Elbow frontman Guy Garvey wooed the crowds at Englefield Estate

Heritage Live at Englefield House: Elbow
on Sunday, July 21

Review by NIKI HINMAN

Is it me or does Elbow frontman Guy Garvey look increasingly like Stephen Fry?

Who cares anyway, because a beaming and charming Mr Garvey wooed the crowds on Sunday at Englefield Estate's Heritage Live.

Obviously taken with the stately back drop of the big house, his second calling as a stand up comedian showed itself, as he gently mused about the Batman aesthetics of Englefield.

"I used to be in chorister school with Christian Bale," he says to the crowd, who, mostly I think, believed him. Until he let us know otherwise.

The warmth and chattiness of the act only enhanced the sometimes ethereal feel to the performance as Garvey's vocals both soared, and stroked eyelids on the final hours of the long Heritage Live weekend.

At times touching, the Elbow front man made much of friendship, explaining he and his band mates had known each other since school.

These intimate conversations with the gripped audience came between some classy filming, staged in black and white on the big screens each side of the stage.

Earlier, Hamish Hawk’s Laziest River EP offered a deeply introspective journey through his soulful lyricism and stripped-back instrumentation laid the tone for a chilled out, sunny evening at the park.

Elbow’s presence was the cherry on top of a weekend which had seen Madness and Pete Tong top the line up on previous days.

With their recent number one album Audio Vertigo showcasing a departure in style while maintaining their signature sound, fans got a dynamic and captivating performance.

And classics like One Day Like This and Grounds for Divorce got everyone singing along.