The cover artwork for Shed Seven’s Liquid Gold, released on Cooking Vinyl tomorrow
SHED Seven’s album of orchestral reworkings, Liquid Gold, arrives tomorrow on Cooking Vinyl as their 30th anniversary celebrations take to the road.
These gilded reinventions were recorded in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall, Rendall having teamed up with the Sheds for 2017’s Top Ten comeback album Instant Pleasures and 2024’s A Matter Of Time.
The track listing will be: Getting Better; Speakeasy; Devil In Your Shoes; On Standby; Going For Gold; Waiting For The Catch; Better Days; Parallel Lines; Disco Down; Ocean Pie; new composition All Roads Lead To You and Chasing Rainbows.
Already the York band have trailered the 12-track recording with a quintet of tasters: Speakeasy, Devil In Your Shoes, Getting Better, the BBC Radio 2 B-listed Waiting For The Catch duet with Issy Ferris, of UK folk/rock/Americana duo Ferris & Sylvester, and, most recently, Chasing Rainbows, their most streamed song of all time and perennial set closer.
Originally released on 1998’s Let It Ride, Chasing Rainbows has been reshaped with a string arrangement and plaintive piano before the Sheds furnish the song still further, giving its melancholy and yearning a deeper resonance.
Frontman Rick Witter says: “When we set out to re-record Chasing Rainbows for Liquid Gold, this particular track presented a different kind of challenge. We knew we were handling something with extreme care, as we understand just how significant Chasing Rainbows is to so many of you! It’s not just a song but a part of your lives and memories. We read your comments and felt the impact this song has had.
The artwork for Shed Seven’s Liquid Gold version of Chasing Rainbows
“In crafting this new version, we poured all that emotion and significance into it. As we worked in the studio, it became clear that this rendition embodies a collective spirit. It’s not meant to be better than the original but rather to stand as its sister, a cinematic alternative, like the closing scene of a movie. That’s why it sits proudly at the end of Liquid Gold. You can almost hear your voices singing long after the record has finished.”
On the heels of being named as ambassadors forNational Album Day, playing Blossoms’ Big Bank Holiday Weekend at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, on August 25, and BBC Radio 2 In The Park in Preston on September 8, the Sheds head out on a record store tour of short sets and record signings tomorrow.
They also will perform six intimate shows to mark the 30th anniversary of their 1994 debut album, Change Giver, before their full-scale headline tour starts on November 14.
A year that began with Shed Seven topping the album charts for the first time in January with A Matter Of Time will end with Witter and guitarist Paul Banks going back to where the Sheds’ story began, when the two former Huntington schoolboys play acoustic shows at the Huntington Working Men’s Club in York on December 21 and 22.
The Liquid Gold album campaign has been given further impetus with a Bootleg Edition, featuring stripped-back artwork hand-stamped by a band member and five bonus tracks, available as a specially priced CD and on black double-vinyl.
Other formats include signed yellow splatter double-vinyl and a Live At York 2CD that adds a live album recorded at the brace of York Museum Gardens 30th anniversary gigs in July. The Sheds’ official store also offers fans the chanced to build their own custom album bundles. All pre-orders are on sale at shedsevenn.lnk.to/LiquidGoldPR
Shed Seven’s gig diary: September 27 to December 22
Starry starry night: Rick Witter leading Shed Seven at York Museum Gardens in July. Picture: David Harrison
September 27, Manchester, HMV (1pm SOLD OUT)
September 27, Bury, Wax & Beans (6pm SOLD OUT)
September 28, Birmingham, HMV (1pm SOLD OUT)
September 28, Leamington Spa, Head Records (5pm SOLD OUT)
September 29, London, Rough Trade East (5pm SOLD OUT)
September 29, London, Rough Trade East (7pm SOLD OUT)
September 30, Southampton, Vinilo (1pm SOLD OUT)
September 30, Brighton, Resident Music (6.30pm SOLD OUT)
October 1, Bristol, Rough Trade (12 noon LOW TICKETS)
October 1, Bristol, Rough Trade (5pm SOLD OUT)
October 2, Nottingham, Rough Trade (12 noon SOLD OUT)
October 2, Nottingham, Rough Trade (6pm -SOLD OUT)
October 3, Sheffield, Bear Tree Records (12 noon SOLD OUT)
October 3, Liverpool, Jacaranda (7pm SOLD OUT)
October 4, Newcastle, Beyond Vinyl (6.30pm SOLD OUT)
October 10, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Pryzm, Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records (EXTRA SHOW ADDED)
October 11, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Pryzm, Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records (SOLD OUT)
October 12, Coventry, HMV Empire, Change Giver show (SOLD OUT)
October 16, Edinburgh, Assai Records (12 noon SOLD OUT)
October 16, Glasgow, HMV (5pm SOLD OUT)
October 17, Glasgow, SWG3, Change Giver show, hosted by Assai Records (SOLD OUT)
October 18, Manchester Academy 2, Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records (SOLD OUT)
October 19, Leeds Beckett Student Union, Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records (SOLD OUT)
30th anniversary party time: Shed Seven’s Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, left, Paul Banks, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Tim Wills. Picture: Chris Little
November 14, Sheffield Octagon (SOLD OUT)
November 15, Cardiff University Great Hall
November 16, Liverpool University Mountford Hall (LOW TICKETS)
November 18, Halifax, Victoria Theatre (LOW TICKETS)
November 19, Hull City Hall
November 21, Aberdeen Music Hall (SOLD OUT)
November 22, Glasgow O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
November 23, Edinburgh O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
November 25, Leicester O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
November 26, Margate, Dreamland
November 28, Bristol O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
November 29, Newcastle O2 City Hall (LOW TICKETS)
November 30, Leeds O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
December 2, Oxford O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
December 3, Lincoln, Engine Shed (LOW TICKETS)
December 5, Stockton Globe
December 6, Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse (SOLD OUT)
December 7, Birmingham O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
December 9, Norwich – The Nick Rayns LCR, University of East Anglia (SOLD OUT)
December 10, Cambridge, Corn Exchange (LOW TICKETS)
December 12, Bournemouth O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
December 13, Nottingham, Rock City (SOLD OUT)
December 14, London O2 Academy, Brixton (SOLD OUT)
December 21, Rick Witter & Paul Banks, Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, acoustic gig (SOLD OUT)
December 22, Rick Witter & Paul Banks, Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, acoustic gig (SOLD OUT)
For ticket availability, head to shedseven.com/gigs.
Shed Seven performing Throwaways with special guest Peter Doherty at York Museum Gardens on July 19. Picture: Barnaby Fairley
Step One: Night two of the Sheds’ 30th anniversary homecoming concerts, Live At York Museum Gardens, presented by Futuresound, on July 20
Set list: Let’s Go; Speakeasy; Where Have You Been Tonight?; High Hopes (with Duke Witter); Dolphin; Devil In Your Shoes; Tripping With You (with Laura McClure); Bully Boy (with Huntington School Choir); Ocean Pie; Parallel Lines; In Ecstasy (with Rowetta); On Standby; Going For Gold; Suspicious Minds; Talk Of The Town; Getting Better; Let’s Go Dancing.
Encores: Room In My House; Throwaways (with Peter Doherty); Disco Down; Chasing Rainbows (with choir, McClure, Rowetta and support acts Doherty, Brooke Combe and Apollo Junction).
CharlesHutchPress viewpoint: As central as a centre-spot, standing with a cluster of chanting York City fans, former manager Michael Morton (February-August 2023) at their core, and a bunch of Sheds-loving former University of York students, meeting up from all over the country for the first time since 1997.
Different set list? Out went She Left Me On Friday (they left it out on Saturday), People Will Talk and The Heroes. In came: Where Have You Been Tonight? and Parallel Lines.
Other differences?
*Shed Seven arrived on stage at 8.30pm rather than 8.40pm.
*Different members of Huntington School Choir sang Bully Boy.
*The Sheds’ friend Stuart Allan, guitarist and vocalist in York band Johnny And The Dunebugs, guested on guitar throughout the Sheds’ set, introduced by Rick Witter as “the fifth Beatle”.
The same on both nights:
*The show-opening recorded poetry reading of The Boys Are Coming Home – a hymn of praise to York’s “characters, cobbles and quirks” – by Matt Abbott, Wakefield poet, educator, activist and former frontman and lyricist of Skint & Demoralised. Commissioned by guitarist Paul Banks.
*Backing singers Mary Pearce and Beverly Skeete, as featured on the Shed Seven albums Instant Pleasures, A Matter Of Time and the upcoming Liquid Gold.
*Special guests Laura McClure, from Reverend And The Makers, Rowetta, from the Madchester Nineties’ scene, and The Libertines’ Peter Doherty, all reprising their contributions to the Sheds’ number one album, A Matter Of Time.
*Brass section of Tim Hurst, trombone; Andy Cox, saxophone; Jamie Brownfield, trumpet.
*The presence of a film crew, led off on Friday by the camera following Rick Witter from the Museum Street entrance, “walking towards the stage like a boxer entering the ring” (to quote Ste’s comment on CharlesHutchPress’s review of the first night.
Why filming?
“The idea of filming the weekend is trifold,” says Rick. “We wanted to make a video for the most recent Liquid Gold release, Getting Better, which came out on Monday evening (July 22). Worth a watch!
“We’re also releasing a ‘Live At Museum Gardens’ variant to coincide with the release of Liquid Gold on September 27. And then possibly we’ll release a DVD of the Museum Gardens gigs, along with all the promo vids from A Matter Of Time onwards and a small documentary about the Sheds. The year of the Sheds indeed.”
Final CharlesHutchPress thoughts: Loved Room In My House and Talk Of The Town becoming latter-day crowd favourites already. Rick’s “dad dancing” with son and Serotones singer Duke in High Hopes. The set – pre-encores – closing with Let’s Go Dancing’s a cappella coda, “Lonely words seek an empty page/Curtain call, time to leave the stage/ It’s time to stop…”.
Peter Doherty and his dapper chapeau – plonked briefly on Witter’s head – loving every minute, whether in Throwaways or the everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink Chasing Rainbows finale. The departing hordes still singing Chasing Rainbows as they crossed Lendal Bridge, homeward bound and euphoric.
Step two: New single Waiting For The Catch and new album Liquid Gold
Shed Seven with Issy Ferris, of Ferris & Sylvester, guest vocalist on Liquid Gold orchestral reworking of Waiting For The Catch. Picture: Andy Little
“HI MATE. Sorry just shooting a video to a new song. It’s all go.” So messaged Rick Witter, on July 22, explaining his delay in answering a handful of CharlesHutchPress questions.
That song is new single Waiting For The Catch, a duet with Issy Ferris, of UK folk/rock/Americana duo Ferris & Sylvester, who released their second album, Otherness, on March 1 on Arch Top Records.
Premiered on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on August 8, Waiting For The Catch is a new reworking of an Instant Pleasures bonus track from the York band’s career-spanning orchestral album Liquid Gold. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HKKvnD-tII.
“Waiting For The Catch fits perfectly alongside some of our biggest hits,” says Rick. “The song has the classic ‘Can’t live with you, can’t live without you’ sentiment and we felt making it a duet would fit perfectly with the lyrical theme.
“So we invited the amazing Issy Ferris to add her beautiful voice to the track, which gives it a yearning, but also vengeful energy. You want to hear Shed Seven arena-sized? No problem, it’s our pleasure.”
Liquid Gold’s orchestral reinventions were recorded in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall. Brice had worked previously with Liam Gallagher and Placebo, while Rendall had teamed up with the Sheds for 2017’s Top Ten comeback album Instant Pleasures and A Matter Of Time.
“This year we celebrate 30 years as recording artists and, after reminiscing about our career, we thought we’d celebrate the milestone by revisiting some key songs from our past,” says Rick.
“The idea being that if we cherry picked a hatful of songs and recorded them now, it would be a coherent stroll down memory lane but also sit sonically beside A Matter Of Time. A logical next step.”
Rick continues: “We see this record as a gateway into the world of Shed Seven. We also felt that adding an orchestra to each track would lend the whole project a unique slant. The songs have become widescreen, full of colour.
“The original recordings will always hold a special place in our hearts but re-recording the chosen songs was an exciting prospect for us. It’s a gift from the band to our loyal supporters and will hopefully introduce some golden moments throughout our career to a whole new audience. Enjoy, and here’s to the next 30 years!”
A signed copy of Liquid Gold: One of multiple formats of the new album
Set for release on Cooking Vinyl on September 27, Liquid Gold can be pre-ordered at shedsevenn.lnk.to/LiquidGoldPR, with formats ranging from signed copies and vinyl to CD and cassette versions.
The Sheds have just launched a new bootleg edition, each with artwork individually hand-stamped by the band, that adds three songs from their BBC Piano Room session, a live recording of Casino Girl, and remix of In Ecstasy.
That Piano Room session in May saw the Sheds perform Chasing Rainbows, Talk Of The Town and a cover of Duran Duran’s Planet Earth with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Maida Vale studios.
The album track listing will be: Getting Better; Speakeasy; Devil In Your Shoes; On Standby; Going For Gold; Waiting For The Catch (featuring Issy Ferris); Better Days; Parallel Lines; Disco Down; Ocean Pie; new composition All Roads Lead To You and Chasing Rainbows.
A special Live @Museum Gardens 2CD edition can be pre-ordered at store.shedseven.com/product/148214?password=LG-YORK-EM. Featuring a bonus disc of live tracks recorded at the two shows, it comes with alternative artwork to commemorate the occasion.
In the immediate aftermath of the Museum Gardens shindigs, the Sheds released a video of the Liquid Gold version of Getting Better, filmed on and off stage over the two days, capturing the band, special guests Peter Doherty, Rowetta and Laura McClure and Friday support acts The Lottery Winners and Serotones, Huntington School choir and audience members…and Witter riding through York on a bike.
Or, as Black Arts PR’s press release puts it: “The video is a joyous celebration of one of the biggest highlights of Shed Seven’scareer. It captures every moment of the day: fans getting the party underway as they arrive; Rick Witter strolling through the audience and posing for photos and pinching a sip of beer; clips of friends including Peter Doherty, Lottery Winners, Rowetta, Laura McClure and Serotones (featuring Rick’s son Duke) all relishing the occasion; and the band embracing before they step on stage. The most emotional moment is saved until the end – the band taking their final bows in front of a sea of adoration.”
Post-gigs, The Shedsposted on social media: “Watch to the end, you won’t be disappointed… you might even feature. Enjoy and thanks once again for making this weekend so special.” Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnJnjir47QE.
Already, the Sheds had previewed the album by releasing two tasters, Speakeasy and Devil In Your Shoes. Pre-orders for Liquid Gold have exceeded the numbers reached with January’s A Matter Of Time. Could Shed Seven notch up two number one albums in a year? Roll on September 27.
Step Three: T-T-T-Talk Of The Town in multiple towns and cities, 50 shows in all
Shed Seven doing a record store promotion for A Matter Of Time at HMV York in January
AFTER in-store performances and personal appearances, including HMV York, to launch A Matter Of Time in January and the 30th anniversary homecoming celebrations at York Museum Gardens in July, the Shed Seven boys are back in town after town over the rest of 2024.
First up comes a guest spot on Blossoms’ bill at Live From Wythenshawe Park Presents: Blossoms, Inhaler & More @ Wythenshawe Park, Manchester on August 25, followed by BBC Radio 2 In The Park at Moor Park, Preston, on September 8.
Next will be in-store appearances promoting Liquid Gold from September 8 to October 16 and a sextet of gigs in October combining playing 1994 debut album Change Giver in full with a greatest hits set too.
In the traditional biennial Shedcember slot will be a 23-date 30th Anniversary Tour, the Sheds’ biggest-ever winter itinerary, joined by special guests The Sherlocks. Back home in time for Christmas, Rick Witter and Paul Banks will bring down the curtain on the Sheds’ annus mirabilis with a brace of special acoustic duo performances at Huntington Working Men’s Club. Sheds’ bassist Tom Gladwin will do a DJ set each night
AUGUST
25th: Manchester, Wythenshawe Park (guests to Blossoms)
SEPTEMBER
8th: Preston, BBC Radio 2 In The Park
27th: Manchester, HMV (1pm – SOLD OUT)
27th: Bury, Wax & Beans (6pm – SOLD OUT)
28th: Birmingham, HMV (1pm – SOLD OUT)
28th: Leamington Spa, Head Records (5pm – SOLD OUT)
29th: London, Rough Trade East (5pm – SOLD OUT)
29th: London, Rough Trade East (7pm – SOLD OUT)
30th – Southampton, Vinilo (1pm – SOLD OUT)
30th: Brighton, Resident (6.30pm – SOLD OUT)
OCTOBER
1st: Bristol, Rough Trade (12 noon – LOW TICKETS)
1st: Bristol, Rough Trade (5pm – SOLD OUT)
2nd: Nottingham, Rough Trade (midday – SOLD OUT)
2nd: Nottingham, Rough Trade (6pm – SOLD OUT)
3rd: Sheffield, Bear Tree Records (midday – SOLD OUT)
3rd: Liverpool, Jacaranda (7pm – SOLD OUT)
4th: Newcastle, Beyond Vinyl (6.30pm – SOLD OUT)
10th: Kingston-upon-Thames, Pryzm (Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records)
11th: Kingston-upon-Thames, Pryzm (Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records – SOLD OUT)
12th: Coventry, HMV Empire (Change Giver show)
16th: Edinburgh, Assai Records (midday – SOLD OUT)
16th: Glasgow, HMV (5pm – SOLD OUT)
17th: Glasgow, SWG3 (Change Giver show, hosted by Assai Records)
18th: Manchester, Academy 2 (Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records – SOLD OUT)
19th: Leeds, Beckett Student Union (Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records – SOLD OUT)
Party time: Shed Seven’s Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, left, Paul Banks, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Tim Wills celebrate 30th anniversary on November and December tour
NOVEMBER – 30th ANNIVERSARY HEADLINE TOUR
14th: Sheffield Octagon (SOLD OUT)
15th: Cardiff University, Great Hall
16th: Liverpool University, Mountford Hall (LOW TICKETS)
18th: Halifax, Victoria Theatre (LOW TICKETS)
19th: Hull City Hall
21st: Aberdeen Music Hall (SOLD OUT)
22nd: Glasgow, O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
23rd: Edinburgh, O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
25th: Leicester, O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
26th: Margate Dreamland
28th: Bristol O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
29th: Newcastle O2 City Hall (LOW TICKETS)
30th: Leeds O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
DECEMBER – 30th ANNIVERSARY HEADLINE TOUR
2nd: Oxford O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
3rd: Lincoln Engine Shed (LOW TICKETS)
5th: Stockton Globe
6th: Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse (SOLD OUT)
7th: Birmingham O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
9th: Norwich, The Nick Rayns LCR, University of East Anglia (SOLD OUT)
10th: Cambridge Corn Exchange (LOW TICKETS)
12th: Bournemouth O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
13th: Nottingham Rock City (SOLD OUT)
14th: London O2 Academy Brixton (SOLD OUT)
DECEMBER – RICK WITTER & PAUL BANKS INTIMATE ACOUSTIC SHOWS
21st: York, Huntington Working Men’s Club (SOLD OUT)
22nd: York, Huntington Working Men’s Club (SOLD OUT)
Any remaining tickets are on sale via shedseven.com at https://gigst.rs/SS24.
Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Concluding Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary celebrations on home turf at Huntington Working Men’s Club on December 21 and 22. Picture: David Harrison
COULD this annus miraculum have gone any better for Shed Seven, the year when the York band topped the album charts for the first time, all of 30 years since releasing Change Giver.
Getting even better? It just did, last night, in the first of two 30th anniversary homecoming gigs mounted by Leeds promoters Futuresound in the first rock concerts to be staged in York Museum Gardens since Hawkwind, Pink Fairies and Roxy Music in the long-gone 1970s.
Back where the Sheds’ Rick Witter and Paul Banks had “caused chaos” at 12, 13, 14, their loud ghetto blasters “disturbing all the OAPs”.
The music was rather louder last night, cheered on by 4,000 fans, young, Sheds-aged and quite possibly OAPS alike; myriad Shed Seven T-shirts, from their Bile Beans yellow variation to Bully Boy’s I’ll Fight You Till The Death flipside being the dress code for the hottest weather of this sodden summer so far. Annus miraculum? Even Zeus the weather god was smiling on the Sheds.
Peter Doherty: Name-checking York in Albion in acoustic solo setat York Museum Gardens. Picture: David Harrison
After sets by Serotones (son Duke Witter’s band) and Lottery Winners, enter Peter Doherty, a very unrock’n’roll six minutes early, to play charmingly solo and acoustic in dapper chapeau, name-checking York in Albion, the first song he wrote at 16, inspired to pick up a guitar by the Sheds. “I’m sweating like a Leeds fan in a spelling test,” he said in the night’s best one-liner, nevertheless keeping his suit buttoned up.
Performances in York Museum Gardens, notably the York Mystery Plays, have favoured utilising the St Mary’s Abbey backdrop, but Futuresound have broken with tradition, building a stage on the Yorkshire Museum concourse, looking down to the River Ouse, for Jack Savoretti’s Thursday opener and the Sheds’ back-to-back home fixtures.
A good decision, the abbey ruins still playing their supporting role, lit in resplendent blue as the night sky painted its picture. Witter couldn’t resist addressing those gathered on the far riverside, watching for free (always a Yorkshireman’s favourite price, as the saying goes).
A poem, uncredited alas, floated on the night air, as evocative as the smell of chocolate wafting across the city in capturing the essence of York and its characters, cobbles and quirks, to herald the arrival of the Sheds, not the Britpop veterans of lazy labelling, but a vibrant, propulsive, lippy indie band at the height of their second wave.
Let’s Go: Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witterin homecoming union on Friday night. Picture: David Harrison
In Witter’s words, they have been reinvigorated by the arrival of new members Rob ‘Maxi’ Mansfield on drums and Tim Wells on guitar & keys. Last night marked their York debut. No fuss, low key at the back, rock solid as a Championship centre-half, and solidly rock.
The adrenaline rush of Let’s Go, as purposeful a title as the Sheds have ever written, opened the show, just as it does A Matter Of Time, whose name is emblazoned on a stage otherwise devoid of frills (no screens, no projections, plenty of northern lights).
The accusation was always that the Sheds were a meat-and-potatoes band, but that is to ignore the quality of the gravy. The way their songs connect, the pride in wearing the T-shirt, the Made In York but mad for the world brio. You’d rather be in this crowd than with the in-crowd.
If you could put together the wish-list Shed Seven-in-heaven gig, this was surely it: the weather, the historic York setting; the special guests, Reverend And The Makers’ Laura McClure, Rowetta and Doherty; the spot-on set list; Duke duetting with Rick on High Hopes; the Yorkshire brass players; She Left Me On Friday, hitting harder on a Friday night; the balance of A Matter Of Time songs and the orchestral overhaul of the upcoming Liquid Gold hits album.
More? How about the Huntington School Choir in their stubby tie uniforms for schoolyard anthem Bully Boy, Going For Gold segueing into a cover of Elvis’s Suspicious Minds and the perfect encore quartet of Room In My House; Throwaways, Witter arm in arm with Doherty; Disco Down with Rowetta in a Happy Mondays vibe, and everyone, choir, support acts, et al on the stage apron for Chasing Rainbows.
Why, there was even a marriage proposal, from Nicki Sullivan to Kevin, orchestrated by Witter as master of ceremonies. Kevin said yes, of course he did. Going for gold in a year when everything the Sheds do has done exactly that.
Crack open a can of Homecoming Hazy Session IPA, Brew York’s 30th anniversary Shed Seven fruity citrus beer, then reconvene tonight for more Shed heaven. Let’s Go Dancing, York, you, me and Peter Doherty. The t-t-t-Talk Of The Town.
Set list
Let’s Go; Speakeasy; She Left Me On Friday; High Hopes (with Duke Witter); Dolphin; Devil In Your Shoes; Tripping With You (with Laura McClure); People Will Talk; Bully Boy (with Huntington School Choir); Ocean Pie; Heroes; In Ecstasy (with Rowetta); On Standby; Going For Gold; Suspicious Minds; Talk Of The Town; Getting Better; Let’s Go Dancing.
Encore: Room In My House; Throwaways (with Peter Doherty); Disco Down (with Rowetta); Chasing Rainbow (with choir, special guests and support acts).
Futuresound presents Shed Seven, York Museum Gardens, tonight (20/7/2024); gates open at 5pm. SOLD OUT.
Running order: Apollo Junction, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Brooke Combe, 6.35pm to 7.05pm; Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm; Shed Seven, 8.40pm to 10.30pm.
The queue forming in the Friday afternoon sun for Live At York Museum Gardens Danielle and Gareth, from Hull, enjoying Shed Seven’s set at York Museum Gardens Duke Witter leading Serotones on Friday evening at York Museum Gardens. Picture: David Harrison The Lottery Winners’ bassist, Katie Lloyd, at Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens Thom Rylance, frontman of Leigh band The Lottery Winners, in full voice on Friday. Picture: David Harrison York singer Jess Steel, front, centre, enjoying Live At York Museum Gardens. Pictire: David HarrisonPeter Doherty and his dapper chapeau at York Mueum Gardens: Picture: David Harrison Shed Seven singer Rick Witter and bassist Tom Gladwin Shed Seven drummer Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield making his debut York appearance with the band on Friday night. Picture: David Harrison Making a mark: A Shed Seven tattoo at Friday’s concert. Picture: David Harrison
Digging deeper: What was the poem that heralded Shed Seven’s arrival on stage
“It’s called ‘The Boys Are Coming Home’,” says Matt Abbott, Wakefield poet, educator, activist and former frontman and lyricist of Skint & Demoralised. “Paul Banks, from the band, commissioned me to write a poem for a York-based homeless charity, Arc Light, back in 2014.
“That was actually my first-ever commission. This was through his production company Digifish. So, I was over the moon when he contacted me to write it.
“Initially, this was only meant to be for the social media announcement, so, it was brilliant to see that they also used it for the shows.”
Shed Seven: Playing York Museum Gardens as the homecoing fulcrum of their 30th anniversary celebrations
AFTER a first ever number one album in January, Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary celebrations hit a homecoming peak with tomorrow (19/7/2024) and Saturday’s sold-out concerts at Futuresound’s inaugural Live At York Museum Gardens festival.
“I’d be quite happy for it chuck it down all week, but then NOT,” says lead singer Rick Witter. “Obviously, it is what it is, but it does make for a better atmosphere if you don’t have to contend with rain.
“We have thought before of selling [Chasing] rainbow-coloured umbrellas, but unfortunately at indoor gigs they’d be classified as offensive weapons!”
Good news for Rick and Shed-heads alike, the weather forecast suggests dry conditions will prevail on both nights, when Shed Seven will perform on the concrete concourse in front of the Yorkshire Museum, rather than against the St Mary’s Abbey backdrop once favoured by the York Mystery Plays.
“We’ll be facing the river [Ouse], with the riverside walk being cordoned off, so I imagine having 4,000 people crammed into the space each night will look amazing,” says Rick, as the Sheds look forward to playing the gardens where The Press first photographed the band after they signed to Polydor Records in late-1993.
“As a small band from York, we’ve managed to close the river for two nights, so it’s going to be a huge York event. We’ve been reminiscing about when we were 13-14, sitting in the Museum Gardens with music blasting out of our ghetto blasters, so it will feel weird but lovely this weekend for me and Paul [guitarist Paul Banks] and Tom [bassist Tom Gladwin].”
If that sepia-faded photo-shoot for The Press does not spring immediately to his mind, “I did see a picture of us in 1992 at the time of the Fibbers’ Battle of the Bands. We looked so hopeful, so youthful. We still do!” says Rick, as whippet-slim as ever at 51.
Shed Seven, who now feature Rob ‘Maxi ‘Maxfield on drums and Tim Wills on guitars and keys, rather than founder members Alan Leach and Joe Johnson, spent last weekend rehearsing intensely for this week’s shows.
“We’re definitely going to mix it up a little bit with the two sets, as we’re in the fortunate position of having too many songs. Some will be played on Friday and not Saturday and vice versa, so those who’ve booked for both nights are in for a treat,” says Rick. “We’ll be cramming in as much as we can into one hour 50 minutes each night.”
Special guests are promised too, but without giving names away, Rick does say: “If you look back to our album that came out in January [A Matter Of Time], we had several guests on that record, and I think you might get to see some of those people in our sets.
“Obviously, Pete [Peter Doherty, of The Libertines] will be in the ‘field’ with us on both nights as a support act, so it would be rude not to perform Throwaways (Witter and Doherty’s album-closing duet] with him.”
Will Happy Mondays’ Rowetta make an appearance for In Ecstasy or Reverend And The Makers’ Laura McClure join the Sheds for Tripping With You? Wait and see, but definitely a York choir will be participating.
“Me and Paul visited our old school last Thursday – Huntington School – for the first time in an awfully long time, which felt lovely but a bit odd as a 51-year-old man being back in the classroom! We’d reached out to the school hoping for a mixture of age groups, boys and girls, and it turns out there’s a choir of 60, so we’ve settled for having 20 on each night.” Which song, Rick? Not telling!
New band members Maxfield, from Manchester, and Wills, from London, will be breaking new ground. “They’ve spent a lot of time with us here rehearsing, but this will be the first time they’ve performed with us in our home city, so that’ll be a big moment for York,” says Rick. “And they’ve both talked about moving to York.”
Likewise, Shed Seven will be playing to more than a home crowd. “It’s just amazing that people from all over the country have bought tickets for these shows, so we’ll have 8,000 people descending on our lovely city, filling our bars and hotels,” says Rick.
The 30th anniversary celebrations do not stop there. “The funny thing is, we’re only half way through. I was speaking to Paul about what we might not be able to fit into the sets from A Matter Of Time, and only six months after its release, it’s almost as if we’re having to put a number one album to one side already, as we’re putting so much into our next album.”
Liquid Gold, an album of orchestral re-workings of 12 Shed Seven hits and live favourites, reimagined by the band in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall, will be released on September 27.
“We’re very excited about this album coming out to mark 30 years,” says Rick. “Only next year can we sit back and reflect on what we achieved this year.”
Still to come in 2024 are multiple in-store appearances to promote Liquid Gold, with yet more dates soon to be added to the schedule, followed by the 30th Anniversary Tour in the traditional Shedcember slot in November and December, with Yorkshire gigs at Sheffield Octagon, (November 14), Victoria Theatre, Halifax (November 18) Hull City Hall, November 19, and Leeds O2 Academy (November 30).
Witter and Banks will see out the year with a brace of intimate acoustic concerts at Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, on December 21 and 22. Sold out, of course.
Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Jack Savoretti, tonight; Shed Seven, Friday and Saturday. Gates open at 5pm each evening. Box office: seetickets.com/event/jack-savoretti/york-museum-gardens/2929799.
Thursday bill: Ellur, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Benjamin Francis Leftwich, 6.30pm to 7.15pm; Foy Vance, 7.45pm to 8.30pm; Jack Savoretti, 9p, to 10.30pm.
Friday bill: Serotones (Duke Witter’s band), 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Lottery Winners, 6.35pm to 7.05pm; Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm; Shed Seven, 8.40pm to 10.30pm.
Saturday bill: Apollo Junction, 5.45pm to 6.15pm; Brooke Combe, 6.35pm to 7.05pm; Peter Doherty, 7.25pm to 8.10pm; Shed Seven, 8.40pm to 10.30pm.
Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Playing intimate acoustic sets at Huntington Working Men’s Club on December 21 and 22
SHED Seven will end their 30th anniversary celebrations with a brace of intimate acoustic concerts by frontman Rick Witter and guitarist Paul Banks at Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, on December 21 and 22.
“We are genuinely thrilled to announce a pair of very special homecoming shows,” says Rick. “And where better to end our 30th anniversary year than in Huntington, where me, Paul and Tom first met back in the ’80s and the story first began.” Tom, as in Sheds’ bassist Tom Gladwin, will do a DJ set each night.
Tickets will go on sale at store.shedseven.com at 9am on Wednesday (12/6/2024) for this York postscript to the Sheds’ 23-date November and December tour, their biggest ever “Shedcember” itinerary.
Yorkshire venues will be Sheffield Octagon, November 14 (sold out); Victoria Theatre, Halifax, November 18; Hull City Hall, November 19, and Leeds O2 Academy, November 30 (sold out).
The year began with the Sheds’ first ever number one album, A Matter Of Time, followed by vinyl chart-topping single Let’s Go Dancing, and next up will be two sold-out outdoor shows on July 19 and 20 as part of Futuresound Group’s four-day festival at York Museum Gardens.
On September 27, they will release Liquid Gold, an album of orchestral re-workings of 12 Shed Seven hits and live favourites, reimagined by the band in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall.
Brice’s credits include Liam Gallagher and Placebo, while Rendall worked with the Sheds on 2017’s Top Ten comeback album Instant Pleasures and A Matter Of Time.
Shed Seven’s 2024 line-up: Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, left, Paul Banks, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Tim Wills
For the richly reinventive recording sessions, Shed Seven teamed up with a full orchestra, brass section, gospel singers et al.
Released on Cooking Vinyl, Liquid Gold spans the band’s career, from Speakeasy and Ocean Pie, off 1994 debut album Change Giver, to Better Days, from Instant Pleasures, via a soaring, sweeping Disco Down.
It also revisits the Sheds’ landmark second album, 1996’s A Maximum High, for Getting Better, Going For Gold, On Standby and a dramatic new take on Parallel Lines, described playfully by Paul Banks as “sounding like Shed Zeppelin”.
The more luxuriant scale is encapsulated in Devil In My Shoes. Originally a slow-burning highlight of 1998’s Let It Ride, this new account adds a cinematic sheen: its new-found grandeur providing a shimmering contrast between the initially downbeat melancholy and the full force of optimism that beams through the crescendo.
Liquid Gold is completed by All Roads Lead To You, a new composition written specifically for this project, and a new version of Instant Pleasures-era bonus track Waiting For The Catch, now featuring Issy Ferris, from the UK Americana Award winners Ferris & Sylvester.
“This year we celebrate 30 years as recording artists and, after reminiscing about our career, we thought we’d celebrate the milestone by revisiting some key songs from our past,” says Rick.
“The idea being that if we cherry picked a hatful of songs and recorded them now, it would be a coherent stroll down memory lane but also sit sonically beside our recent number one album A Matter Of Time. A logical next step.”
The cover artwork for Shed Seven’s September 27 album of orchestral reinventions, Liquid Gold
Rick continues: “We see this record as a gateway into the world of Shed Seven. We also felt that adding an orchestra to each track would lend the whole project a unique slant. The songs have become widescreen, full of colour.
“The original recordings will always hold a special place in our hearts but re-recording the chosen songs was an exciting prospect for us. It’s a gift from the band to our loyal supporters and will hopefully introduce some golden moments throughout our career to a whole new audience. Enjoy, and here’s to the next 30 years!”
The Sheds gave a taster of Liquid Gold at their May 30 appearance on BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room, when they performed Chasing Rainbows, Talk Of The Town and a cover of Duran Duran’s Planet Earth live at Maida Vale with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Chris George and arranger Fiona Brice.
Liquid Gold is available to pre-order at shedsevenn.lnk.to/LiquidGoldPR, where the Sheds’ official store offers exclusives in the shape of a splatter vinyl with unique artwork, a different colour CD and a cassette, while all bundles also add a signed postcard.
Other retailer-specific formats include silver vinyl, from Assai Records, blue vinyl, from HMV, and yellow vinyl, from select indie stores.
After their open-air summertime shows in York and at Blossoms’ Big Bank Holiday Weekend at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, on August 25, the 30th anniversary Tour will run from November 14 to December 14. Expect the Britpop-era hits, fresh favourites from A Matter Of Time and surprise guest appearances, plus support from special guests The Sherlocks. To check ticket availability amid a raft of sold-out shows, head to gigst.rs/SS24.
Liquid Gold track listing:
Getting Better; Speakeasy; Devil In Your Shoes; On Standby; Going For Gold; Waiting For The Catch, featuring Issy Ferris; Better Days; Parallel Lines; Disco Down; Ocean Pie; All Roads Lead To You; Chasing Rainbows.
The poster artwork for Shed Seven’s Rick Witter & Paul Banks gigs at Huntington Working Men’s Club
