Music in Leeds

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Though Leeds' music scene has not as prolific as its neighbour Manchester across the Pennines, or indeed Sheffield in South Yorkshire, it has still produced many notable bands.

1 Bands
2 Dance music and the clubbing scene
3 DIY scene
4 Festivals
5 Venues
6 See also
7 External Links

[edit] Bands

The Mekons and the influential Gang of Four came out of the 1970s punk movement, with the early eighties the punk/oi! groups Abrasive Wheels, The Underdogs and The Expelled who all shared the same record label, Bristol's Riot City.

In the early to mid-eighties the city was home to a large goth scene and many local bands who went on to have some degree of success nationally and internationally including The March Violets, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Sisters of Mercy and Salvation (who were formed by Sisters of Mercy roadies).

The avant-garde art scene centred around Leeds Metropolitan University's (then Leeds Polytechnic) Fine Art course led to the formation of early 80s electronic pioneers Soft Cell.

The Late eighties and early nineties saw success for John Peel favourites, and regular Festive 50 botherers, The Wedding Present, agitprop band Chumbawumba and indie rock group Cud.

In more recent times Leeds based bands such as Kaiser Chiefs, The Music, Black Wire, Duels, ¡Forward, Russia!, Parisman, This Et Al, Vib Gyor and singer Corinne Bailey Rae have come to national prominence.

[edit] Dance music and the clubbing scene

House music had a big impact on Leeds when it arrived in the late 1980's. Early house nights included Downbeat at the Warehouse, Meltdown at the Astoria in Roundhay, and Joy and Kaos at various temporary venues, along with a thriving Shebeen or "Blues" scene in Chapeltown.

Along with Sheffield and Bradford, Leeds was a centre for the Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass scene in 1989-1990, with influential local bands such as LFO, Nightmares on Wax, Ital Rockers, Unit 93 and Juno on Sheffield's Warp Records and Leeds' Bassic Records.

Dance band Utah Saints hit the top ten several times between 1991 and 1993.

The earlier underground house scene developed into the Leeds club scene of the 1990's, when for a while Leeds held the title of Britain's clubbing capital. Both Back to Basics and mixed gay night Vague enjoyed the title of best club in Britain at different points in the decade, whilst The Orbit in Morley was an internationally recognised techno mecca (Orbit closed in the late nineties and was replaced by a restaurant).

[edit] DIY scene

Leeds is very well-known for its current DIY underground music scene, encompassing the genres of hardcore, post-hardcore, post-punk, and noise rock among others. There is a vibrant and active community based around the DIY ethic, supported in part by Cops and Robbers, a monthly guide to DIY events in and around Leeds.

[edit] Festivals

Leeds initially played host to the northern leg of the V festival between 1996 and 1998 before the event moved to Weston Park, Staffordshire.

In 2000, Leeds played host to the first ever Radio 1 Love Parade at Roundhay Park.

Since 1999 the Leeds Festival, a northern leg of the well established Reading Festival, has taken place on August bank holiday weekend. The event was initially held at Temple Newsam (the venue for the Leeds V Festival) before protests from residents forced a move to Bramham Park.

Leeds is also home to the International Pianoforte Competition which is regarded highly. It was established in 1963 by Fanny Waterman with the 15th competition starting in September 2006.

West Yorkshire Playhouse (along with several other smaller venues) plays host to the annual Fuseleeds festival showcasing an eclectic mix of more left-field music.

2006 saw the two-day Wireless Festival take place at Harewood House.

[edit] Venues

Leeds plays host to many venues, currently including Leeds University refectory [1] (where The Who recorded their 1970 live album Live at Leeds), Leeds Metropolitan University [2], The Cockpit, Brudenell Social Club [3], The Faversham [4], The Hi-Fi club [5], The Wardrobe, The Irish Centre, Joseph's Well [6], The New Roscoe [7], The Vine and The Mixing Tin among others.

Occasional gigs are held in Millennium Square in the city centre (including the Kaiser Chiefs in 2006), Roundhay Park (which was home to Love Parade in 2000 and has hosted gigs by Madonna, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones), Harewood House, Leeds Town Hall and Leeds Parish Church.

Recently attempts have been made to build an arena in the city (currently larger touring acts tend to play either Manchester or Sheffield owing to the relatively small capacity of the refectory, Leeds's biggest permanent venue). [8]