Cast Aways

“Our single was used in that film My Little Eye, you know,” boasts Elbow’s guitarist Mark Potter, proudly. “We all went along to the cinema to watch it. I wasn’t that keen on the film but we all stayed right until the end to watch the credits. A few other people stayed on too, wondering what we were staying for… when we saw our credit, we were just cheering away. It was crazy.”

Forget the gold discs, award nominations and critical acclaim. Sometimes, it’s great bonding moments like these that seem to make for the best band experiences. Talking to Potter, it seems as though these five Mancunians are still getting to grips with the international success that followed their debut Asleep In The Back. Having toured the world may have given them plenty of scope for their follow-up album, Cast Of Thousands, yet before they assault the globe with their second masterpiece of melancholia, the band are back on home turf and enjoying the simple pleasures of Life Oop North.
“It’s great to hang out with other bands every few days, like Alfie and Doves, when you’ve had enough of your own… that’s the thing about the Manchester scene, it’s really healthy. There’s no competition between the bands - we help each other out, we drink in the same bars, people big each other up, collaborate and work on each other’s stuff. In fact, I’m about to drive over to see Johnny and Andy from I Am Kloot, as my wife is going to cut their hair for their next video.”
It hasn’t been that long since Elbow themselves were relying on the odd free haircut. The music industry has been less than kind to the band, something that the pragmatism, humility and darkness evident on Asleep In The Back alludes to.
About the inner workings of the industry, Potter remains somewhat philosophical. “Unless you’re huge, bands don’t feel very secure at the moment. I think record companies are putting too much into too few bands. There should be more signings, and things should be spread out, giving other people a chance rather than spending £2 million on Tom Jones or whoever. Like, he’s had his chance, let someone else have a go! In saying that, I’m loving the pop music I’m hearing on the radio, a lot more so than the stuff I heard three years ago. I’ve got Justin’s album… and how cool is that Beyoncé tune? We covered Destiny’s Child’s ‘Independent Women’, and it got more exposure than we would have liked. Beyoncé heard it on Jo Whiley’s show and she loved it though, and wanted to meet us, which was a bit of a result.”
Potter asserts that he knew the band had ‘arrived’ when certain celebrities began gravitating towards their own supernova aura. Alex James and Dermot O’Leary are regulars on Elbow’s London guest lists and Elijah Wood has been spotted at one of the US dates, as has a musician closer to the band’s heart.
“We played the Knitting Factory in LA and John Taylor from Duran Duran showed up. He’s the reason that our Pete plays the bass, he is such a massive fan of theirs. It’s a good job no-one told him he was there beforehand, or he’d have messed up big time.”
The big time nearly came knocking for Elbow in 2001 when Asleep In The Back was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Unfortunately, things didn’t entirely go according to plan.
“It wasn’t really the event it was supposed to be,” Potter rues. “People’s minds were elsewhere. We were in the record company and people were just stunned. It was subdued enough, it was just, ‘Is the world going to end?’, and in the middle of it all there was this ceremony to go to, so we just kind of did it.
“As the awards were being announced, the camera was on the table, which was an ‘Oh shit’ moment for sure. One of the panel came over after the ceremony and said ‘It was always between you and PJ Harvey and I had the final vote and I voted for her’, and we were like, ‘Oh thanks very much mate!’”
Still, in spite of the evening’s sobriety, the band managed to indulge in some horseplay that would have made the likes of fellow Mancs Black Grape and Oasis proud: “We had an internal bet within the band that the first person to get to the podium would get the money. It would have been pandemonium. We found out afterwards that my brother (keyboardist Craig) had a deal with the tour manager that he was going to hold the rest of us back so he would make it first.”
Who’s Potter tipping to win this year’s Mercury Music Prize?
“I think Radiohead will get it. Kid A and Amnesiac were a bit wishy washy, but I think they’ve made a return to form, more guitars and more structured songs on the record.”

Elbow’s Cast Of Thousands is out now on V2