ELBOW frontman and Bury music legend Guy Garvey is rocking into a new position at a top regional university.

The award-winning singer has been named as a visiting professor of songwriting at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

As part of the new role he will offer a masterclass in writing for music, sharing his expertise with the university's next generation of talented creative writers.

Guy said: 'I'm really looking forward to working with young songwriters at Manchester Metropolitan University. I've never had a conversation with another writer that hasn't in some way informed my own work."

He added that he has been "lucky enough to learn from some of the best", citing music legends and rising stars including Robert Plant, Laura Marling, Elton John, Lianne La Havas and Peter Gabriel.

Guy said: "Those are some names people will know. I'm looking forward to working with names that everyone will come to know in a city that has nurtured some of the very best."

One of the most renowned song writers of his generation, Guy has twice won the prestigious Ivor Novello award, as well as a BRIT award for Best British Band and the Mercury Music Prize with Elbow.

The outfit have released seven critically acclaimed albums, with single Magnificent (She Says) from their latest outing, 2017's Little Friction nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the 2018 Ivor Novello Awards.

Guy's debut solo album, Courting the Squall, was released in 2015, and the musician also presents a weekly music show on BBC Radio 6.

In 2012, Guy was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts by MMU in 2012, and he will now join the creative writing team headed up by Poet Laureate Professor Carol Ann Duffy DBE.

Poet Adam O'Riordan, Academic Director of Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “Guy joining the Manchester Writing School feels very special. And we are all delighted to welcome him home.

“As the foremost lyricist of his generation and one of our city's most celebrated and well-loved native sons, he will bring a wealth of experience, passion and wisdom which will no doubt have a huge influence on the culture of the Manchester Writing School and the unique creative atmosphere that exists here in the city.

“Guy joining the Manchester Writing School builds on existing and growing links to writing for music such as the Rosamond Prize which we run in conjunction with the Royal Northern College of Music.

“We look forward to learning from Guy and to contributing together to the sustained cultural fluorescence of Manchester and the wider region, as a new generation discover how to speak and sing what’s on their minds and in their hearts.”