Guy Garvey is a popular songwriter, a philanthropist, an activist, a radio presenter, a professor of writing, and a frontman for his band, Elbow. He presents 'Guy Garvey's Finest Hour,' a weekly show on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Early Life
Guy Garvey, christened Guy Edward John Garvey, was born on March 6, 1974, in the local area of Bury, Lancashire, in Great Manchester. As of April 2024, he is 50 years old. His father is Don Garvey. His mother is Shirley Harrington, a cop turned psychologist.
Guy Garvey with father Don
Despite being born in the United Kingdom, Guy hails from an Irish and Catholic family. In an interview with The Irish Times, the singer shared that his great-great-grandfather was in Ireland until he moved to Manchester in 1822. Since then, the family has stayed in Manchester.
As a school student, Guy often skipped assignments, blaming it on his parents' separation, which coincidentally happened at the same time. When he failed his GCSE, he decided to quit, but his older sister Gina didn't support the decision. She encouraged him to work harder, and after failing GCSEs a couple of times, he managed to qualify for Stand College, where he met the rest of the band.
In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Guy mentioned that he was named after another renowned Catholic, Gay Fawkes, a soldier from the 16th Century.
Family
Guy Garvey has five older sisters and one younger brother. His younger brother is the famous actor Marcus Garvey. His sisters are Gina, Louise, Sam, Karen, and Becky.
Guy Garvey with sisters and younger brother
Career
Guy Garvey is notably known as a singer and guitarist at Elbow, a band he joined when he was at Stand College, a sixth-form college in Whitefield in the late 20th century. His talents go beyond singing or playing the guitar, as he also plays some percussion instruments.
Guy's journey into music started at 14 when he joined the "Synoptic Reverb" band as a drummer, which he was not at that time. His time at the Synoptic Reverb was passable.
With Elbow, Guy has two 2008 Ivor Novello awards for best songwriting. One was for "Grounds for Divorce" and the other for "One Day Like This." The band also got a Mercury Music Prize award in 2008 for their song "The Seldom Seen Kid." The band also has a BRIT award to their name for Best British Band.
Guy Garvey performs for Elbow
Apart from being a frontman for Elbow, Guy made a soloist stint in 2015 with his debut album, "Courting the Squalls." Becoming a soloist did not interfere with his band duties, as the singer continued to be the lead singer for Elbow.
As a presenter, Guy has a spot at BBC 6 Music every Sunday evening for two hours. Previously, he presented at XFM on Sunday evenings and is a self-proclaimed admirer of Melvyn Bragg's "In Our Time," airing on Radio 4.
Guy is also a writer, previously running a monthly column in the Manchester-based Time Out, a now-defunct paper belonging to the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.
In 2012, Guy received an honorary doctorate award from Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2018, Putting his doctorate award to great use, he had a visiting professorship at the university and joined the Manchester Writing School in the citadel of learning, dedicating good time to teaching the next generation of creative writers.
In 2012, Manchester Craft and Design Centre unveiled Guy as a new patron in celebration of its 30 years of existence. He has also spent ample time reading bedtime stories to kids through CBeebies's program, "Bedtime Stories."
Guy's net worth is estimated to be $5 million through his various professions and collaborations.
Collaborations
In 2001, Guy worked with "I am Kloot" to produce their debut album, "Natural History." He also produced a single, "Maybe I Should," alongside Craig Potter for the band.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Heligoland, a Massive Attack album. Guy has also appeared on many TV series, such as the BBC's Peter Kay's Car Share, ITV's The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, and Wise Owl Film's Guy Garvey: From the Vaults.
Guy Garvey is the presenter for Guy Garvey's Finest Hour at the BBC Radio 6 Music
As an activist, Guy dedicates his time to making war zones safer and free of munitions and mines through his charity organization, Mines Advisory Group (MAG).
On May 7, 2024, Guy and the Elbow band will start a global tour for their newest album, "Audio Vertigo," released on March 22, 2024.
Personal Life
The singer was bullied at school despite being a head taller than most of his classmates. He never liked being at the playground and preferred smaller circles of friends.
Marriage
Guy met Rachel Stirling in 2015 at the wedding of Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter and started dating her. They married in 2016 in a small private wedding in the town hall of Manchester. The couple welcomed their son, Jack Garvey, in 2017.
Guy Garvey with wife Rachel Stirling
Rachel is an accomplished actress, the star of Tipping the Velvet, and the daughter of acting icon Dame Diana Rigg, who died in September 2020 after a brave battle with cancer. Guy supported Diana, who spent her last months bonding with him as she moved in with them.
Past Relationships
Racheal Stirling was not the first woman to enter the singer's life. He dated a writer, Emma Unsworth, for about ten years initially. The relationship ended towards the end of 2013 and influenced some of the lyrics of the album "Take Off and Landing of Everything."
Before then, he was in a relationship with Edith Bowman, a disc jockey (DJ).
None of these relationships ended in marriage. So, Guy Garvey has no ex-wife, daughter, or stepchildren.