Interviews
Guy Garvey from Elbow talks to Britsound
Interview by Rob Quicke, April 16, 2006.
RQ: You’re on the US tour, you can see the end in sight, how has it gone so far in your opinion?
GG: It’s been great; it’s been really nice to be back out here. And it’s been a very short sort of tour because of new babies in the band and stuff like that. So it’s been really easy. It’s not been too hectic. It’s not been long enough to get weary at all. And the crowds have been great.
RQ: What’s the audience reaction been like to the new material?
GG: It’s been great. There’s a couple more anthems on the last record, Leaders of the Free World, than there was on the previous two. So there’s been a little bit more of a party atmosphere, I’d say, than the first couple of tours we did over here. But generally it’s just been great, new faces and some old faces as well, people that we recognize from the last time we were here.
RQ: Do you hope to become massive in America the same way that perhaps Coldplay are? Is that ever an objective?
GG: We’ve been really lucky in the respect that we’ve never been hyped anywhere. We’ve never had much chart success, but we’ve sold a lot of records very steadily and sort of quietly. We tend to keep our fans. And they tend to be music lovers. We get a lot of couples. But we also get a lot of smart kids. And I don’t know, it’s really, I suppose if you would’ve asked us when were 18, conquering the world was very important us. But, yeah, more ears is always a good thing. But not if it’s at the cost of your sanity or your music. So we’re very happy with the steady, gentlemanly progress we’re making!
RQ: You said recently that really in the UK, the charts don’t mean a thing anymore. What did you mean by that?
GG: I really don’t think they do. I mean I think the single chart dictates what gets played on Radio 1. And more and more that’s not really leading to album sales that much. You have like two or three artists that will benefit from Radio 1 air play anymore. Obviously indie albums can become mainstream albums now. And bands, Editors, who we’re meeting today in Chicago as it goes, because they’re playing here today, they really benefited from it. And, but the Arctic Monkeys have proved that people are hearing about music through the internet, through different paths. The age of choice has finally caught up with the music industry. So, yes, the charts don’t mean as much.
RQ: Yet at the same time, if you mention British music at the moment in America, most Americans will say, “James Blunt.” But that’s not really kind of British music that many people want to see flying the British flag.
GG: Well what can you do? If James Blunt dictates our musical image abroad, it’s as heinous a crime as Hugh Grant representing us abroad. This kind of foppish, English twit sort of image that he exports in all those bloody awful movies that he’s in, really gets on me wick just because of the idea it gives people about the British. So, yeah, James Blunt is music’s Hugh Grant. Nothing to do with the reality of the country I live in.
RQ: There are several bands that are really taking off over here, like the last two times Doves played here, they were phenomenal. And obviously Editors too. So there is a new generation of bands who are really playing the kind of music that a lot of people want to hear, even though it’s not making it, really, onto the radio. Do you think in many ways mainstream radio is out of touch?
GG: I’m sure there’s room for it. I don’t mind any music as long as it’s not insincere. That’s something I can’t stand in music, people crunching their fists and punching the air does my head in and I can’t be doing with that. But, yeah, I think guitar music, generally, is it’s good that it’s moving towards the mainstream. It means that it’s great for British indie bands. I mean also it means that, to a degree, they’re diluting what it is that they’ve previously been about in order to chart, which is outside the rules where I’m concerned. We try and stick to impressing the people we’ve already impressed with each record. It’s not so much about grabbing new listeners as it is about maintaining a high standard for ourselves and for the people who like the music.
RQ: When you start out writing your record, do you write for yourselves rather than thinking, “Well we need to write something that the fans are going to like”?
GG: Yeah, you start writing for yourself and then you take your audience with you, hopefully. I mean my favorite bands are the ones that I’ve grown with. Talk Talk’s last three albums got progressively more ‘up my alley’ as I got older. Same with Radiohead. I think each of their albums has bettered the previous one. And I think that’s how it should feel.
RQ: And Radiohead, of course, I mean they’re massively successful in America, aren’t they?
GG: Yes.
RQ: You don’t have to fit in to some code of template or formula to make it big over here do you, really?
GG: No, there’s many ways to do it. There’s a rumour of us having a song in Shrek 3. (laughter) Which is outstanding. And it’s just…
RQ: (laughter) Seriously?
GG: Yeah, Shrek 1 and 2 are both tour bus favorites. And Tom Waits and Nick Cave have both had songs in those movies. So, I mean as that comes off we’ll be very happy. Because those films are great. So you never know. That might lead to us selling a few more records inadvertently!
RQ: Let’s talk about the album, obviously. How’s it selling in America? Is it selling as well as can be expected?
GG: Do you know, I haven’t got a clue. You’d have to ask Pete, the bass player. He knows all the facts and figures.
RQ: So why did you call the album Leaders of the Free World?
GG: We called the record, Leaders of the Free World because we thought it was important that we put our hand and be counted amongst those who oppose the Bush administration and what it’s been doing in the world. Absolutely sick to the gills of Britain’s involvement with his ridiculous, heinous plans. Yeah, just wanting to be, to stand up and be counted. I think when the world’s on high alert, as it is at the moment, when you’ve got someone as dangerous as Bush in charge of the world, as it were, I think everybody has to at least consider their opinions and make their opinions sort of heard, not just musicians, like whatever job you do. So, yeah, that was us saying, “This is where we stand.”
RQ: Are you overtly political? I mean can you feel free to say stuff on stage during songs, or not?
GG: Yes, I do, and I have. I wouldn’t imagine anybody that enjoys our music would be a pro-Bush sort of activist, who may not agree whole-heartedly with our opinions, but vive la difference. I think that’s the problem at the minute. I thought we lived in a pluralist society where we could embrace more than one idea and live alongside each other. But it seems that the Bush administration is hell-bent on going round the world, screaming Christianity and democracy and hitting people over the head with it. And it’s just like, what about different paths, different faiths, different ways of life? Society can exist comfortably with more than one religion doing its thing. So if people come to the concerts and like the music, but don’t the opinions, it doesn’t mean they have to leave.
RQ: You once said in an interview that, “at the moment, music has become smart again.” That people are actually writing lyrics that mean something. What did you mean by that? Could you sort of expand on that a bit?
GG: I just think for a long time, mainstream pop was “baby, baby, baby”. And it gets really boring. I think people are writing songs again about things they feel, or at least interesting lyrics like the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s single that’s doing really good at the minute. That’s like feels really cut and paste. There’s something dead Bowie about it. But it’s interesting. It’s just nice to hear people singing about something other than, “Baby, I love you. Baby, I miss you.”
RQ: You talked about sincerity a few minutes ago. Now when you’re on tour, when you’re on that stage every night and you’re singing, are you sincere when you perform? Or after a while does it become automatic?
GG: If we find that the songs are becoming automatic, we stop playing them for a while because you feel like you’ve got a responsibility to your songs. Hopefully anybody in music that takes what they do seriously… I think that’s the important thing to realize about Elbow. Whereas we don’t take ourselves very seriously, but we do take the songs very seriously, out of respect for each other with a duty to do the best performance of them we can. And in terms of singing with passion, it’s really easy because the music’s so evocative. And to be involved with that is like really, it’s really affecting. And also I’m singing about things that have happened, by and large. So I only have to remember why I wrote those words to summon the correct amount of gusto.
RQ: Okay, but let me take you back to the 9:30 Club in Washington. What exactly happened there? Because that wasn’t a good experience was it?
GG: We’d been touring a lot. We’d done like two year’s straight touring. We arrived at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. and settled. And during the penultimate song of the evening I opened my mouth and nothing came out. And I could still talk, but I could no longer sing properly. And I had just lost my voice. I’d just, I’d damaged my vocals, I guess. I’d just been overdoing it, probably drinking and smoking at the same time I was singing. Not literally at the same time, of course. (laughter) But yeah, it was a pretty hideous feeling. I suddenly became aware of the months of planning, the amount of people involved in the production of, and the number of fans that had paid to come and see the show, all of it resting on me being able to sing. Impotent is the word. I felt massively impotent and very embarrassed. So I asked the crowd if anybody knew Newborn and would like to sing the songs. And a little angel in the front row called, Elaine, stuck her hand in the air straight away. And I pulled her onto the stage and she sang the part of Newborn that I couldn’t, to a rapturous applause. And we always see Elaine when we’re over because she’s got a special in our heart since then.
RQ: In your opinion, is there a difference between a British audience and an American audience?
GG: It varies from town to town. It depends what kind of town you’re in. It depends what kind of day everyone’s had, what the weather’s doing. There’s so many variables. And it depends how long it is since you’ve been there. Like we played in Minneapolis last night, and the crowd response was overwhelming. It was more like the Oprah Winfrey show! It’s just like the whooping and the cheering at just about everything we said and did. It was quite overpowering. Elbow audiences tend to be a little more reserved. And you found that like, and audience like that will get involved and they’ll clap their hands if you ask them to. Or they’ll sing along or whatever. The worst kind of audience are the too-cool-for-school types who stand with their arms folded, saying, “Impress me.” And if they get too close to the front I have them, at some point, (laughter) join the set. There was a tall guy in Minneapolis last night, walked straight in front of a couple that were watching. He must’ve been 6’4”, started talking to a girl. And it was just really rude. It was a small venue and he was right in my eyeline. So I jumped off the stage and sang a song right in his face until he p***** off. Yeah, so if you’re going to be indifferent, go stand at the back.
RQ: What about cell phones and people taking pictures? I mean, sure, I mean in the last few years that’s really taken off in gigs, does that annoy you?
GG: No, not at all. It’s the new lighter being raised, isn’t it? I like it when people sort of either phone somebody, or record it, or take pictures or whatever. Flash photography can put you off. But we don’t ban it. We just ask people to be cool about it.
RQ: Let’s talk about the album Leaders of the Free World. From what I understand, you set up your own studio with a ping-pong table. And you got the Soup Collective involved. What kind of limits, or what kind of expectations did you put upon yourself? Did you say, “Look, we’ve got a definite timetable. We’ve got 12 months to do this”? Or did you just let it go naturally? What was the aim?
GG: We had a deadline that we wanted to meet that which we overshot by three or four months, which is usually the way. We knew we wanted to make the DVD alongside the record because the previous album had a DVD that was assembled afterwards. And it was really comprehensive and lovely. But wanted something to beat that, almost. So getting the Soup Collective involved was a deliberate decision. And it was great. There was 10 to 15 people in the room with us at any time, and just made working a lot easier. It made it more like a factory, like a little creative factory. The DVD that accompanies the album, I think, is the most comprehensive of its kind. Usually bonus discs, they’re called, but we’ve packaged it separately, especially in the States because we think it deserves its own attention.
RQ: You said you wanted to, in doing this documentary, ‘demystify the process of making an album’. What did you mean by that?
GG: We have a lot of fun writing and recording. And we wanted to sort of bring people into that and show them what we get up to. Because it’s great. And the room we’re in was just so gorgeous that we had to do more with it than just make a record in there. So we made several short films as well, and got very good at table tennis as it goes!
RQ: Doves have done something similar. The Doves are well known for having DVD’s that are just spectacular, with special features, hidden films, stuff like that. What’s your relationship with Doves? Are you friends or what?
GG: Jimi Goodwin’s one of me best mates. We met through touring with them originally. But we just become dead good mates. They’re a lovely bunch of people. And Matt Ryan, who does a lot of stuff for the Doves, he works at the Soup Collective all the time. It’s just all the same group of people. Yeah, so we’re just dead good buddies with them. And they worked with Ben Hillier on the last record, who did some co-production on the previous two for us on the first two albums. So, thematically we touch on the same things song-wise. And their sound’s a lot more robust. And their roots are in the Hacienda, from the dance side of things and then psychedelia on the other side, and Motown and northern soul. And so our musical influences are very different. But where we’re from comes through in the music, I think. And we have a lot of similarities.
RQ: Before you signed to V2, you were formed for quite a few years. Before you were signed to V2 you were, at one point, signed to Island. What was going through your mind during that time? Did you ever doubt that eventually it would happen?
GG: It’s not like we were chasing something. I mean it’s always been more fun to do than not. It’s not like we had eight years of struggle before getting signed. It’s like you can hold down any job. If you’ve got something in your life that you’re really enjoying doing and it’s important to you, then you can put up with anything. I’d much rather have failed at ‘making it’ in the music industry, than succeeded in something I didn’t want to do. The process of writing and recording became so much more important to us than gigging for a long time that it was only when we got a record away that we started really enjoying gigs again, when we weren’t cold calling, so to speak, when people were clapping at the beginnings of songs as well as the end. It’s a great feeling.
RQ: You said in an interview that you feel as if “now your dreams have been delivered to you.” Do you feel as if there’s less pressure? Or is there more pressure than ever before?
GG: No, there’s no pressure. We’ve never been toyed with since before the first album, creatively. We’ve had support and we’ve had suggestions. David Steel from V2’s been a very healthy, creative influence. A good, objective viewpoint’s always welcome. But no, we’ve never been bashed into shape by the label, so to speak, or put through the mangle with whoever’s hot on the production budget sort of thing. We’ve enjoyed artistic freedom, and will continue to, or else there’s no point. You might as well be selling… If we were in this for money, we’d have quit a long time ago. It’s very difficult to make money.
RQ: Let’s just talk about a couple of songs of the album. Puncture Repair, it sort of sneaks in at the end of the album and it’s very, very moving, and very effective. Where did the idea for that song come from?
GG: I was having a really bad time. And I hadn’t slept. And it was 7:00 in the morning. And despite having been in a band with Richard, my drummer for 15 years, I’ve never called on his services as a mate. But because he has a little boy, I knew that of all the people I could lean on, I knew that he’d be awake with his son, because it was very early in the morning. And out of sheer desperation of needing someone to speak to I phoned, I phoned Richard. And he zipped over in his car and picked me up and took me back to his house. And him and his girlfriend, Sarah, had breakfast with me and listened to my woes, and then drove me home again. And I wrote it as soon as I got home. And took it round to Craig’s house a couple of days later, and put the piano part down almost instantly. We just wrote it between us very quickly, recorded the song there and then, and then played it to Rick. And he loved it. And then I told him it was about him, and he cried. So, job done! (laughter).
RQ: The Stops, great song, in the past you’ve been very cryptic with what you said about that. Could you explain further what that’s about?
GG: I had a relationship with Edith Bowman, the Radio 1 DJ, who’s a very good friend of mine, still. And she’s going out with my friend Tom, who’s the lead singer of Editors, who, as you know, is a very good friend. I’m meeting him this evening for a pint. Yeah, Edith and I were in a relationship for about a year. And at the time that I wrote The Stops it had become apparent that it wasn’t working for one reason or another. And whereas most post-relationship love songs are either mournful and sort of sad, this one is, sad that it hasn’t worked, but the chorus is sort of stating that I was really glad that it happened, and I’m really glad that we did try. And I’ll have Edith in my life in one way or another for the rest of it, because she’s great. I like it because it isn’t one way or another. That’s not the nature of real life. You can have a relationship with somebody in this day and age, and it not work, and still love each other and still be friends. And there are a number of people I know who have a really, really special relationship because they share a child or something like that. I don’t like just black and white romance. It has to be realistic. And The Stops is telling her that I’m really glad I met her.
RQ: Because I know a lot of people have asked you about your relationship with her. Is this something that you find easy to talk about? Or do you generally take the view that “it’s time to move on”?
GG: I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t find it particularly comfortable, but only because you can be taken out of context. And I wouldn’t want ever to say anything that would upset her or do her down, because she’s wicked. She’s got a big heart and a big brain. She’s loads of fun. She’s great. So, yeah, I have to tread very carefully in interviews when asked about Edith. But the bottom line is she’s top, and she’s my mate.
RQ: Is there a song on the album that really stands out as your favorite?
GG: Great Expectations, because it’s a nostalgic love song about when I was 18 years of age. And I just think I really captured a rainy bus journey through Manchester with somebody that I loved. So it’s a really happy, nostalgic love song and great. I love singing it, I really get to test me vocal range a bit on it as well.
RQ: You played it on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, you started with that song. How did you feel about playing it song so acoustically? Did it appeal to you?
GG: It was actually a deliberate sort of decision when we went into write this album, that all of these songs on it should work minimally as well as with a full band. We wanted it to have that sort of classic, structure to it. So we’re really proud that our songs work stripped down as well as they do, full prog.
RQ: And talk about prog, what the heck, you brought it up. (laughter) You described yourself once as “being like prog rock, but without all the solos”. Do you stand by that? If you could name some similar bands that inspired you, who would they be?
GG: That quote is from the year 2000. And the reason I said it, to be honest with you, was because some good prog is definitely in the roots of the band, it’s definitely in the influences. But prog was a filthy word. You could not mention it in the press in the year 2000, just like no one would touch it. I just though it was time to give certain areas of that experimental time a bit of a break. And I admit there are heavy influences. Without prog there would be no Radiohead. Without Radiohead there’d be no Coldplay…It’s all there in the background. And I really said it a) to ‘out’ the proggies, and b) to wind my keyboard player up, because he was absolutely insistent that I never mention the word prog in an interview!
RQ: Did you wind him up?
GG: Sufficiently so, yeah. (laughter)
RQ: I’ve got to ask you about Coldplay. What was it like supporting Coldplay?
GG: Great, their fans are attentive people. They gave us lot of love and respect while we were up there on that big stage, it was ace.
RQ: Did you get a chance to really get to know Chris Martin or not?
GG: I’ve known Chris for years. Our first dry run, as it were, with Island Records before we got signed was during the time that they got signed. We got the same lawyer, et cetera, et cetera. So I met Chris after a gig of ours at the Camden Monarch when our first EP came out. And I’ve met him several times since. And he’s a lovely bloke. I mean his world has completely changed because of his success. But I think the way he’s handled it is brilliant. Yeah, he’s a respectful bloke. He tries to do something good with the power that he’s got. And if photographs with me and my girlfriend were worth 10 grand, I don’t know what I’d do! But he’s a lovely bloke.
RQ: Okay, final question. Ideally, in your mind, do you have any idea of where you’d like to be in five years?
GG: I would hope that…I’d put my mortgage on us still playing together, if I had one. Hopefully still making records with my best friends, and in love, with a couple of kids. That would be nice. Apart from that, don’t really know.
