Frequently seen kids

Unashamedly it’s the allure of the Australian sun that provides the drawcard for Manchurian Peter Turner. He makes up one fifth of the UK’s most recent overnight success story Elbow, and along with his fellow band members who’ve been basking in glory they’ll be heading here in March just in time to take reigns on the V Festival taking place nationally.

An overnight success story 18 years in the making is the headline to accompany this band’s tale and Peter has no qualms himself in confirming this fact.

“The Mercury was the big thing, I think it changed a lot of things for us overnight, I mean it kind of put us up there in the mainstream a lot more really.”

Winners of the reputable Mercury Music Prize late last year for their album The Seldom Seen Kid and has literally bought Elbow back from the ‘wilderness’ of music making they had been wandering in.

“It was hard this one cos we were in-between record labels, we didn’t think V2 promoted ‘Leaders’ very well and we didn’t want to write another album, spend ages on it, for it not to be promoted and not to sell that many copies.,” recalls Peter.

This year’s Mercury Prize awarded for their most recent long player recorded this time through label Fiction has proven a different story though. It delivers a mix of their signature, melancholic instrumentation embedded by earnest and at times sombre lyrical motifs.

A clear favourite this year for judges who were choosing from an array of bands including acts such as Last Shadow Puppets, Laura Marling, Estelle and Neon Neon and the success story doesn’t end there just yet for the five-piece who came together in rehearsals back in sixth form ( equivalent of year 12 in Australia). They’ve also received recent nominations for three of the prestigious Brit Awards, including: Best National Release.

The album has been around just on a year now but it’s still the carrot the band uses to build their fanbase. Peter considers their swell in crowd numbers an opportunity to educate listeners in their back catalogue. However he remains realistic about the effects of acclaim on bands.

“The thing that I think we’ve all sort of thought recently, we’ve always of our four albums always had the critics really on our side, I think now we’re sort of fair game and there will probably be a bit of a comedown now from you know, critical acclaim.” He says matter-of-factly.

‘Grounds for Divorce’

If you thought the band might be quaking in fear at producing a follow up to their award winning album, Peter thinks it’s likely to be the impetus the band need to retain their status as one of the UK’s most favoured acts.

“We certainly won’t put anything out that we feel isn’t up to the standard and better of previous albums which for us is now four albums.

“The next album we really want to write something that’s a bit better for us, it’s just like a bit of a challenge really.”

Another challenge for the five-piece made up of Guy Garvey (lead vocals) brothers Mark and Craig Potter as well as Richard Jupp could be their ability to remain passionate after so long together. Touring, some band members now with family, the dynamics of the band one would imagine aren’t the same as their fledgling rock and roll years.

However give the band some alone time, off the coast of Scotland on an island to record their upcoming album which is what is ahead for them shortly and Peter knows exactly what he’s in for.

“You know we’ve not really sat down the five of us and talked about the fun things that have happened, so it’s the five of us hanging out, just having fun, eating and drinking - just hanging out.

Embarking again shortly on a British tour and then of course travailing seas to head to our shores, Peter’s mindful of the fact the band remain as tight as they were back in their initial performances.

“There is no hierarchy or anything like that, it’s just a good bunch of mates all going out doing shows and then having fun, you know drinking, meeting people, we’re actually really good friends,” he says.

Catch Elbow when they perform at V Festival nationally. Visit: www.vfestival.com.au for ticket and event details.

Also see them when they perform in sideshows just announced:
Brisbane: The Tivoli March 31. Tickets available through Ticketek
Sydney: The Metro April 1. Tickets available through Box office and Ticketek
Melbourne: The Corner Hotel April 2. Tickets available through www.cornerhotel.com.au.

Ruth Bailey

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Posted: March 22nd, 2009 under INTERVIEWS, international.
Comments: 14