Elbow videos
Alternative rock band from, Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1990, originally called Mr. Soft (later shortened to Soft) and comprised of guitarist and back up vocalist Mark Potter, bassist Pete Turner and drummer Richard Jupp. Vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Guy Garvey was asked by Mark to join the band when they met at college (both were 16 at the time). Mark's brother keyboardist and back up vocalist Craig Potter joined soon afterwards. They changed their name to Elbow in 1997 after Guy heard a character from a BBC TV Drama "The Singing Detective" say that the word "Elbow" is the most sensual word in the English language, not for it's definition, but for how it feels to say and how it looks on the page. They were also signed by Island Records in 1997, but due to a takeover and indie band jettison-attitude by Universal in 1998, their Steve Osborne produced debut album was scrapped. Only a self-issued (now) ultra rare E.P. and a compilation appearance of one of the songs document this period. In 2000 they put out their first release proper, an E.P. on a small indie label Ugly Man Records before they were eventually signed to Richard Branson's V2 in 2001. Winner of the 2008 Mercury Prize (for best British album) for The Seldom Seen Kid. Drummer Richard Jupp left the band of his own choice to pursue drum tutoring in 2016.
Injecting a wider range of emotions into their music than most of their guitar-based British peers, Elbow have been known to refer to their orchestral, grandiose sound as "prog without the solos." The members of the band ( vocalist Guy Garvey, drummer Richard Jupp, organist Craig Potter, guitarist Mark Potter, and bassist Pete Turner ) met during the early '90s while attending college in Bury. After moving several miles south to Manchester proper, the band went through a couple of developmental stages before attracting the interest of Island Records, which signed the group in 1998.
Island was bought out by Universal several months later, though, and Elbow found themselves dropped from the label as a result. After a partnership with EMI also dissolved, the guys linked up with local independent label Uglyman and released two EPs, Newborn and Any Day Now. The acclaimed EPs gained the band a contract with V2, which released 2001's equally tipped Asleep in the Back. The record was short-listed as a nominee for 2001's Mercury Prize and was issued in the States in early 2002.
Cast of Thousands, which appeared in 2004, proved to be a strong, critically acclaimed follow-up. Leaders of the Free World, inspired by political events and behavior in the media, was released in fall 2005, with The Seldom Seen Kid following in 2008. Although all three of Elbow's past albums had enjoyed significant popularity in the U.K., The Seldom Seen Kid was the band's first album to go multi-platinum, eventually selling over one million copies and winning the 2008 Mercury Prize. Writing sessions for a new album began in 2010, and Build a Rocket Boys! was released one year later, followed in 2012 by Dead in the Boot, a collection of B-sides and non-album cuts.