Elbow frontman Guy Garvey has revealed the Manchester band have enlisted the talents of a UK actor for a track set to feature on their upcoming new album, but has refused to reveal the identity of the star in question.
Speaking to digital radio station XFM, Garvey explained how Elbow had wanted to get an old actor to accentuate the nostalgia of one of their new tracks, and said the person they booked is ‘pretty special’. “We’ve got a pretty special guest on the next record,” he enthused. “Let’s just say it is a very loved old English actor who’s gonna appear on the record with us.
Because it is a nostalgic song I wanted it to be from the point of view of an old man and we thought the easiest way to do that is to get an old man to sing the first couple of verses, so that’s what we’ve done.”
Later, Garvey also discussed the group’s plans ahead of their UK tour next year, when they will hope to turn the bigger venues they now comfortably sell-out into more intimate arenas. “We’ve been messing around with the idea of making big venues smaller – that’s what we tried to do when we played Wembley and Manchester last year,” he said.
“Trying to make the big rooms more intimate because there’s loads of fun to be had at a big gig but there’s also things that you miss from smaller gigs. We’re gonna try and do both with the use of lights and props and cameras, gadgetry.”
Elbow’s UK tour is due to begin in Glasgow on March 15th, 2011.