In an interview with NME, frontman Guy Garvey said about the new album, “it’s in very sharp contrast to the last record. The last one was made in lockdown and was very gentle, wistful and based on life, childhood, memories and fatherhood – all these very wholesome things. With the bruising that the pandemic had given everyone, it felt the right time to do a record like that….That’s a beautiful, gentle record, whereas this is groove-based. It tackles some pretty full-on subjects, and it’s loads of fun as well.”

Garvey divulged that the new studio effort by the band tackles some weighty topics that he feels the time is just right for. He added, “It deals with some pretty inky stuff. There are a couple of wholesome tunes on there, but by and large there’s everything from a maniacal rant from the point of view of a frontman who’s lost his mind, to really awful portraits of toxic relationships failing – all set to a very thick, guitar, drum and groove-based thing. It doesn’t sound like anything that we’ve done before. There’s everything from Stiff Records and what Elvis Costello was doing in his early years, right through to Afrika Bambaataa. We’re wearing our influences a bit more proudly.”

Formed in 1997 in the Greater Manchester area, Elbow came into considerable success after the release of their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid-scoring the band their first Mercury Music Prize and Brit Award for Best British Group. From there, Elbow continued to release new material at a steady rate, even having one of their songs (“Mirrorball”) covered by none other than Peter Gabriel.

For their upcoming tour, Garvey has revealed that the band fully intend to provide a career-spanning setlist, saying, “the first time we played arenas, we didn’t have enough big numbers to do an arena set….we had a B-stage, a walkway, all this stuff – but now we’ve got more than enough massive songs. I think it’s going to be loads of fun.”

Tickets for the arena tour can be purchased here, ahead of the general sale on 27 October.

Elbow UK Tour:

07/05/2024 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
09/05 – O2 Arena – London
10/05 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
11/05 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
12/05 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
14/05 – Co-op Live – Manchester
15/05 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham

Talking about the album’s conception and meaning with Clash, Davie explains how the album attempts to discuss mental health in a frank and empathetic manner: “It’s the main overarching theme with this record… It probably speaks to our struggles and hopefully many other people’s too. Men are not very good at talking. We’re not really taught how to. Men have no idea how to talk about this stuff, certainly to each other“. Going on to provide further insight, Davie reveals that elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid was a big inspiration both musically and lyrically for him and fellow band member Kevin Jones: “We spoke at length about this album while recording ‘Blue Hours’. We’d both been fans of elbow for a long time but this record felt like musically, lyrically and on a production level, everything clicked into place. There was a kind of bravery and an assuredness in the risks that elbow took on this record that only comes from a band that’s on top of their game. It’s a beautiful album and a favourite of both of ours.”

If their current position in the UK’s official album charts is anything to go by, then it seems they too are on top of their game. In a tweet recently put out by the band, they reveal that they are currently charting at a career high of number 5 in the midweeks.

We’re #5 in the UK album chart midweeks, and it’s all thanks to you legends! Pick up a copy of our new album from our online store, your local record shop or from our Bristol and London shows before Thursday and help make Blue Hours a top 10 record! https://t.co/UEIg9CCgeMpic.twitter.com/QrkguvHIsi

— Bear’s Den (@bearsdenmusic) May 17, 2022

Bear’s Den look to continue their success by touring non stop for the remainder of May at venues all around the UK and Ireland. You can catch them on the road at any of the dates below:

May 17 2022 – O2 Academy – Bristol

May 18 – Eventim Apollo – London

May 21 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin, IE

May 22 – Albert Hall – Manchester

May 23 – O2 Academy – Glasgow

May 25 – University Of Newcastle – Newcastle

May 26 – O2 Institute – Birmingham

May 27 – Stylus – Leeds

Elbow has released the second single off of the new album Flying Dream 1- which is set to release on November 19th. “Six Words” follows on from the single “The Seldom Seen Kid’, a track that shares its name, and meaning behind its lyrics, with their critically acclaimed 2008 full-length. Frontman, and singer, Guy Garvey told NME: “In some ways it’s familiar territory lyrically, it has similar sentiments to ‘Mirrorball’ but it draws heavily on my teenage years: the bottle green in the song is the colour of my school uniform and the six lanes is the traffic on the road to school in Prestwich.”. 

The ninth studio album from Elbow was written remotely, a world away from Elbow’s previous 20 years of writing and before coming together to record and perfect the songs at Brighton Theatre Royal. Produced by Craig Potte, Flying Dream 1 will feature friends and of the band Alex Reeves on drums, Sarah Field on clarinets, Vocals from Wilson Atie, Adeleye Omotoayo, and Marit Røkeberg, and long time collaborator Jesca Hoop.

elbow announce the first single from their new album, ‘Flying Dream 1′.

Watch ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ video here: https://t.co/oLeZiTW3VA

Stream/download: https://t.co/vckYOdw3Id

‘Flying Dream 1′, is released on Nov 19. Pre-Order here: https://t.co/XalHid2aohpic.twitter.com/Abl3GzAR6V

— elbow (@Elbow) October 1, 2021

Coming off of the back of a long line of UK shows, Elbow has been building the anticipation for the LP. Following Giants of All Sizes (2019) LP, which featured chart-topping track “White Noise White Heat”, and live record Live At The Ritz- an Acoustic Performance (2020). With just over a month until its release, we can expect to hear more from Elbow as the date approaches.

Elbow’s Flying Dream 1 Tracklist:

1. Flying Dream 1
2. After the Eclipse
3. Is It a Bird
4. Six words
5. Calm and Happy
6. Come On, Blue
7. The Only Road
8. Red Sky Radio (Baby Baby Baby)
9. The Seldom Seen Kid
10. What Am I Without You

You can order your copy of the Flying Dream 1 in beautiful white vinyl, and on CD and cassette, here. Be sure to get it soon before it sells out.

Out today on #WarChildRecords! We have re-released the classic albums ‘1 Love’, ‘Hope’, ‘Help! A Day In The Life’ and ‘War Child Presents Heroes’, all available now on digital.

A limited vinyl run of each album will also be available. Pre-order now!https://t.co/Fn56VdSZ47 pic.twitter.com/S47f0HDJDZ

— War Child UK (@WarChildUK) September 10, 2021

The first of the four albums, 1 Love, was originally released in 2002 in a collaborative effort with NME, to celebrate fifty years since the magazine debuted. The album featured the likes of Oasis, Muse, Prodigy, Jimmy Eat World and Stereophonics, all of whom were asked to select a number one song to cover. The second album, Hope, saw War Child teaming up with the Daily Mirror to create an artistic response to the Iraq war. Unlike 1 Love, this album did not just include covers, it featured re-imagined original songs as well, such as Cat Stevens’ re-recording of Peace Train with the inclusion of the Incwenga Singers, a South African choir.

Help! A Day In The Life was the third compilation album released by War Child, this time to celebrate the tenth anniversary of a previous compilation record entitled The Help Album and to help fund the charity’s efforts in countries ravaged by war. The album featured twenty tracks- both original music and covers- by various artists including Radiohead, Bloc Party and Coldplay. The fourth and final album, 2009’s War Child Presents Heroes, was recorded over a period of six months and was intended to carry the theme of “placing faith in the next generation”. This album exclusively featured cover songs, however in this case, the original artists were called upon to nominate newer artists to re-interpret their songs. The compilation included musicians such as Rufus Wainwright, Lily Allen and Beck.

The four re-issued albums were released on streaming platforms on September 10^th, and are presently available for pre-order on limited edition vinyl.

The band took to their Instagram to share the news with fans, other posts made by the group also announced that the ‘Asleep In The Black‘ movie is now available on YouTube. The movie, made by the band’s long term creative partners, Soup Collective, documented the album’s release and campaign and was originally released in 2009 as part of a deluxe CD edition of the album.

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A post shared by elbow instagram (@elbowofficial)

The special collection will not only include a reissue of the album itself but also various b-sides, two of their releases for Manchester Independent Uglyman Records, tracks from ‘The Newborn EP‘ and ‘The Any Day Now EP’, an original recording of ‘Power Blue’ which was the band’s debut album’s second single and songs from the band’s very first EP ‘The Noisebox EP’. The band’s first EP was released on 1st January 1999 under the label Soft Records and also featured a recording of ‘Powder Blue’ on its tracklist.

Also featured in the special anniversary collection are tracks recorded at the band’s show at London Astoria, as well as further recordings made from the same tour. The band have also released three tracks performed in April 2001 for Steve Lamacq’s Evening session, the music show which is aired on BBC Radio One. The releases also include remixes of the debut’s album tracks, included in the remixes is English producer Andy Votel’s version of ‘Powder Blue’.

The indie veterans formed in Manchester consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Guy Garvey, Craig Potter on keyboard/piano and backing vocals., Mark Potter on guitar and backing vocals and on bass and backing vocals, Pete Turner. The members have been banded together since 1990 when Garvey and Potter met in college.

Elbow have enjoyed long-standing success since their first release, the debut album, ‘Asleep In the Black’ was not only a commercial success but won the band a Brit award for Best New British Band as well as a Mercury Prize nomination and was named in the list of the best 50 albums of 2001. Released on 7th May 2001, the album put out four singles, the first single titled ‘Red’ was released on 23rd April 2001 with its second single, ‘Powder Blue’ released on 9th July 2001. ‘Newborn’, released on 8th October 2001 was made available in four formats including a 12’’ Vinyl Remix promo and 12’’ Vinyl. The album’s last single, ‘Asleep In The Back/Coming Second’ was released on 4th February 2002 as a double A-side charting at number 19 in the UK Singles Chart.

Fans will be glad to hear that this is not the only exciting news to come from Elbow, the band have announced the date for their ‘Passport: Back To Our Roots’ show, which will be held at Manchester’s Night and Day Café on 23rd November 2021. The very special one-off show is in aid of the UK’S Independent grassroots music venues in conjunction with the Music Venue Trusts campaign #SaveOurVenues. Also, in support of this year’s record store day, the band will release exclusive 10’’ Vinyl editions of ‘The Newborn EP’ and ‘The Any Day Now EP’.

Click here to stream the new collection.

Elbow UK Tour Dates

28/08/2021 – 3Arena – Dublin
29/08 – Waterfront Hall – Belfast
01/09 – Pavilions – Plymouth
02/09 – Bonus Arena – Hull
05/09 – O2 Academy – Leeds
06/09 – O2 Academy – Leeds
08/09 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
09/09 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
10/09 – O2 Academy – Glasgow
12/09 – Eventim Olympia – Liverpool
13/09 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
14/09 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
16/09 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester
17/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
18/09 – Centre – Brighton
20/09 – Eventim Apollo – London
21/09 – Eventim Apollo – London
22/09 – Eventim Apollo – London
24/09 – Guildhall – Portsmouth
26/09 – International Centre – Portsmouth
28/09 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
29/09 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
30/09 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

“If someone streams a @gomeztheband song, how much do you get paid for that?”

“Oh I get paid nothing for that.”@MrTomGray tells @rachelburden about his #BrokenRecord campaign for musicians to earn more when their music is streamed

@BBCSounds | #5LiveBreakfast pic.twitter.com/2grr2cFgkm

— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) November 24, 2020

Last year saw a record high in the music industry from live shows, during lockdown with no shows and tours money then comes from streaming. However, this isn’t a stable strong enough source of income unless you’re among the very famous musicians like Ed Sheeran, Little Mix, Stormzy, and now that we are into the festive season, Mariah Carey. Some musicians spoke to MPs of the DCMS committee about this unfair payment. Namely Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Nadine Shah.

Shah, a Mercury-nominated musician, spoke of her struggles that despite her critical and commercial success with four albums she doesn’t earn enough money to help make payments. “earnings from my streaming are not significant enough to keep the wolf away from the door”. She has spoken out as a voice for newer musicians saying that they fear being in bad favour “because we do not want to lose favour with the streaming platforms and the major labels” who hold their fate in this industry.  

In the @CommonsDCMS inquiry into the economics of streaming @NadineShah told me she found Spotify’s ‘tip jar’ “insanely condescending” and believes it was an “admission” from them that “the system is not working” for musicians – artists are “worth and deserve more.” #BrokenRecord pic.twitter.com/gZ3qXAVL2O — Kevin Brennan MP (@KevinBrennanMP) November 25, 2020

Streaming is such a useful and much-used method of consuming media content in this day and age, it allows users to listen to music, watch TV and movies, and listen to podcasts within seconds on their phones. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows on the content creators side of things with payment per streams is pitiful “At present, Spotify is believed to pay between £0.002 and £0.0038 per stream, while Apple Music pays about £0.0059. YouTube pays the least – about £0.00052 (or 0.05 pence) per stream.”

ICYMI: @Elbow‘s @Guy_Garvey on how user-centric payments could help emerging artists make a living from streaming https://t.co/XkkF2S32HS #FixStreaming pic.twitter.com/teu27uiS0q

— Music Week (@MusicWeek) November 25, 2020

Garvey, who was one of the main speakers in the DCMS inquiry gave evidence on the wrong dealings of record labels. When signing a contract with a label (The main focus of the inquiry where the big three, Universal, Sony, and Warner) there are many clauses that favor the label rather than the artist “such as a 10% damage clause, which saw labels work on the assumption that 10% of CDs would be broken in transport. An artist’s share is then worked out from the remaining 90%, despite the fact in the streaming age barely any CDs are sold.”

Offering a solution Garvey said “If we rebalance this, money goes into the UK economy,” he said. “It seems like a bit of a no-brainer. We need to protect our talent pipeline.”. Upon hearing evidence MP Julie Elliot likened the major labels to Cartels as they seem to be profiting off of musician’s hard work. Streaming is a major aspect of our lives, It would be great if musicians get properly credited and paid for their talent and work.

There was a party-like atmosphere surrounding the place, as for the first time in decades there was no significant rainfall during the whole festival, and fans duly celebrated as such, before the festival takes a year off in 2018, to allow the ground and plant life of the festival site to have a summer off from the damage of hundreds of thousands of attendees.

The event was a significant one in particular for many of Britain and London’s musicians, with many having their say on the recent general election, as well as the public outrage surrounding the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower Fire, and the Tory government’s neglect of housing standards, that cost the lives of so many.

And the winner of the best flag at #Glastonbury2017 goes to… pic.twitter.com/4rjKpvUb8Q

— easyodds.com (@easy_odds) June 23, 2017

Friday night saw Radiohead headline the Pyramid stage, as they brought their usual array of ethereal brilliance, with Johnny Greenwood twiddling his boxful of buttons, and Thom Yorke bringing out his perennially outstanding dance moves.

Despite a somewhat avant-garde setlist (15 step and Myoxomatosis, anyone?), fans were treated to a rare performance of the band’s first ever hit in ‘Creep’, which was a massive surprise for those in attendance, given Radiohead’s less-than-glittering relationship with their own breakthrough hit.

Not only are Radiohead playing 'Creep', but it actually looks like they practiced it beforehand #Glastobury

— Daniel Jeakins (@DanJTweets) June 23, 2017

Thom Yorke and co. pulled out the big guns towards the end of their set, and set the fans home very happy, with a spine-tingling rendition of ‘Karma Police’ rounding off the night.

Meanwhile, Grime veteran Dizzee Rascal was pleasing his own fans, with a hit-laden headline slot on the West Holts stage, set the benchmark for the rest of the weekend’s Grime acts to aspire to.

Prior to the triumphant return of Grime to Worthy Farm, Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals caught the eyes of thousands, with a blisteringly good set just before Dizzee, bringing funk, soul, and more glorious dance moves to a baying crowd, lit beautifully by the Friday night sunset. It was a star-making performance for the band, and you can watch their set in full here

Saturday was the day the politics came, as Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn- whose name had already been heavily chanted by fans on Friday night- received a heroes welcome on the Pyramid stage, as he gave a speech, before Run the Jewels’ set.

At #Glastonbury I spoke with thousands of people. Over 4 million have watched my speech online since. We're building a movement #ForTheMany. pic.twitter.com/s10U6yuTO8

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 27, 2017

Killer Mike and El-P then laid waste to the festival, in their typically incendiary fashion, with extra emotional value placed on the performance due to the passing of Mike’s mother just days before the festival.

❤️ https://t.co/FVvdrSPo0r

— el-p (@therealelp) June 22, 2017

Stormzy packed out the Other Stage for his evening set, and undid his tracksuit jacket part-way through his set to reveal a t-shirt paying tribute to the victims of the Grenfell fire. He then demanded answers and ownership of responsibility of both the government and authorities involved, before rapping a short verse lamenting his sadness over the tragedy.

Liam Gallagher also paid tribute earlier in the day, but to the victims of the Manchester terror attacks of last month, before a rousing rendition of Oasis’ classic ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, which was shared beautifully with a very emotional crowd.

For the victims of Manchester and London attacks, and #GrenfellTower
For the first time EVER, @LiamGallagher sings Don't Look Back in Anger pic.twitter.com/730OxB8C7u

— bbcglasto (@bbcglasto) June 24, 2017

Saturday night- a very nearly Sunday morning- was polished off in style by the Foo Fighters, who played nothing but hits, repaying the fans’ patience after pulling out of 2015’s festival, due to frontman Dave Grohl breaking his leg.

As is customary with a Foos set, there was fantastic rapport with the crowd from Grohl, and deafening crowd singalongs, particularly for the likes of ‘Best of You’ and ‘Monkey Wrench’, the breakdown of which was dragged out for so long, it would’ve been annoying if it had been anyone else doing it. Grohl and Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins also switched places for a great cover of Queen and David Bowie’s ‘Under Pressure’, with Hawkins surprising many, and doing very well with the not-so-enviable task of covering Freddie Mercury’s vocals.

Many congratulations to our friends the @foofighters on their @GlastoFest headlining show! #underpressure pic.twitter.com/waW0jx7iMb

— Queen (@QueenWillRock) June 24, 2017

After a surprise set from Elbow on Friday night, there was much speculation about the unannounced act on the John Peel Stage on Sunday afternoon. Festivalgoers were then sent into complete overdrive when The Killers made their triumphant return to a tent so packed out, the Festival Twitter page had to tell fans to turn back from trying to see the band, as it was already totally full.

Glastonbury! pic.twitter.com/W9iBKCKIyY

— The Killers (@thekillers) June 26, 2017

Boy Better Know continued Grime’s strong showing at the festival, with a raucous headline slot on the Other Stage, with Justice providing a similarly emphatic end to the weekend with a live set on the West Holts Stage, for the fans that hadn’t yet been burnt out by the weekends events.

It was left to ginger songsmith Ed Sheeran to close the Pyramid Stage, and he did so fantastically well. Whether you’re a huge fan of him or not, there’s something thrilling about watching him build and entire song up using only a loop station- even if some people didn’t understand that that’s what it was.

Never thought I'd have to explain it, but everything I do in my live show is live, it's a loop station, not a backing track. Please google x

— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) June 26, 2017

Sheeran also ‘did a Radiohead’ by finishing his set with the previously retired ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You.’ Draped in a gay pride flag, Sheeran sat on the edge of the stage, surveying the enormous, female crowd, an infectious smile on his face, ending the festival in a way that can’t help but make you smile.

Thanks for coming, and for making #Glastonbury2017 such a special one. Roll on #Glastonbury2019! pic.twitter.com/SY5SgddSKK

— Glastonbury Festival (@GlastoFest) June 26, 2017

It’ll be the band’s only UK Festival date in 2017, and it promises to be a special one. The band have announced that in addition to their hit-filled back catalogue, they’ll also be playing new material at the gig. The new material is the outcome of many months working in Las Vegas, San Diego, LA and Joshua Tree with producer Jacknife Lee, best known for his work with U2. The band have been recording their fifth album which has been a long time in the making; frontman Brandon Flowers spoke to NME about the process of making the album and what it might actually sound like, ‘There are moments that feel heavier than anything we’ve ever done, not that we’re the heaviest band in the world, but they have a finesse because of our experience. There’s also really beautiful things. Lyrically, it’s really close to home. There’s one called ‘Rut’ and we were all kind of excited about what was happening with that. Another is called ‘Run For Cover’ and that comes from ‘Day & Age’. so it’s eight-years-old. It started with Stuart Price and it still sort of has his stamp on it – but we’re funnelling it back through the band eight years later with a different producer. I never got the lyrics right and I think I’m gonna get it right this time. ‘Run For Cover’ looks like it’s got a good shot [of being on the album]. There’s one called ‘Tyson Vs Douglas’. I don’t know why but I think about it all the time and I finally tried to tackle it in a song, what it meant to have this hero of mine get torn down, and then everything that happened after that.’

They’ll be taking to the stage on Saturday 8^th July and if you’re excited about the top of the bill, don’t sleep on the rest of the line-up which will include Elbow, Tears For Fears and White Lies. It will be the first time in 12 years Tears For Fears, whom The Killers have previously credited as a key influence, have played on a UK stage. Meanwhile, Elbow will release their seventh album, ‘Little Fictions’, on the 3^rd February, and have also announced an extensive UK Touring schedule, which will include seven shows held in forests – the Manchester band can now add a park to that list. London punk trio White Lies also have plans to pack their bags and hit the road; they will cross the Atlantic at the start of February to play a series of dates in Canada, the US and Mexico before heading back to start their UK Tour towards the end of the month.

The Killers are the sixth headline act announced for the festival, and join Justin Bieber, Phil Collins, Green Day, Kings of Leon and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Tickets for this instalment of the festival are available on pre-sale now and will go on general sale at 9am on Friday 27^th January. To grab them, go here. The full line-up for Saturday 8^th July at British Summer Time Festival will be:

The Killers

Elbow

Tears For Fears

White Lies

The band will begin their outdoor odyssey at Westonbrit Aboretum on the 15^th of June and end the run in Cannock Chase Forest in Staffordshire on the 7^th July. Interestingly, although the band have dates booked in for the Saturday and Sunday of Glastonbury (24^th and 25^th), they’ve left Friday 23^rd tantalisingly free leading to speculation that they might actually be playing eight outdoor sets, including a stop in a certain field in Somerset.

The poster for the Tour also teases ‘guests’ to appear alongside the Mancunian indie merchants but there are no details as to who might be joining them in the woods yet. This announcement comes on top of an already extensive UK touring schedule for the band in March and April. The Tour will support their seventh album, ‘Little Fictions’ which is due to be released on the 3^rd February. The band have already shared a number of tracks from the album, the latest of which was ‘It’s All Disco.’ Garvey recently spoke about his inspiration for the song, revealing, ‘I remember this phrase from Black Francis from the Pixies. I interviewed him for a radio show 10 years ago in Lynchburg Tennessee. I was talking to him about between him being Black Francis and Frank Black and all these different incarnations. I said ‘with all these different styles of music, where are you going next?’ He said something along the lines of ‘you have punk rock, you have rock, you have blues, you have soul, it’s all disco. And I just love that attitude, from one of the most influential people – particularly to me. For him to have this attitude of ‘put everything into it, invest everything into it, but remember it’s not everything. I think that’s a really good way to do it. He’s not having any money but he gave us a really good chorus there.’ You can listen to that ‘really good chorus’ below:

If you like what you hear, then the band’s full tour schedule is below, including their ‘Forest Live’ dates and their previously scheduled February/March Tour. Tickets for the latter Tour are already available, while tickets for the woods will be on presale from Thursday morning (19^th January) at 9am and on general sale from the same time on Friday (20^th).

26/2 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin
27/2 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin
1/3 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
2/3 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
4/3 – Eventim Apollo – London
5/3 – Eventim Apollo – London
6/3 – Eventim Apollo – London
8/3 – BIC – Bournemouth
9/3 – Pavilions – Plymouth
10/3 – Newport Centre – Newport
12/3 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
13/3 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
14/3 – Spa – Bridlington
15/3 – Dome – Doncaster
16/3 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester
18/3 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
19/3 – O2 Apollo – Manchester
20/3 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

15/6 – Westonbirt Arboretum – Nr Tetbury, Glos
17/6 – Bedgebury Pinetum – Nr Tunbridge Wells, Kent
24/6 – Dalby Forest – Nr Pickering, North Yorks
25/6 – Sherwood Forest – Nr Mansfield, Notts
29/6 – Thetford Forest – Nr Brandon, Suffolk
30/6 – Delamere Forest – Delamere, Cheshire
7/7 – Cannock Chase Forest – Nr Rugeley, Staffs

Fans of the band will already have been primed for this news, with the band announcing at the end of September that they would release a follow-up to 2014’s ‘The Take Off And Landing Of Everything’ on the 3^rd February 2017. The band teased that there would be news at the start of this week and true to their word we now have a title, artwork (which you can check out below), and a first single.

elbow's new album 'Little Fictions' will be released 3rd February 2017. pic.twitter.com/9hStDtQ7V8

— elbow (@Elbow) December 5, 2016

The album marks a different phase for the band both musically and in terms of personnel. It will be their first album with only four members, following drummer Richard Jupp’s split from the band earlier this year. Guy Garvey also returns to the band following his solo album, ‘Courting The Squall’ and the accompanying tour which took up his time in 2015. It is therefore appropriate that the sound of the album will be different from the band’s previous output. Speaking to Radio X about the change in personnel and its effect on the album, Garvey said, ‘It took us a long time to get accustomed to it. But then there was also really exciting elements of it. By mid-summer, it was making us quite bold in our decision making.’ He also told DJ Joe Whiley the record is ‘really quite chunky and beat-heavy. There’s a sparseness to the songs which perhaps we’re not known for. The themes are ranging as always, great big themes and concerns for the world at the same time as falling in love, looking forwards and backwards and all of the things.’ According to God Is In The TV, the album will see the band collaborate with The Hale Orchestra, the Halle Ancoats Community Choir, members of London Contemporary Voices and session drummer Alex Reeves.

As for the first single from the album, ‘Magnificent (She Says)’, Mark Potter described, via God Is In The TV, as ‘the song people have been waiting for us to write’, adding that the band decided to ‘let the song go where it needed to, not to back out of the big chorus because that was what it needed.’ There is no official video for the track yet, but you can enjoy the audio for ‘Magnificent (She Says)’ along with the new album artwork below:

The album will be accompanied by a month-long tour of the UK and Ireland that will kick off next February and will take in 11 cities. The full schedule can be found below:

26/2 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin

27/2 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin

1/3 – O2 Academy – Brimingham

2/3 – O2 Academy – Brimingham

4/3 – Eventim Apollo – London

5/3 – Eventim Apollo – London

6/3 – Eventim Apollo – London

8/3 – BIC – Bournemouth

9/3 – Pavilions – Plymouth

10/3 – Newport Centre – Newport

12/3 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh

13/3 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh

14/3 – Bridlington Spa – Bridlington

15/3 – Dome – Doncaster

16/3 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester

18/3 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

19/3 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

20/3 – O2 Apollo – Manchester