WHAT does a successful rock group do when they're not selling millions and filling stadiums?

For Bury band Elbow, it seems that becoming a casualty of the stereotypical pop life is nowhere near top of their agenda.

Instead they've been doing normal things like growing up, honing their craft in the studio, and most importantly, creating their own "junior Elbow": the band baby count is now up to five. And it wouldn't be Elbow without yet another change of record label to slow things down.

However, the five-piece group are back in action and release their fourth album The Seldom Seen Kid next month, ahead of a grinding year-long touring schedule which will take them around the world.

They took their first steps back by appearing on last week's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, performing their new single Grounds for Divorce.

The band - comprising Guy Garvey (vocals, guitar), Pete Turner (bass), Richard Jupp (drums), Mark Potter (guitar) and Craig Potter (keyboards) - got together in 1991 after meeting at college. They initially called the group Soft, and played gigs in local pubs and venues such as the Derby Hall.

After numerous false starts to their career, they released their debut album Asleep in the Back in 2001 to great acclaim, being nominated for both a Mercury Music Prize and Brit award.

That album and its successors, Cast of Thousands (2003) and Leaders of the Free World (2005), have all been Top 20 hits, and the band have won fans far and wide.

Despite their success and, it must be said, some harsh words about their hometown in years gone by, three of the band still live in the borough, while Guy and Pete are just down the road in Manchester.

"We've been having babies!" says Pete, explaining the band's three-year absence. "Jupp has one kid, and the Potters now have two each. Not me, but I have so many nieces and nephews I can go and see. And my mum, dad and sisters still live in Tottington."

Another factor was the band's move from v2 to Fiction Records. "From start to finish, that took over a year. We would have got the new album done a lot more quickly if that hadn't happened. We just buried our heads in the studio and let everyone else sort it out. It was excellent having all the time that we had, but you can get cabin fever."

The new record was recorded at their own facilities within Blueprint Studios in Salford, and produced by the band's Craig.

"Every time we release an album I think it's the best we've ever done," said Pete.

"Even after being in the studio for two years, I still really enjoy the songs. It's by far my favourite.

"Normally we'd have an outside producer, an extra pair of ears listening, and sometimes you're pressured into doing something different. But this is 100 per cent us, we wanted this record to be exactly how we wanted it. The Potters and Jupp are perfectionists, while me and Guy throw it at the wall and see what happens. You need both sides, and I think we've got a good balance between the two."

The 11-track album includes the single, and a witty, almost spaghetti western duet with singer/songwriter Richard Hawley - "a bit like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," says Pete.

It's a typically diverse set, ranging from the Latin rhythms of The Bones of You and An Audience with the Pope, to the stunning Eno-meets-Polynesia opener Starlings and celebratory climax One Day Like This with an extended Hey Jude style coda. Elbow's trademark ballads are present, in the shimmering Mirrorball and Weather To Fly, which singer Guy largely addresses to the rest of the band.

The closing Friend of Ours, meanwhile, is dedicated to their songwriter friend Bryan Glancy, who died two years ago. "Bryan was a brilliant friend. As soon as you met him you fell in love with him, he was such a nice chap. It's not maudlin or sad, we just wanted to celebrate him."

Pete is looking forward to getting back into action. "I can't wait! It's been so long since we last toured. We've done the odd TV programme and some dates with Richard Fretwell, but that's a different thing to playing your own music.

"It's so exciting getting your head around the songs live."We've got four albums' worth to play now at the gigs, so we'll do maybe up to eight from the new record plus some old favourites.

"After the UK tour we're off to the States, then there are summer festivals, in fact we're touring straight through to Easter next year. It's nice to think about it at the start, but six months later I'll probably be climbing the walls and want to be back in the studio."

Summing up where Elbow are now, Pete says: "I don't want it to sound like the Waltons or the Brady Bunch, but the more we get to know each other, and play music with each other, the more fun we have. It just gets better.

"Everyone is quite settled, especially with the new fathers. You're a five-minute drive away from the studio and you can get home for your tea! I don't think we'll record away from Manchester again.

"I'll have all the family down for the Manchester gig, if everyone can get babysitters.We even have the kids down at the soundchecks, all running around with their ear protectors on!

"In the past we might have wanted a big night out, but we're all 33 or 34 now, and things change."

Elbow's new album The Seldom Seen Kid is released on Fiction Records on March 17. They play Manchester Academy on April 13.

For a preview, look at www.theseldomseenkid.com, where an Elbow cube will reveal layers of songs from the album.