Sheffield Scene

During the history of popular music certain areas become a hotbed of musical talent and influencers that start a revolution.

In the 1960s we saw the birth of Merseybeat, the 1970s we saw midlands hugely influence the whole Ska revival, the late 1980s and early 1990s we saw the birth of the Madchester scene where Guitars mixed with rave scene seen the whole country gripped by this new sound.

Somewhere in between in the early 1980s Sheffield became an integral part of the music scene and was widely regarded as the main influencer of synth pop and the whole electronic sound. Prior to the synth movement there were some notable contributions from other Sheffield sons who had made an impact on the music scene.

The golden voice of Paul Carrack had enjoyed success with Ace, roxy Music and more famously Mike and the Mechanics who enjoyed a huge number one UK smash in 1989 with 'the living years'.

Another famous son was the gravel voice of Joe Cocker who like Carrack had enjoyed a cross atlantic smash hit 'up where we belong' which was the soundtrack theme for the smash hot film 'An officer and a gentleman'.

Another band to emerge from the Sheffield scene was Def Leppard who enjoyed success primarily in America as the synth movement took over and rock seemed to take a back page. They did eventually crack the UK market with the release of the album Hysteria and the lead singles Animal, Love bites.

It was the synth movement that took the UK by storm and most of the sounds were coming out of Sheffield. The chief architects were Human League, Heaven 17, ABC backed up by the more industrial sound of Cabaret Voltaire and Clock DVA.

Eventually, this spread through out the whole country and soon there were plenty of synth bands. To take it a step back the whole electronic sound had been developed for a quite a number of years with Brian Eno of Roxy Music and Kraftwerk taking the sound to the general public but the whole sound could be heard on the soundtrack of Clockwork Orange where the whole industrial sound inspired many to dispense with the traditional instruments and build machines that could process sounds.

This whole new sound influenced the up and coming synth and new romantic acts and Sheffield were the first of many to embrace the evolution sound. The sound was very dystopian and futuristic and this was the blueprint for many to follow.

The mass production of digital equipment was to follow in the 1980s not least the Yamaha DX7 and this in turn saw an invasion of British acts rise and enjoy success both sides of the Atlantic. Most Synth music was born out of the new wave period and one of the first to pioneer the sound in the UK was Cabaret Voltaire who were named after a club in Zurich.

The band formed in 1973 but were more famous for its electronic sound that came to prominence between 1978-81. They spent a great deal touring and often supported Joy Division. They signed to indie Label Rough Trade and released a number of singles and albums such as three Mantras and the albums The voice of America and Red Mecca. However, 1983 saw a commercial interest upturn in there material with The crackdown released on Virgin peaked at number 31 in the UK charts which represented a huge success.

The singles Sensoria and James Brown enjoyed huge success and charted in the Indie chart and were huge playings in the underground clubs around the UK. The band released 9 studio albums during the 1980s with 2 with four of them entering the main UK album charts. They also released a credible 22 singles in the UK with 7 reaching top 100 status. Certainly one of the biggest influencers of electro
music.
 

Another from the industrial sound age was Clock DVA who had loose links with Cabaret Voltaire and the future Human League. Adi Newton was the main face of the band and were very much an experimental sound band.

They released four albums during the 1980s with White souls in black suits and Thirst gaining critical acclaim with the latter knocking Adam and the Ants of the top of the indie album chart. They released 9 singles but not one managed to break through to the main UK singles charts.

However, limited the success was the contribution cannot be underestimated and they still tour to this date around the various festivals around Europe. Once the avant-garde sound had worn down the next batch came along combining the electronic sound with conventional songwriting that appealed to the general public. This introduced the new COLD WAVE sound that favoured the likes of Soft Cell and Sheffield's very own Human League.

The Human League started live as an all male band but evolved into the successful combination of Phil Oakey and the Girls Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley. The band was started by Martin Ware and Ian Marsh and after some limited success they seeked a lead singer, there first choice Glenn Gregory but was unavailable so they opted for an old Friend Phil Oakey.

The band had limited success with appearances on TOTP and the album Travelogue gained a top 20 entry but the band were having personal problems and the record label Virgin opted not to release any more material. Marsh and Ware wanted to continue the electronic sound whilst Oakey wanted the more pop synth commercialism.

As a result Marsh and Ware left to form Heaven 17 and Oakey was left on his own with all debts and the little matter of a tour. Oakey recruited the girls and more musicians and the band were able to honour there commitments. The next few years saw the band hit the steady heights of number one on both single and album charts. The Dare album which spawned Don't you want me both number ones and was a Christmas number one in 1981. The band released four albums during the 1980s with Dare, Hysteria and Crash all going top 10 with Dare a number one. They released 16 singles with 7 top 10 hits including 5 in a row between 1981-82 with Keep feeling fascination and mirror man. The band left a big legacy and were pioneers of electro pop and the band still continue today with a recent tour celebrating 35 years in existence, proof enough that the band talent still interests fans.



With the exit of Marsh and Ware, they went onto form Heaven 17 with Glenn Gregory on the microphones. Initially the band struggled with it's overtly political lyrics such as Fascist groove thang which was banned by Radio 1 DJ Mike Read. The album Penthouse and Pavements gained a top 20 entry.

It wasn't until late 1983 with the release of Temptation with Carol Kenyon on backing proved a masterstroke and the song reached number two. Subsequent releases come live with me and crushed by the wheels of industry were notable entrants in the UK charts. The album Luxury Gap which featured all those songs went platinum and peaked at number four.

They released 5 albums in the 1980s with three top 20 entries and in terms of singles they released 19 with three top 20 hits. The band are still working and made a high profile appearance on ITV 25th anniversary of NOW album as they appeared on the very first album. They also played with La Roux who cited the band as her major influence.

The last but certainly not least was ABC, The band emerged in the late 1970s from a band called Vice Versa formed initially by Mark white and Stephen singleton and Martin Fry joined later and the new project of ABC began.



Success almost came immediately following the release of Tear are not enough which dented the top 20 in the UK singles charts in 1981 and a debut album produced by Trevor Horn named Lexicon of Love received critical acclaim from all the peers in the industry.

It also featured the singles Poison Arrow, the look of love and all of my heart which all made significant contributions in the charts with there high polished production. The band found it difficult to follow that masterpiece and the next offering Beauty Stab fared less in the charts, they did have a top 20 single with That was then but this is now.

The album itself failed on a top 10 entry and the subsequent how to be a zillionaire was showing the band dwindling sales. After a break due to Martin Fry illness they came back as a two piece band and in 1987 released Alphabet City which finally got a top 10 entry, they released the lead single When Smokey sings and again this proved a popular song and reached number 7 in the singles charts.

By the end of the decade the next album was based firmly on the fledgling house music scene but by then the sales were a lot less than there previous material. The band still continues to this day but only Martin Fry is the original member but there success in Sheffield led to Martin being giving an honours degree by University of Sheffield.