Elbow are a Nationwide Mercury Prize winning English alternative rock band. The band formed in Bury, Lancashire, in 1990, and currently comprises lead vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Guy Garvey, guitarist and back up vocalist Mark Potter, keyboardist and back up vocalist Craig Potter, bassist Pete Turner and drummer Richard Jupp. Over the band´s 18 year career they have released four studio albums, four EPs and ten top fifty singles in the UK.

The band are named after a line in the BBC TV mini-series The Singing Detective which says that the word "elbow" is the most sensuous word in the English language, not for its definition, but for how it feels to say it.

Acclaimed for their innovative sound and front-man Guy Garvey´s candid, evocative lyrics, Elbow have received vast critical acclaim and been endorsed by major artists Blur, R.E.M. and U2. The Velvet Underground´s co-founder John Cale selected Elbow´s "Switching Off" as one of his eight chosen records on the BBC´s "Desert Island Discs" radio programme. Commercial success, however, has yet to match Elbow´s critical acclaim and status among fans.