WHEN Elbow's Guy Garvey hears 5,000 people or so singing the chorus of his band's new single back at him, he must wonder why Elbow haven't yet been acclaimed as Britain's greatest and best-loved band.

The single is, of course, One Day Like This, the venue Delamere Forest in Cheshire, and as the sun starts to set it becomes obvious that far more than tired whingers like James Blunt, or even the "new voice of British soul" James Morrison, who Elbow stepped in at the last minute to replace, Elbow have a knack for writing huge, heart-thumping, soul-lifting tunes.

Guy Garvey is also a surprisingly good raconteur for someone who tends to look a little dour, shall we say, in photographs. Pint in hand, he regales the audience with stories, and even tips his hat in a charmingly old-fashioned manner.

The songs from the latest album sound by far the most suited to the grand surroundings - Mirrorball is a yearning hymn, Grounds For Divorce a huge, stomping beast of a song and The Fix - complete with guest appearance from Richard Hawley - a creepy, growling creature, like something you'd expect to find in the trees at night .

In our interview, bassist Pete Turner said he felt that their third album, Leaders Of The Free World was disappointingly received, but The Stop and the eponymous title track both go down a storm in Cheshire. And in the spotlight alone, Garvey's rendition of their breakthrough single Newborn, from the Mercury-nominated Asleep In The Back, sounds incredibly poignant - particularly, we would expect, to the couple who have just got engaged, thanks to a little on-stage question popping by Garvey on one very romantic man's behalf.