Elbow emerged from the late 1990's [ Manchester] music scene centred around the city's vibrant Northern Quarter on Oldham Street.
Acclaimed for their innovative sound, breathtaking live gigs and the candid, evocative lyrics of singer Guy Garvey, Elbow have recieved vast critical acclaim and been endorsed by major artists REM, U2, Velvet Underground and Blur. However, commercial success has yet to match their critical acclaim and cult status.
Singer Guy Garvey met guitarist Mark Potter at Sixth form college in 1990 at the age of 16. Mark asked Guy to sing in a band he was in with drummer Richard de Jupp and bassist Peter Turner and they formed SOFT. Marks brother Craig Lee Potter joined soon after on keyboards. By 1997 they had changed their name to Elbow, signed a deal with Island Records and recorded their debut album with producer Steve Osbourne. However, when Island was bought out by major label Universal, the band were dropped in a mass cull and their album never released.
They continued to record on the iconic independent label Uglyman, and released The Noisebox EP and The Newborn EP, which was given massive airplay by BBC Radio 1 .
Their debut album, Asleep in the Back, released on V2 in 2000, was hailed as a seminal album of the new millenium, gaining them a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a Brit award nomination. Their second album, Cast of Thousands - a reference to their performance at Glastonbury in 2002, when they recorded thousands of people singing "We still believe in love, so fuck you", sealed their reputation as innovators in UK music.
In 2004 Elbow went on an unofficial tour of Cuba, becoming the first British band ever to play a concert outside Havana. The tour was made in to a short film by British documentary maker Irshad Ashraf.
