is a partnership long forged through mutual respect and admiration, close personal ties and a shared history of believing in the purpose and meaning of their work. Elbow have always been focused on the creation of music and lyrics that embody honesty, to both their artistic process and the lived realities on which it is based.

The new collection was conceived through the lockdowns of the past 20 months and recorded at an empty Theatre Royal in Brighton. Flying Dream 1 does not include any obvious anthems but reflects Elbow’s mellow side. Guy Garvey’s observational lyrics are full of sincerity while, musically, the songs wrap around like a comforting warm blanket. The whole is quiet stunning and has been very well received by the critics.

Elbow’s is a journey that has gone from an initial John Peel recommendation for debut EP Noisebox, in 1998, to a Mercury Prize win for 2008’s million selling The Seldom Seen Kid. From that watershed moment, in terms of public recognition of the band, there followed a BRIT Award, NME Award, Mojo Award, numerous Ivor Novello Awards, and multiple UK Number 1 albums complete with gold and platinum discs.

Here is a band that have declined big-name producers to keep full control of their vision with keyboardist Craig Potter manning the production and mixing desk for all their albums since 2008 and, in the process, delivering a catalogue of songs that eschew the idea of hits for a sense of permanence. From collaborations with John Grant to the Hallé Orchestra, Elbow are continually looking for new forms of expression and innovation, never standing still or resting on their well-earned laurels. They are unafraid to tackle the intensely personal and the outwardly political in their lyrics and have become a mainstream act beloved of the UK public without the usual marketing tricks and acquiescence to commercial concerns.

Elbow headline at the Lytham Festival (Thursday 7 July) and Scarborough Open Air Theatre (Saturday 9 July). For more information and tickets please visit https://elbow.co.uk/live/ or https://scarboroughopenairtheatre.com/