Can I ask a question?

[Kiki]

Just one question. Hmm... okay maybe there is more than one question here but the overall principle is the same. In a nutshell it is why are Elbow in the top 10 of the album and singles chart right now? Elbow's 'One Day Like This' is at number 4 and 'The Seldom Seen Kid' is number 6. The latter is said to have had 214 weeks on the UK chart and if that is right I would guess (only a guess, could be nowhere near) that number puts them in the top 100 albums to stay on the UK chart.

So how did a band named 'Elbow' do this? What is the meaning of all this success? Their music is spaced out to the hills and there is no way in hell they planned any sort of commercial success.

Is anyone with me when I say the fact they are now in the top tiers of post 2000 Uk rockbands is one of the more strangest things to happen in popular music? This isn't a "Elbow are terrible, how did they get this far?" thread but instead a "Elbow are Elbow, how did they get this far!?"

[joyofdivision]

I believe 'One Day Like This' has a hidden reference for getting your tits out, and that's all they needed to be acknowledged by the masses. Might be worth remembering that if you want to sell a million albums

[alelsupreme]

[videoheadcleaner]

I think I remember seeing the front page of a magazine when Seldom Seen Kid came out that said: 'Elbow are the new Radiohead' - a major stretch for the journo there.

It seems that the masses have caught onto Elbow after the Olympics and maybe it is just a consistent sale of albums/singles rather than a gigantic burst that some artists seem to get.

[Puncture Repair]

Yeah they shot up just as after the Olympic closing ceremony, people really eat up "One Day Like This" and an international audience must have helped. It's just a phase though, I reckon.

Still, they deserve this attention, they're a great band that, a bit like Coldplay, has universal appeal in many areas - they just needed the recognition.

I think they're best when they don't quite do the expected, however, and lean more towards Radiohead than Coldplay. Build A Rocket Boys! was a great album but didn't really go in the right direction - they took the sound of "One Day Like This" and just built on that.

Really looking forward to "Dead In The Boot", a collection of B-Sides from their earlier music which is coming out in a week.

[Guest]

Never underestimate the power of a good publicist and PR machine...

Particularly if the band appears to be in the 'right place at the right time!

[Kiki]

The Olympics That seems to be the answer to everything at the moment. Look like it is rigtht too.

What is a publicist? Can they help me become a big rockstar?

[Guest]

[alelsupreme]

I found it awesome is that thanks to the olympics Running Up That Hill got into the top 10.