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Elbow's Guy Garvey has said the band's first ever arena tour 'will shape the way they write in the future.'

Speaking to 6 Music News before their home town gig at the Manchester Evening News Arena on Friday, Garvey explained how playing in some of the biggest venues in the country had influenced the band:

"Knowing that we're being appreciated as much for our subtler songs as we are for our anthems will shape the way we write in the future," he said.

"We won't have to apologetically write very simple quiet music."

Elbow play two shows at London's O2 Arena tonight (March 28) and tomorrow (March 29) but Guy said one of the highlights of the tour had been in Sheffield when Richard Hawley joined them on stage.

Hawley Update

Hawley, who is currently recording the follow up to 2009's Truelove's Gutter, took time out to play with Elbow and Guy Garvey dropped a few hints about Hawley's next album:

"Rich is a good friend and he's working hard in the studio on his album at the moment. So the fact that he agreed to break that spell for one evening was very good of him and it was the highlight of the Sheffield show", Guy said.

"I'm really excited about what he's doing with this new album. It sounds like he's opened the doors to his psychedelic rock side and it's going to be a very different Richard Hawley album."

Garvey was gearing up to perform in front of over 20000 fans in Manchester on Friday evening and explained why a gig in his home town had it's advantages: "My afternoon so far has been spent getting on the tram near my house and coming into work with my walkman on like I have done for 17 years. Except tonight we're playing at the arena, which is lovely."

"Glastonbury is the biggest party of the year!"
Guy Garvey

Elbow have made every effort to dress the arenas on this tour to give them a more intimate feel, with red curtains, a chandelier, a runway into the crowd and a giant mirror ball.

Garvey said the band were pleased that songs such as Lippy Kids, Starlings, Puncture Repair and Mirrorball have gone down with fans as well as more obvious arena pleasers such as Ground's for Divorce and Station Approach.

"Because we haven't written an album full of anthemic stadium songs the really satisfying thing has been seeing the subtler songs going down really well and watching that many people being quiet for those songs."

So have Elbow been writing on this tour as they did whilst on the road following the release of The Seldom Seen Kid? "We haven't set up our porta-studio on this tour yet but I have been scribbling a bit, just writing as we go", said Guy.

"I've no doubt we'll get the portable studio out soon because everyone is shuffling towards writing again. It doesn't take long."

After playing the O2 Arena the next big event on the Elbow Calendar is Glastonbury, which Guy said should be a "defining" moment for the band: "It is official now that we're playing before U2 at Glastonbury", he said.

"Glastonbury is the biggest party of the year. We've met U2 a couple of times and they're great lads just enjoying the job and I hope we're still playing when we get to their years. I hope they don't mind me saying that."