‘cast of thousands’, recorded at legendary liverpool’s legendary parr street studios, with ben hiller again at the helm, introduced cover stars elle and bo to the world, their life size statues causing traffic jams when sited next to the motorway during festival dates to promote the album. taking its title from the vocal contributions of the glastonbury crowd to ‘grace under pressure’, recorded in a landmark performance on the other stage in 2002, the album artwork features the names of all those who contacted the band to say, ‘yes, i was there and singing’. an early indicator of elbow’s power to produce inclusive, uplifting moments, ‘cast of thousands’ also features ‘fugitive motel’; another track featured during the recent elbowrooms recordings.

Tracklist:
Side A
1. Ribcage
2. Fallen Angel
3. Fugitive Motel
4. Snooks (Progress Report)
5. Switching Off

Side B
6. Not A Job
7. I've Got Your Number
8. Buttons And Zips
9. Crawling With Idiot
10. Grace Under Pressure
11. Flying Dream 143