The Bristol band are teaming up with Leeds record shop Crash Records, in The Headrow, for this special “outstore gig”.
“What a week,” say Idles, who released fifth studio album Tangk last Friday. “We have been blown away by your love and energy. To show our appreciation we’ve partnered with the beautiful folks at @Crash_Records for an outstore at @projecthouselds this Thursday!”
Tangk features earlier singles Gift Horse and Dancer, the song that featured guest backing vocals from LCD Soundsystem duo James Murphy and Nancy Whang.
Last week Idles also teamed up with Chris Martin (and deepfake AI) for a re-creation of Coldplay’s Yellow in their video for latest single Grace.
After a whirlwind few days in New York last week where the band performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Idles returned home to launch their new album with apop-up shop in Shoreditch and a week of special shows in London, Bristol and now Leeds.
Idles will return to West Yorkshire for a sold-out open-air concert at the Piece Hall, Halifax, on July 13.
Shed Seven band members Paul Banks, left, Tim Wills, Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, Rick Witter and Tom Gladwin at today’s meet & greet and signing session upstairs at HMV York
LET’S go. Shed Seven launched their 30th anniversary celebrations today with the release of sixth studio album A Matter Of Time, an accompanying video for opening track Let’s Go and an hour-long late-afternoon meet & greet, photo opportunity and signing session at HMV York.
Earlier in the day, the York band played in stripped-back mode at The Vinyl Whistle, in Headingley, Leeds, signing copies there too.
Released on their new home of Cooking Vinyl, A Matter Of Time has achieved a “phenomenal” amount of pre-orders, resulting in all copies of the live edition, Blood Records vinyl and all test pressings selling out months in advance.
The Sheds are marking the album’s release with a ten-date record store tour as A Matter Of Time looks set to become their highest-charting album ever: a record held by their 1999 compilation, Going For Gold: Greatest Hits, which peaked at number seven.
The campaign to take the Sheds to a maximum chart high has been bolstered by today’s announcement of a new Digital Deluxe edition of the new album that adds a re-recorded version of their September 1994 debut album, Change Giver, now retitled Changed Giver, available at store.shedseven.com.
“Let’s Go is the Sheds’ inner rock animal rearing its head and showing its teeth,” says Rick Witter
“2024 marks the 30th anniversary of our debut album,” says the Sheds’ website. “’To mark the occasion, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane and revisited the entire album in recording sessions at Reel Studios in Elvington, giving it a stripped-back, unplugged vibe that we think sounds amazing.
“We’ve poured our hearts into re-recording these songs, rediscovering the magic of the songs that started it all. It’s been a fantastic journey, and we’ve fallen in love with them all over again.”
Physical formatsof A Matter Of Time can bought at shedsevenn.lnk.to/AMOTPR, available as signed copies, vinyl and cassette editions in various colours, a regular CD and a deluxe edition with three extra tracks, Watch Out World, Feels Like Heaven and Starlings (demo).
The video for the raucous, punk-tinged rock’n’roller Let’s Go captures incendiary footage from July 15’s sold-out 6000-capacity headline show at Leeds Millennium Square last summer.
Hot news: The cover artwork for Shed Seven’s new album, A Matter Of Time, out today
Frontman Rick Witter, 51, says: “Let’s Go was always intended to be the grand opener to the album. It shows a statement of intent. It’s the Sheds’ inner rock animal rearing its head and showing its teeth. It’s an invite for us all to hold hands and travel the globe. It’s tight, frenetic and a potential punch in the gut. Let’s go!”
A Matter Of Time features Sheds stalwarts Witter on vocals, Paul Banks on guitar and Tom Gladwin on bass, joined by 2022 recruits Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, from Audioweb, on drums and Tim Wills, from Ian Brown’s band, on keys.
The recording sessions in Spain reunited the Sheds with Youth, the Grammy Award-winning producer of their 2017 comeback album Instant Pleasures, and mixing was by Cenzo Townshend, whose credits include Florence + The Machine and Inhaler.
The singles In Ecstasy (featuring Happy Mondays’ Rowetta), Starlings, F:K:H and Talk Of The Town were introduced to a rapturous reception on last autumn’s headline tour. Further tracks include the sky-scraping melancholia of Let’s Go Dancing, the dreamy folk-rock of Tripping On You, complete with backing vocals from Reverend & The Makers’ Laura McClure and the buoyant, vintage Britpop vibes of Ring The Changes.
The curtain comes down with a special collaboration with long-term Shed Seven fan Peter Doherty, who contributes vocal harmonies to Throwaways.
The artwork for Changed Giver, Shed Seven’s re-recording of 1994 debut album Change Giver, available to download with the digital edition of A Matter Of Time
This month’s Stripped Back, Signing and Meet & Greet record store tour will take the Sheds to London, Southampton, Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, Leamington Spa, Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and back to London.
They will end the month with a series of sold-out album release shows at Pryzm, Kingston upon Thames, on January 25; HMV Empire, Coventry, on January 26 and Project House, Armley Road, Leeds, on January 27 at 7pm, promoted by Leeds record store Crash Records. Each night, the Sheds will play A Matter Of Time in its entirety – for the only time, exclusive to these gigs – plus a greatest hits set.
This summer’s special 30th anniversary concerts at York Museum Gardens on July 19 and 20 have sold out too. Peter Doherty will be the guest act on both nights. “We discussed adding a third night but thought selling out two so quickly was a good look – and we’re going to announce a big Shedcember tour sometime soon,” says Rick. “We’re conscious of overkill, even though I’m sure a third night would have gone pretty quick.”
Look out too for Shed Seven’s appearance at Blossoms’ Big Bank Holiday Weekend at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, on August 25. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk/blossoms-tickets.
Expect further 30th anniversary plans to be announced in the near future. Watch this space.
“We’re going to announce a big Shedcember tour sometime soon,” says Shed Seven’s Rick Witter. Picture: Barnaby Fairley
