Elbow's Guy Garvey: UKNY Q&A

Elbow's tenth album, Audio Vertigo, is boisterous, tender, robust, and ruminative —all that you'd expect from the Manchester-bred band, expert musicians all. Playfulness abounds whenever this group of longtime friends finds themselves in a studio together — and for frontman Guy Garvey, friendships, family, and enduring love are at the core of his songwriting, storytelling, and life.

An hour's chat with Guy Garvey, which first aired on "UKNY" on April 27, finds us chatting about the new album and his Elbow mates, and putting into context (via his vivid telling of tales) what makes him one of the most gifted lyricists of his generation. Over the years, I've had a chance to chat with Guy several times, but this was the first time we've had an opportunity to talk about his seven-year-old son, Jack, and his wife, Rachael. One of the most beautiful songs on Audio Vertigo, "From the River," is inspired by Jack.

Guy also talks about how he deals with the loss of loved ones in his life, following the recent loss of his dad, his mother-in-law, Dame Diana Rigg, and the early loss of his dear friend, the late songwriter Bryan Glancy. We also touch on his world travels too, including his love of Mexico and admiration of Foo Fighters,  both of which inspired a song on Audio Vertigo. And Guy is coming up on 17 years of hosting his own radio show, "Guy Garvey's Finest Hour," and he thanks his listeners for inspiring him weekly.

An hour of stories and songs with Garvey; find Elbow's upcoming tour dates via the band's website.

[Interview recorded 4/4/24; Engineered by Meghan Offtermatt and Jim O'Hara; produced by Kara Manning]