An evening with Guy Garvey!

OH!!! Tick, tick, tick, tick.....

Leaving Wales in half an hour....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You lucky ones.. Keep us informed!!!

FANTASTIC!!!! Thats all I need to say. Loved the evening, loved meeting all you fab Elbowies, loved watching Guy get a bit drunk I'm just feeling all warm & fuzzy and loved up

Just had email off my mate that went, she's a new Elbow fan and absolutely loved him for his humility, openness and drinking prowess, she mentioned about his love for Emma, plans for kids and him being slightly embarrassed when quizzed over Edith B......

1hr 20mins for 3 quid sounds brilliant value to be in the company of royalty !!

I thought you were going....sad not to see you there. yes, it was fab and we we treated to being present during his interview with larna (?) Laverne for the Culture Show! Pretty cool.

I'll try to upload my photos adn video tonight.

xxx

Oh, btw, I don't know about everyone else but I loved meeting up with everyone from the forum yesterday!!!!!

Nah, SG, was in the same boat as the Halle gig, email came through about it at work when I wasn't there, came in the next morning, panicked about it, only to find them both sold out.

Be great to see some pics !! Think you mean Lauren Laverne !!

Oh, yes that's her name.....
Ah well. but we will see you at the Halle. I think the plans are to meet at the Briton's Protection at 6ish, tnen off to the Halle. We have to be there and seated by 7:30 which is when it starts. They won't allow any late comers in.
See you then!!!!

Nice one, think I'll be heading straight in as I've a couple of bits to do before the gig, I won't be late though, then I'll be sat next to Lucky WD etc I think.

I bet last night was like your starter with the main course to be served up on Wendnesay and/or Thursday !!

Ha ha, too right. I am a bit worse for wear today though....drank far too much and had too much fun.
Met Pete Jobson from Kloot and chatted with him and his friends a bit. Still a bit star struck!!!!

An excellent "event" last night.
And it was nice to meet you all
What a thoroughly nice bunch of people you are

Righto... apologies in advance for the long post, but here's a write up for those who couldn't go with pics for those who did. More photos on Ning.

Even from around 4.30 Monday afternoon, the Festival Pavilion was a hub of activity. BBC2’s Culture Show was recording for their Wednesday show and we saw Terry Christian, John Robb and some unknown author in a pink suit interviewed by Lauren Laverne.

By the time forum members started to gather for the pre-event meet, there was a frisson of excitement as we were asked to be in the background whilst filming continued with Lauren doing various pieces to camera, then an interview with Guy himself. If you watch that particular segment when it goes out on Wednesday, you’ll see three tables behind Lauren and Mr Garvey full of amused ‘extras’ trying their best to be disinterested in the media spectacle going on immediately in front of them. When Guy finished the segment, he walked right past us all causing a tangible, collective wave of “Eek!”, especially when he stopped to chat to one of the production crew right next to Mr W.





The talk itself was a very intimate affair, with only 400 seats. Given the demand on the forum alone, it was such a shame that several chunks of whole rows were empty; likely evidence of block-bought eBayed tickets still asking silly money even after the night has passed. Dave Haslam, author, journo and Hacienda DJ legend was interviewing Guy, emphasising in his intro that it was a rare, special occasion that even the BBC were denied access to.


When Guy arrived on stage, he commented that he thought the format a little bizarre, but managed to relax into the proceedings. It was a thorough, intelligent stream of questions throughout: We heard about what it was like growing up in the Garvey household with five singing sisters - Bury’s answer to the Nolans? Finest Hour listeners might guess that Becky was the most knowledgable, seeing it as seemed her duty to impart musical wisdom and diversity in the direction of the family’s “novelty” first born boy.

Naturally, the talk moved to music and immediately Bryan Glancy’s huge influence as friend and fellow musician was raised. For those intrigued by the SSK mythology, Guy assured us that Bryan’s music will be released – not sure when as it’s a painstaking collective process between friends and family deciding what should go out - but it will get the wider audience such quality music deserves.

On starting off on his music career, Guy joined his first band at 13 and then with Mark, Craig, Pete and Jupp, moved onto ‘Mr Soft’ and their intense jazz-funk phase. When Dave asked about Elbow, we heard how Guy was so much closer to the lads than even family. It was clear that Guy is immensely proud of and feels privileged to know his bandmates.

We then heard about Manchester’s place in the music industry. From starting in a band at the height of the ‘Baggy’ scene, it was clear than the success and accessibility of the Stone Roses, often seen around the city, made attaining success all the more tangible. Mark worked in pizza delivery at the time and was met with disbelief when he announced he’d been dropping off at a small studio where the Roses were recording. The next day Guy helped out and was stunned when he’s ended up handing over a pizza to Mani. “Have you ever seen ‘Whistle Down The Wind?” It was like that scene where Hayley Mills finds ‘Jesus’ in a stable!”

Manchester was one of the rare places where ‘if you said you were in a band you didn’t get laughed at’. Haslam then asked about the various scenes in the city, raising Guy’s connection with bands like I Am Kloot and Doves. A parallel was drawn between the Pistols’ seminal Free Trade Hall gig and the small venues like Night and Day which were home to now well-known Manchester artists like Badly Drawn Boy’s Damon Gough.

On other music luminaries, Haslam asked if Guy had ever met Morrissey, to which he answered no, but he had happened to visit an LA club with Dave Zuton just after Moz had gone in. Presumably unbeknownst to Moz, the club was telling punters ‘Morrissey’s in tonight, but don’t look at him’, to which Dave Zuton replied, “Well, tell him not to look at me!”

More insight into ‘jetset lifestyles’ were revealed when an early writing trip to the South of France was mentioned. Scattered Black and Whites, Presuming Ed and Bitten by the Tailfly were a few of the songs from that break, of which Guy named SBAW as one of his favourite Elbow songs of all. Guy also mentioned the young offenders worker in the audience who uses Scattered’s lyrics in his workshops with kids newly away from home.

Other aspects of writing from life experiences were covered in the very public romance with Edith Bowman around the time of Leaders. As ever, Guy was gallant and magnanimous, reaffirming that he, Edith and her ‘Editors’ frontman partner Tom Smith are great friends. Haslam then reflected the difficulty of using a very private experience in a public setting, then transforming it into a portrayal of real life love and loss which many listeners could identify with for themselves.

More literary references arose with Guy’s appreciation of Alan Bennett’s work, together with a revulsion for the negative, voyeuristic ‘Painful Lives’ novels which now make up a section on their own at the city’s branch of Waterstones. This led onto a discussion about the (news) media’s focus on negative aspects of life, while Guy advocated the importance of kindness and love amongst ourselves.

Moving onto upcoming concerts, Guy explained how proud he was to be working with the Halle orchestra after his Grandad used to take him to see them years ago. Elbow’s recent success was highlighted, to which Guy felt that while he loved and was devoted to his job, he was still very lucky, a ‘lucky b******’. The band’s imminent support slot with U2 prompted questions about whether he’d met Bono, but Guy’s only encounter so far had been a 15second exchange with The Edge at an awards photoshoot: “You never get used to this” was his advice.

More recent success stories: Weetabix had offered Elbow a million pounds to use ‘One Day Like This’ on an ad, which the lads had turned down. Unlike use of “Grounds For Divorce” on Top Gear, which was a more difficult decision for Guy in particular, who isn’t much of a fan of the show.

Other subjects mentioned were love, having children, future plans for his career, MAG, Woodstock, Guy’s views on music downloads and iTunes’ policy on not being able to bundle album tracks together, related to his well-known stance on wanting listeners to experience albums in the order they were sequenced by the band.


All in all, it was a fantastic night made all the more memorable in the company of lovely forum folk, rounded off by a great atmosphere in the after-show party tipi next door.

Bloody hell Mrs W, were you taking notes?! Seems like an absolutely fantastic evening.

I think we're going to need a left to right username caption for that line up!

Thank you so much MrsW, what a fantastic write-up and obviously a lovely evening. Not to mention the photos, here & on Ning.

I agree with Al about the "introductions" in the form of a caption to the above photo (though I recognise one or two of you), but hopefully will get to meet some of you myself tomorrow.

Cheers Here goes, left to right and sticking purely with usernames to protect the innocent we have:

Lucky With Disease, Kim, Kim's friend, Hilary G, Sundaygirl, Leonard H, Jones (front), Lynne & other half (back), Nellie, Mr W, me, Nellie's other half, Sparky, Ticky & her other half.

(If anyone on here wants a better resolution pic for themselves, just PM me)

Brilliant, thanks! Good to "meet" you folks!

I spoke too soon about the Ning photos, I've just been there & assume you haven't put them up yet (not that I blame you, you've been busy here ), or am I being a complete doofus not finding my way around there?

You're definitely no doofus Glendarian! No, I'm just faffing about cropping them in between my laptop heatsink threatening to give up the ghost, but they'll be going up in the next half hour

Thanks so much for the breakdown of the evening. Its sounded like we missed a treat.
thank you also for the pictures.
will look foward to meeting some of you all tomorrow evening

It was strange seeing so many people off t'telly hanging around in the afternoon. Especially so for me, because my previous brushes with celebrity are limited to:

1. The ARP warden off Dad's Army (charity bucket collection outside "old" Wembley stadium in 1987)
2. Nearly getting run over by Sebastian Coe's car in London
3. Former Pebble Mill presenter Bob Langley, spotted in Keswick once
4. Chris Moyles booksigning and Corrie's Andrew Whyment in the Arndale a couple of years ago
5. Getting Tony Robinson's autograph

As well as Guy, Lauren Laverne, Terry Christian, John Robb's hair and the mystery author in a pink suit who looked like an extra out of "The Mask", there was also North West Tonight's very own Stuart Flinders.

After the interview with Lauren Laverne, Guy walked right past where I was sat and stopped next to me to talk to someone. I could have said "Mantra Luna" to him, but that would have been rude as he was conversing (Plus I was petrified! )

As a fellow birder, I was pleased to note that Guy was distracted at one point during his interview by the calls coming from the pair of peregrines that are nesting up in the town hall clock.

Great account Mrs Woman, thanks!
Mr Woman, I saw those birds too. Looked like they were fighting over something mid-air, they dropped it and caught it. Looked suspiciously like a little bird.

What a fabulous account to end a lovely evening.

So glad the other half and I met all you lovely people.

Guy was as always great and the interview went really well, only wish I'd had the nerve to stand up and ask a question. Was thinking whilst driving home and would have liked to ask "If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?"

I would no doubt have turned to jelly and blubbered out nonsense so probably it was best I didn't!

Felt privileged to have been one of the 400 or so to see such an event.

mrsprestwichred143 wrote:

Great account Mrs Woman, thanks!

Sorry we didn't get you and MrPrestwichRed143 in the pic. This was a opportunistic job snapped just after a shower, which was a bit before you'd arrived. To the handful of other folks we missed a chance to 'steal the souls of', we'll catch you next time!

Had my hand up for a question but Haslam failed to select me! Couldn't decide between "Do you reckon that your mate Phil is backstage drinking your whisky?" and "Do you feel more like Britney Spears or Rosemary from Hong Kong Phooey wearing that head set?"!!

No worries Mrs Woman!
It was difficult when we first arrived because they were about to start filming and most people had already met, but it was lovely to meet everyone eventually!
See you all again tomorrow!

mrswoman wrote:

Oh my word, I said I wanted a photo of me and Guy! Not quite what I had in mind though.

Thanks for the very comprehensive write up MrsW, just a shame that those of us on the other side of the venue spend the first hour examining Guy's ear as he faced you. Brilliant photos though!