Elbow won the 2008 Mercury Prize for the album The Seldom Seen Kid.
The Seldom Seen Kid was Elbow’s fourth studio album and was released on 3 March 2008. It won the 2008 Mercury Prize, which recognizes the best album by an artist from the United Kingdom or Ireland. The award was announced in September 2008, giving Elbow its first Mercury Prize victory.
Produced by Craig Potter, the album includes “One Day Like This,” “Grounds for Divorce,” and “The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver.” Its sound combines expansive rock arrangements with Guy Garvey’s conversational songwriting and a strong sense of atmosphere.
The record is sometimes confused with Elbow’s later album Build a Rocket Boys!, which was also nominated for the Mercury Prize but did not win. The Seldom Seen Kid’s title refers to a friend of the band, Bryan Glancy, who died in 2006.