Photo Credit: Mark Ratcliffe
In addition to a line-up that included both the new breed and cult 90-s British legends, SHED SEVEN‘s summer headline shows concluded with a night full of hits in Leeds, including songs from their chart-topping record ‘A Matter of Time’ and a few covers to entertain the audience on a sweltering Friday evening.
South Yorkshire quartet THE SHERLOCKS made the short journey up the M1 to open the show, performing their upbeat indie hits to warm up the crowd. Following the release of their fifth album, ‘Everything Must Make Sense’, and their support of Shed Seven towards the end of 2024, the foursome saw a surge in new followers jump on board which increased album sales and helped them land yet another top 10 album. The Millennium Square was already packed with supporters enjoying the sunshine as they ploughed through their action packed but short set. As they began their performance with ‘Falling‘, band fans were already contributing their voices right from the off. Rounding off with ‘Live for the Moment‘ and ‘Chasing Shadows‘, THE SHERLOCKS certainly not only entertained the Yorkshire crowd, but gained another chunk of new fans on the night.
Liverpool legends LIGHTNING SEEDS, who are currently commemorating 35 years as a band with the release of their greatest hits ‘Tomorrow’s Here Today‘ last year, followed to continue the positive energy flowing through the square. The audience erupted in applause as Ian Broudies’ presence graced the stage , anticipating a slew of British classics. ‘Marvellous‘ kicked off their set, and as the set progressed, the square quickly peaked at capacity. Despite only delivering a set of nine tracks, ‘Change‘ and ‘Perfect‘ encouraged a large portion of the crowd to join in for the first bunch of tracks. Additional timeless hits like ‘Lucky You’, ‘Pure’, and the well-adored ‘The Life of Riley‘ set up the grand finale of ‘Three Lions‘, which had everyone including the staff singing along, to complete their outstanding performance.
As the anticipation grew, SHED SEVEN finally took the stage to a resounding cheer that reverberated across the city of Leeds. There was no time to waste as each member made their dramatic entrance with the first song quick following. The energy was already at an all-time high once ‘Room in My House’, and the fast paced ‘Let’s Go’ opened the show. Fan favourites ‘Speakeasy’ and ‘Ocean Pie’ featured early in the set before the beautiful ‘Starlings’ tugged on the hearts of their fans just six songs in.
The entire plaza was once again singing along as a cover of The Smiths’ iconic song ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out‘, lit up the square before returning to their own material in the form of ‘Dolphin‘ to continue the momentum into ‘Bully Boy‘. As the recorded version of ‘In Ecstasy’ intended, Rowetta made a special appearance to the crowds surprise, and both the band and Rowetta delivered the song perfectly. ‘Going for Gold‘ mixed with ‘Suspicious Minds‘ got the people’s voices fired up as the covers kept coming in, while ‘On Standby‘ and ‘Let’s Go Dancing‘ completed a forceful performance and increased the excitement of an impending encore.
Paul, Rick, and the others quickly returned, opening the encore with ‘Better Days‘ to pick up the pace once again, and Rowetta returned for a fantastic rendition of ‘Disco Down‘. With just one song left, the band’s iconic return to Leeds was capped off by the always enjoyable ‘Chasing Rainbows‘, which saw Witter hand over the vocals to the crowd for the final chorus to round off a fantastic run for Shed Seven since the ‘A Matter of Time‘ campaign began.
Now with two number-one albums under their belt and a devoted following that is still growing after three decades, Shed Seven are about to enter a new chapter with high hopes.
Taped Magazine 