Pete Turner of beloved Brit rockers Elbow tells Noise11 about their song commissioned for the London Olympics.
Elbow. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
The band were chosen to produce music for the BBC’s coverage of the London Olympics, wrapping the song up at the end of 2011.
“That was really good,” bassist Pete Turner tells Noise11, “Just an area that we’ve never explored, really, writing something specifically for something else. And it was great; really good fun.”
“It’s a pretty epic tune,” he reveals, “It’s got the Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Community Gospel Choir on it. I’m looking forward to hearing that. I think it gets its first airing in March.”
It’s the first time they’ve done a commissioned piece, and Turner says they weren’t the only band to be considered by the Beeb.
“We knew there were other people in the running, but we were never told who, which is probably quite a good thing, really.”
He says the ubiquity of their Seldom Seen Kid single ‘One Day Like This’ on UK sports coverage was the likely reason they were chosen: “That song did a lot for us, so that’s really cool. It has given us a lot of opportunities, this being one of them.”
No cynics, the band are looking forward to the Olympic Games hitting London.
“I’m really excited. I think everyone’s really proud that the Olympics are coming over here,” he says, chuckling, “I just hope the weather’s good.”
Turner also spoke about their recent BRIT Award nomination, their beer, their forthcoming Deluxe Editions, their new Build A Rocket Boys album filling out arenas, their first time they’re playing Singapore, and playing to ex-pats in Hong Kong.
Check out the whole chat below.
Elbow Australian Tour 2012
Wednesday 21 March – Festival Hall, Melbourne
Thursday 22 March – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Saturday 24 March – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Monday 26 March – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
