Elbow to Play Manchester Ritz Three Nights Running, Performing Debut Album in Full
Manchester band Elbow have announced three consecutive nights at hometown venue Manchester Ritz on 20-22 November 2026 (Friday to Sunday), performing their 2001 debut album Asleep In The Back in full, plus B-sides from the same period. Frontman Guy Garvey told NME the band deliberately chose not to turn this into a tour — the songs are staying put.
Show details
- Dates: Friday 20, Saturday 21, and Sunday 22 November 2026
- Venue: Manchester Ritz, Manchester, UK
- Setlist: Asleep In The Back performed in full, plus contemporaneous B-sides
- Tickets: not yet detailed — check the band's official channels for on-sale information
Garvey said the run was originally planned as a single show, but that felt modest, so it grew to three. He said the performances are for people who were there at the time and never expected to hear the whole album played live.
Why the Ritz
The Ritz was the backdrop to Elbow's formative years — Garvey recalls hanging around the venue's indie nights at 16 with future bandmates, and the band's first headline show under their own name there came on the back of Asleep In The Back. They also recorded their 2020 acoustic album Live At The Ritz at the venue.
A troubled debut
Elbow — Garvey, guitarist Mark Potter, bassist Pete Turner, keyboardist Craig Potter, and former drummer Richard Jupp — had two label deals collapse at the last minute before the album's release. They eventually signed to Island and recorded an initial version with Happy Mondays producer Steve Osborne; when Island was absorbed into Universal Music, that deal fell through too, and the band re-recorded the album with Blur producer Ben Hillier.
Garvey said that by the time they finished the final version, the band had grown thoroughly disillusioned with the industry — a feeling reflected in the long organ intro to opener "Any Day Now," and one that gave the record its unhurried, let-the-songs-unfold quality.
Asleep In The Back was released by V2 in 2001, reaching No. 14 in the UK charts and earning the band their first Mercury Prize nomination — losing that year to PJ Harvey's Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. Elbow went on to win the Mercury Prize in 2008 for their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid. NME originally rated the debut 9/10, calling it the first great Manchester album of the new millennium.
What's next
Garvey also told NME that the follow-up to 2024's Audio Vertigo is taking shape, with partial inspiration coming from the new David Bowie Lightroom immersive exhibition. He also discussed former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham's use of the band's 2008 track "One Day Like This" in a campaign video.