David Gedge: Songwriter and frontman of The Wedding Present and Cinerama
YORK writer-director Matt Aston’s new musical inspired by David Gedge’s songs for The Wedding Present and Cinerama, will premiere at Slung Low’s theatre space, The Warehouse, in Holbeck, Leeds, from August 22 to September 6.
Reception’s story of love, loss, break-ups and breakdowns – everything you would expect from a Wedding Present song – is built around a group of Leeds University friends that keeps in touch over five years of trials, tribulations and life events, from a graduation ceremony and a stage & hen do to a funeral, wedding and, of course, the accompanying reception.
Set in and around Leeds in the late-1980s, Reception will be presented to a mixture of cabaret-style seating – with ‘wedding guests’ enjoying a glass of fizz on arrival and a three-course meal – as well as more traditional raked seating.
The idea of a musical spun around Gedge’s songs had been brewing for writer and director Matt Aston over several years and serendipitously comes to fruition on the 40th anniversary of the Weddoes’ debut single Go Out And Get ’Em Boy – on the Reception Records label that prompted the show’s title.
Matt met Tony Ereira, director of Leeds record labels Come Play With Me and Clue Records, inevitably at a Wedding Present gig, in Leeds in early 2019, when the seeds of the play were duly sown.
“I started talking about it with David [Gedge] five years ago, just before the Covid lockdown,” recalls Matt. “We raised money through crowdfunding, I wrote the draft script and did some R&D (research and development), and got the show pencilled in for a couple of venues, but they fell through in the Covid backlog.
“But then, in 2024, I met Alan Lane at Slung Low, where I went to see their new space in Holbeck. He was really up for it and we set it in motion before Alan left to become artistic director for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Alan is still Slung Low’s vice-chair, and venue manager Matt Angrove has taken over the arrangements for the show.
“They’ve been great in finding dates for us and in liaising with The Wedding Present to fit in with the 40th anniversary.”
Reception will wrap its story around songs from four decades of The Wedding Present, Cinerama’s back catalogue and a new Gedge composition.song.
The Wedding Present & Cinerama: the back story
THE Wedding Present were formed in 1985 by David Gedge, who had graduated from the University of Leeds in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1981, and continue to tour and release new music today with vocalist and guitarist Gedge as the only constant member.
Their songwriting has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of The Fall, Buzzcocks and fellow Leeds band Gang Of Four to more varied forms. They have bothered the UK Singles Chart’s Top 40 on 18 occasions, including a history-making run of 12 singles – one for each month – in 1992, matching Elvis Presley’s achievement for a single year.
Cinerama were formed by Gedge in 1998, subsequently released a series of singles and albums significantly different in musical style to The Wedding Present, rooted in French-influenced cinematic/soundtrack-style arrangements.