Indie music might have turned out differently had it not been for Rick Witter’s biology teacher. Aged 11 in 1984, the shy youngster’s family had moved from Stockport to York. Due to an admin error, Witter was placed in the second year at Huntington Secondary School, a year ahead of where he should have been for the new intake. During a lesson on birth in nature, Witter’s teacher asked six children for their DOBs. When Witter rattled off 23 November 1972, the confusion led him to be belatedly dropped back down to the correct school year.
“I’d just begun to make friends in York with my classmates,” Witter recalls. “Maybe I’d have seen out my schooldays in the wrong year if it wasn’t for that science lesson. I’d like to thank that biology teacher. Because in the year below, I met Paul Banks and Tom Gladwin.”
Initially forming a school band called Brockley Haven (“A terrible name, but so is Shed Seven,” he laughs) the three classmates are still good friends. They’re also still together in Shed Seven, who are this year celebrating the 30th anniversary since their debut single and album, with their sixth album, the stirring A Matter Of Time. When it went straight in at No 1 in January 2024, it made them the rock artist(s) with the longest gap (over 29 years) between their debut LP release and their first chart-topper.
Speaking to RC via Zoom from his front room in York, a decent size vinyl collection in the background stored in Ikea Kallaxes, Witter is comfortable talking about his band’s place in the scheme of things. At 51, he can afford to be. In addition to their first new album in seven years, Witter, guitarist Banks and bassist Gladwin have seen Shed Seven rise above the mockery to regularly headline the arenas that eluded them during the Britpop years.
Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av Record Collector.
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Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av Record Collector.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
At the peak of their powers in the early 70s, by 1975 there were signs that Led Zeppelin were burning out, and their legendary appetite for excess, not to mention stadium-straddling, mythically charged, epically inclined hard rock, might be waning.
HI-FIDELITY?
Running a record shop is a dream for many music aficionados. Steve Burniston investigates how to run a successful one
THE ENGINE ROOM
The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
45 SHEFFIELD 45s
Continuing our celebrations of RC's 45th birthday and following on from our look at the best 45s to come out of Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow, we focus on the urbanisation formerly known as Steel City: Sheffield. Close to the (Nether) Edge: Jeremy Allen
Finished Symphonies
In the late 80s, Shelleyan Orphan made rarefied, ravishing, precious (both meanings) baroque pop, all chamber quartet accompaniment and literary reference points, like an 18th century Cocteau Twins.
"BLACK BRITISH PEOPLE HAD SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT"
Breaking new ground for black music in Britain from his teenage years in Matumbi in the early 70s, Dennis Bovell went on to become one of reggae's most highly regarded producers, helping popularise lovers rock. He also played a pivotal role in post-punk's experimental incorporation of dub influences on records like The Slits' Cut and The Pop Group's Y. As new compilation, Sufferer Sounds, reaches back to his early days to compile some of his best early dub plates, Lois Wilson gets the full backstory from one of British music's most enduring forces.
FRENZY REUNITED
Swindon's finest musical export, XTC were also one of the most quietly influential British bands, setting a template for Britpop while pioneering a brand of left-field guitar pop – from herky-jerky invention to consummate craftsmanship – that has spawned many imitators.
Paperback Blighters - The books every record collector should read.
The books every record collector should read. Vinyl, you may have heard, has made a big comeback. In 2022, sales of vinyl albums surpassed compact discs (CDs) for the first time in more than three decades in terms of global revenue, racking up more than $1.2bn.
"Beware the Savage Lure/of 1984..." - David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods.
David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods. For many, 1984 remains the nadir of his Phil Collins” phase; an artistic/sartonial/tonsorial disaster area. But was it really that awful? Forty years on, Matt Phillips explores Bowie's so-called annus horribilis.
