You would expect a city with a large university student population to have some dance clubs and other live music venues that cater to a young crowd. To say that about Sheffield is an extreme understatement. The vibrant live music scene in the city has been the soundtrack to life for citizens of Sheffield for over 30 years.
Past and present Sheffield musicians have enjoyed great success. Names from the not too distant past include Joe Cocker, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Def Leppard, The Human League to name a few. More recently the Arctic Monkeys, Pink Grease, and The Long Blonds are very popular in and outside of Sheffield. The live music venues, such as clubs, pubs, halls, and stadiums fill the air with music, and vibrate the cities streets with a baseline.
So many talented acts come from Sheffield that is seems an odd coincidence. Perhaps something in the water that helps vocal cords develop, not likely, but something has to explain the large volume of musicians coming out of this fairly small area. Well, it’s not that big of a mystery.
It seems that in the early 1980s when the steel industry was on a down turn, someone on the Sheffield City Council heard about the big money involved in music. The multi-million dollar incomes of rock stars looked like an attractive way to bring a lot of money into the city. By 1982, a year that saw double-digit unemployment rates and 20,000 jobs lost, the City Council decided to do something about it by producing a few rock stars of their own.
It may not have occurred quite that way, but the fact is, the council got involved in the music business. They figured out that to have a great income producing music scene several things were needed. An infrastructure for the music industry was necessary, so the Council began funding projects related to music. A recording studio was needed to attract top acts and lot of live music venues were needed to showcase the local talent.
Sheffield City Trust owns Sheffield International Venues and operates Hallam FM Arena, and Sheffield City Hall to name a few of the 13 venues for music, sports, and entertainment. (SVI) Sheffield International Venues vision is to promote Sheffield as an international and cultural centre point for sport, leisure and entertainment, something they have been quite successful at doing since 1988.
Red Tape Studios is a training site for Sheffield City Council. It offers training to people interested in careers in the music business. Band Development, Band and Artist management, Music Technology, Music Business Courses and even DJ training courses are available. Because these courses are part of a local government backed system, they are competitively priced and the program really helps promote the music scene in Sheffield.
Of course the City Council offers other training units. Aspiring caterers, (if there is such a thing) can train at Sheaf Training alongside aspiring construction workers and customer service representatives. Tritec Computer Training is the City Council’s IT training ground and every city has at least one of these. The fact that the city recognizes and promotes popular music is just so surprising, and what’s more exciting and surprising is how well it works.
That answers the question how one small area can produce so many talented musicians. Not really a mystery, it’s more of a plan. Council backing is only a small part of the music scene however, and the venues that have been committed to growing the live music scene for the past twenty five or thirty years deserve much of the credit as well.
The Leadmill celebrated its silver anniversary in 2005, and has grown from a derelict flour mill in a rundown part of the city during the last stages of the steel industry’s demise. Unemployment and hopelessness was the consensus among young people at the time. A group of volunteers, students, artists, and unemployed people, who described themselves as “insane but likable” came together to set up a centre for arts and music for people like themselves who had nowhere to go.
The Leadmill has grown into a landmark, and the live music has grown legendary. The opening in 1980 of what was a performing arts center with jazz, pop bands, theatre, education workshops, and club nights began a tradition of live music that venues the world over have tried to emulate. The “insane but likable” founders turned out to be visionaries, except when they turned down a strange young blonde girl for a gig in 1983 who turned out to be Madonna. But who would have thought a club where the toilets backed up onto the dance floor would do so well. It’s not the bricks and mortar, but the bands and the experiences of the people who have been there time and time again that are memorable. The Leadmill is a launching pad for stars in the music business, and the place to see up and coming musicians in Sheffield.
The Leadmill is of course not the only famous live music venue in town, and is just one of the great live venues. There is a club in Sheffield for whatever your taste is. Live Music, DJ & MC stuff, techno, synthpop, indiepoppunk, and whatever other combinations of music are left over are represented somewhere in the city. Starting from a forward thinking city council and bright young people who love music, the city of Sheffield has been producing musicians like other cities produce butchers for the past 30 years.
Article by Susan Ashby of Sheffield Singles. To read more articles like this or for dating in Sheffield visit http://www.sheffield-singles.co.uk
Entertainment in Manchester
They say that a city’s entertainment and recreational options speak volumes about that city’s prospects as a desirable and rewarding place to live. If such were the case, then Manchester’s vibrant entertainment options certainly speak volumes about the joy of living in this fine, fun-filled city. Manchester is an absolute standout when one considers the depth and breadth of its entertainment options in the field of art, cinema, dance, music, theatre, museums, sports and the performing arts.
Take for example the Lowry at Salford Quays, inaugurated in 2000 at a cost of £21m, courtesy of the National Lottery fund. Located near the Imperial War Museum North and the Old Trafford football stadium, The Lowry is best known for keeping the biggest collection of L.S. Lowry’s original paintings. Art is its soul, they say, but the Lowry has more to offer than just art. It also houses two theatres that regularly feature touring plays as well as musicians and comedians. These are the Lyric, believed to have the largest stage in the United Kingdom, outside of London’s West End, and the Quays.
Located at the city centre, the Whitworth Art Gallery regularly stages eye-opening, innovative exhibitions and houses over 31,000 great modern pieces, including paintings by Constable, Turner and other masters. The gallery has an impressive collection of watercolours, wallpapers and textiles. Among its most famous pieces is the marble sculpture Genesis by Sir Jacob Epstein.
Cornerhouse on Oxford Road is renowned for its contemporary and cutting-edge multi-media visual art displays. Since it opened in October 1985, the centre has established itself as a venue for artistic experimentation and innovation.
When it comes to contemporary dance performances, Dancehouse Theatre, home of the Northern Ballet School, stages regular performances all year round. The Lowry and the Green Room also stage dance performances throughout the year.
Manchester has a diverse array of musical offerings as well, ranging from classical and opera to pop, rock and jazz.
Bridgewater Hall is the seat of classical music in Manchester and home to the Halle Orchestra and the Manchester Camerata as well as a regular venue of the BBC Philharmonic. The city’s best professional musicians are usually products of the Royal Northern College of Music where they were trained to compose and perform musical scores, jazz concerts and opera arias, among others. Musically gifted children are taught the finer points of their craft at Chetham’s School of Music and these prodigies perform free lunchtime concerts for the public.
On the other hand, the city’s leading proponents of pop, rock and jazz converge at Manchester Academy, Labatt’s Apollo, Band on the Wall and Roadhouse. You will find well-known indie and dance bands at Manchester Academy while Labatt’s Apollo regularly hosts a diverse array of famous British and American singers as well as Asian superstars. Band on the Wall has nightly blues and jazz jam sessions while the musical stars of tomorrow hone their skills at the Roadhouse, a dark and sweaty basement venue. Numerous bars, pubs and nightclubs throughout the city host their own in-house live bands.
In addition, Manchester has many museums that chronicle not only the city’s rich history but also important milestones and landmarks of the United Kingdom and the world. For example, the Manchester Museum, which is owned by the University of Manchester, features over six million items from seven continents, including carvings from India, ancient Egyptian crafts from Africa, age-old art from the Mediterranean, fossils from Australia, pottery from the Americas and much more, including a fossilized Tyrannosaurus Rex from South Dakota.
Meanwhile, the Museum of Science and Industry is concerned with science, technology and industry, especially Manchester’s significant contributions in these areas, particularly in textiles, computing, communications, sewerage and sanitation. The People's History Museum, located on The Pump House on Bridge Street, traces Manchester's social culture, particularly with regard to the history of working people in the United Kingdom over the past 200 years. Manchester's other notable museums include the Greater Manchester Police Museum, Imperial War Museum North, Manchester Jewish Museum, Pankhurst Centre, Urbis and The Gallery of Costume.
Manchester also has a dazzling array of clubs and nightspots for the local party people (check out the separate article on this website). Among the most popular venues are Rock World (rock ‘n roll and heavy metal), South, Phoenix and Paradise Factory (techno, trance and funky house); Prague V (gay friendly) and student-oriented venues such as Club Underground, The Ritz, The Brickhouse and 5th Avenue.
The theatre scene in Manchester is alive and well. The larger venues include the Palace Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Manchester Opera House, which regularly hosts West End touring shows. Although relatively small and located at the basement of the Central Library, the Library Theatre has received glowing critical reviews for staging the works of modern playwrights. Other notable smaller theatres include the Green Room, Contact Theatre and Dancehouse. The Royal Northern College of Music has four theatre spaces for opera and classical music. In addition, Manchester has two widely-respected drama schools: the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre and the Arden School of Theatre.
Article by Susan Ashby of Manchester Singles. To read more articles like this or for dating in Manchester visit http://www.manchester-singles.co.uk
Manchester – Popchester!
Manchester’s long and distinguished roster of world-famous pop music stars and superstars has been a great source of pride among local Mancunians, especially since it gives some indication of the prominent role that the city’s musical heritage plays in the world music scene.
As early as the sixties and seventies, Manchester boasted several popular groups like The Hollies, The Bee Gees and 10cc. In addition, the BBC recorded the popular TV show “Top of the Pops” in the city, which was another reason to be proud of the local music scene. Several original members of The Hollies, founded in the early sixties, were raised in Manchester and nearby communities. Often called the British Everly Brothers, The Hollies’ rich harmonies rivalled those of the Beach Boys. Of course, the trio known as the Bee Gees is one of the most successful musical acts of all time, with total sales of over 180 million albums. By now, everyone knows that the Bee Gees were the Brothers Gibb: Barry, Maurice and Robin. 10cc achieved the pinnacle of their commercial success in the seventies before splitting up in 1976.
Historically, however, the big moment in Manchester’s music history came on June 4, 1976 when the Sex Pistols arrived in Castlefield to play their legendary gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall. While it is true that the audience at that gig numbered less than 42 people, several key figures who would be instrumental in shaping Manchester’s future music scene were present. These included Tony Wilson (founder of Factory Records), Bernard Sumner (of Joy Division and New Order), Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Ian Curtis, Peter Hook and producer Martin Hannett (who would later from The Smiths with Johnny Marr). Shortly following the gig, Wilson founded Factory Records and promptly signed Joy Division.
Factory Records soon made a splash with signature Manchester musicians who played their own distinct sound. The record label created its own unique image as well, combining images of the industrial north with Andy Warhol-inspired pop art glamour. This formed a rather incongruous image that nonetheless caught on.
With bands like A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column at the forefront, Factory Records became identified with a certain sound. However, the coup de grace was fashioned by Joy Division, which critics said successfully captured and “grimly defined” what it meant to be a Mancunian at the close of the seventies.
It was also at this time when The Fall, led by Mark E. Smith, began their groundbreaking run of producing unique, innovative and prolific hits that spanned the next three decades.
Following the footsteps of Joy Division, New Order embarked on their own odyssey that combined pop, rock and dance music and parlayed this into worldwide commercial success and millions of record sales.
Soon after, the musical act that would become ‘the definitive Manchester group of the eighties’ hit the ground running. The Smiths, led by Morrissey and Marr, created such iconic Manchester songs as “Rusholme Ruffians” and “Suffer Little Children.” Music critics noted that Morrisey’s lyrics were as explicitly about Manchester as the works of another great artist, the painter L.S. Lowry.
A point of clarification here, though. The famous American anti-war hippie musical from the late sixties, Hair, includes a song entitled "Manchester, England." However, the mention of the city in the song's title is somewhat irrelevant and serves mainly as punctuation in the song's lyrics.
With the dawn of the nineties, the Manchester music scene again metamorphosed, some say the new energy was propelled by the drug ecstasy. The Hacienda night club, which was owned by Factory Records, became the new music hub and created the so-called “Madchester Scene,” fuelled by the music of Happy Mondays, The Inspiral Carpets and The Stone Roses. The 2002 movie “24 Hour Party People” by Michael Winterbottom aptly captured this period in Manchester’s music history.
After Madchester, much of the music scene’s energy died down but lots of local music groups still made their presence felt, such as Oasis, James, Take That, M People, 808 State, Elbow, Doves, Mr. Scruff, Drawn Boy and Michael McGoldrick. Of this group, Oasis emerged as the most popular act, with their Don’t Believe The Truth tour playing to over 1.7 million people around the world in 2005 and early 2006. It should be noted that The Fall continues to receive critical acclaim.
Today, with popular music venues such as the Manchester Evening News Arena, the Manchester Apollo and the Manchester Academy as well as over 30 smaller venues with their own musical acts, it will only be a matter of time until the next great Manchester musical act hits the scene.
Incidentally, the Manchester Evening News Arena, which is next to Manchester Victoria railway station, was recently voted as International Arena of the Year, edging out New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. The News Arena has a seating capacity of 21,000 and is the largest arena of its type in Europe.
Article by Susan Ashby of Manchester Singles. To read more articles like this or for dating in Manchester visit http://www.manchester-singles.co.uk
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