Like Jarvis Cocker’s sultry delineation of local neighbourhoods in ‘Sheffield: Sex City’, the Steel City has shown itself to contain many hubs of artistic inspiration hidden in its various nooks and crannies – a veritable treasure map of musical landmarks spread throughout the place.
From the historic status of The Leadmill to the thick mass of talent converging on The Grapes throughout the noughties, or the breeding ground of creativity that Park Hill has nurtured over the years, music is ingrained into practically every contour line of Sheffield’s seven hills.
Let’s start with an obvious one, shall we? The Leadmill first opened its doors in 1980, born into the early years of Thatcherism during a time of recession and economic hardship. However, the bleak political and economic backdrop proved a stark contrast to the buzzing synths and burgeoning indie scene of the 80s, a colourful interior world set apart from the tensions and trouble brewing across the country.
The Leadmill quickly became a staple of that creative era, its bright neon sign a fixture of a space that welcomed anyone in for a good night. The venue’s former promoter, Sam Feeley, shared some stories of what it was like to be a part of The Leadmill. “The place has been home to so many ‘I was there’ moments – whether it’s a Jarvis Cocker panto, Bombay Bicycle Club’s triumphant return or a Millburn midnight set, going to a gig at The Leadmill always feels like you’re a part of something. Behind the scenes you have some absolutely wild stories: Jarvis breaking in to watch bands, Courtney Love doing a shift in the office because she was bored and the Scissor Sisters guitarist who had such a mad one he fell asleep upstairs as their tour bus left without him.”
“While I think The Leadmill is often seen as an indie venue, the place has been firmly rooted in the city’s alternative scene, too. I remember Bring Me The Horizon debuting Sempiternal there back in the day, and Loz from While She Sleeps leaping from the DJ booth. He also went on to host [heavy metal and rock event] Festivile there.”
“It’s hard to say, but I do feel if The Leadmill didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have had half the wonderful bands this city has produced. Bands will say it’s a rite of passage to play there, but it’s even more important in guiding and inspiring the next generation to pick up an instrument.”
Throughout the noughties, Sheffield cemented itself as a staple of the country’s rising indie scene, with bands like Arctic Monkeys, Milburn and Reverend and the Makers making names for themselves as stars. Though now consigned to history, The Bowery was a regular feature of this surge of indie talent. Situated below a shop owned by Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders, it hosted hectic nights under its youthful management team. Former owner James O’Hara reflected on its heyday: “We – that’s me, Deano and Andy – opened The Bowery in September 2008 in a whirlwind of big dreams and naivety. Throw in Matt’s clothes shop upstairs and it was basically four lads, all 26 or under, doing something incredibly ambitious that ultimately didn’t make any sense as a business at all!”
“Some highlights? Alt-J playing to 150 people (inset left) the week before their album came out, Django Django topping a weekender we did with Uneven Blonde called 312 – the Monkeys even ended up playing our mate’s dad’s 50th!”
“The ultimate night is probably David Rodigan doing a secret DJ set at the end of Tramlines; there are a few photos and videos still knocking about on YouTube. To give you an idea of how mad it was we tried to do the night again the year after, got shut down by the police and had to move the whole thing to DQ down the road at the last minute.”
“Like I said, wonderfully naive. Whilst it burned only briefly, I don’t think any of us involved with the place will ever forget it. It was an absolute baptism of fire in owning a venue too, and I’ll always be thankful to the other lads for being as daft as me and just having a punt. Some things aren’t meant to last.” Five minutes away from that busy corner of West Street and Division Street, you reach the more sedate surrounds of Trippet Lane. Forever steeped in legend as the site of Arctic Monkeys’ first ever gig (inset right), The Grapes is a unapologetically traditional Irish pub which had a live room upstairs that proved a magnet for young talent through the noughties. This gave rise to a unique regulars crowd of sprightly indie upstarts and slightly grouchy older gentlemen, coming together to form a memorable community.
Paul ‘Tufty’ Tuffs – sound engineer, music promoter and musical jack-of-all-trades – was part of the team in the halcyon days. “I was very young when I started there. It used to be a bit of an old man’s pub – I wouldn’t say rough, but there were a few characters in there. It was an interesting mixture; you’d get these sixteen/seventeen-year-old boys in bands, then these old pensioners who’d come in and drink all day. They all seemed to get along with each other, though.”
“Jon McClure [Reverend & The Makers] always says if everyone who said they were at the first Monkeys gig were actually there, it could have filled out Sheffield Arena. In reality, I think there were about twenty or thirty people there. I can’t really remember it. The actual first show they ever did, they supported a pal of mine’s band. They wanted to record the set, and they’d spent all day setting it up – this was the headline band, I think they were called Seven Hills – so this band had spent all day setting up recording equipment. This was before you could just chuck it all on a laptop, so it was a real effort. They tested it out in the hope of recording their own set, and of course Arctic Monkeys were the first band on. So they actually recorded the first ever Arctic Monkeys gig. And then the headline band tried to record their own set, and either something broke or they’d ran out of space, but it didn’t record! But what a bizarre coincidence, that a band that went on to be as big as they have, their first ever live show got recorded entirely by accident.”
“For a scruffy backstreet boozer, The Grapes would have a lot of bands doing their first UK tour, or the like. I remember once the NME called up to see if they could use the pub to do an interview. I don’t think I even asked what the band were. I went down early to open up, and we had this band in. Really nice guys. I asked them if they wanted some beers, but they said they didn’t drink. They were from Mormon families – not very rock and roll, I thought, but if you’re gonna invest money in a new band probably quite smart to invest in someone like that. It turned out it were The Killers.”
Overlooking goings on in the city centre for what seems like an eternity is the iconic Park Hill flats structure. The brutalist estate has been a feature of the Sheffield skyline since it was built in the sixties, but behind the mythology of the building is a community of real, remarkably diverse people. The recently removed ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me?’ graffiti is Sheffield folklore in itself, turned capitalist venture by Urban Splash in their redevelopment of the blocks. It was even turned into a t-shirt, which Alex Turner wore onstage with Arctic Monkeys (above).
In the wild mythology that has grown like brambles around the graffiti, the truth has been somewhat obscured. It’s been claimed that the man who wrote it was rejected and threw himself to his death from the same bridge he scrawled the message on (this was later proven to be false). Others have shared stories of a vicious love triangle, and a flat burned down in rage. The real recipient, Clare Middleton, is a figure who has faded against the scandalous brilliance of the city’s whispers. Her troubled romance didn’t have the Hollywood ending many lovers of the graffiti hoped for: she died of cancer at just thirty years of age.
The graffiti has inspired a host of artists in their own way. In 2018, YUNGBLUD included a track on his debut album called ‘I Love You Will You Marry Me’, bringing the story to a new audience and further solidifying its status as a kind of fantastical Romeo and Juliet fable, far removed from the sombre truth.
Another structure that has stood the test of time – over 300 years, to be precise – is The Frog and Parrot on Division Street, a well-known city centre boozer and the site of a myriad of intriguing musical milestones and mishaps over the years. It’s been immortalised on the inner sleeve of the Arctic Monkey’s debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, with a picture of Chris McClure “staggering out of the pub, bleary eyed, at four o’clock on a Sunday morning,” as the venue’s manager Nick Simmonite puts it.
According to Nick, the Frog’s musical heritage extends far beyond that though. “What we’re passionate about is live music. And music generally – we’ve got a good cohort of DJs that we work with. We’ve had a lot of significant occurrences – I’m not sure if you’d call them gigs or not! We had a famous upstairs room that was once occupied by Boyzone for some filming for a day, that was fun. It was the Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins Saturday Night Live Show, and they were the guest editors for that week. That put that space in a different arena – previously, before my arrival, that had been occupied by Joe Cocker, who gigged up there. One of those oversubscribed gigs, so he had to play to the street below. He actually signed his first album deal downstairs. More latterly The Violet May, a band that aren’t really around anymore – fronted by Chris McClure, younger brother of Jon McClure, the Reverend.”
“There was a a reference in Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Cornerstone’ single: ‘I thought I saw you at the parrot’s beak, messing with the smoke alarm.’ We all know what Chris was doing. I can’t go into too much detail! Most Sheffield bands have played the Frog; we’re really keen on pushing the South Yorkshire agenda. Bang Bang Romeo went down incredibly well. For a little while, bizarrely, we had a residency from Catfish and the Bottlemen. I think to this day Little Comets talk about the show they did with Catfish at the Frog – heavily oversubscribed, packed to the rafters. So we can punch above our weight. Little Comets and Catfish and the Bottlemen? Yeah, we’ll have that. We’ve got a fair old bunch, and when you roll it all together there’s something magical. It must be something in the beer.”
Part recording studio, part music venue, part bar, part club – Yellow Arch has proven a haven for lovers of everything from classic rock and roll, to pounding drum and bass, to champagne sweet jazz. Bridging the gap between the musical and industrial elements of the city’s identity, the venue is the site of a former nuts and bolts factory, now with bright yellow accents of colour interspersing the Edwardian red brick. It’s nurtured albums from acts like Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker, Kylie Minogue, and many more, not to mention hosting the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Milburn in their rehearsal space countless times.
‘Oddball pop’ artist Tzarzi is part of a new generation of musicians who have found a home in the Burton Road venue. “Yellow Arch has been a fixture of the Sheffield creative scene for decades,” she tells us. “It’s been around since long before Kelham became cool, but now it’s more vibrant than ever. Having a studio there is so much fun, because you’re part of a bigger community of artists and musicians – there’s always something happening and interesting conversations going on. It embodies the creativity and industriousness of the city, which is what drew me to Sheffield in the first place.”
