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Leicester has produced a number of famous musical acts including Engelbert Humperdinck and Showaddywaddy. [1]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2015) |
Leicester has produced a number of famous musical acts including Engelbert Humperdinck and Showaddywaddy. [1]
While Leicester has often been neglected as a centre for popular music [ citation needed ], with the O2 Academy that has been built (opened 2010) in the city, more established acts have been booked to play.
Current venues for music include:
In March 2018, the Haymarket Theatre reopened pledging it will stage music events.
One of Leicester's main live music venues, The Charlotte, closed in January 2009. It briefly reopened in October 2009 before being closed permanently on 14 March 2010. [2]
Leicester's main small venue for pop and rock was the Il Rondo on Silver Street. The roll call of bands who played at the Il Rondo runs like a who's Who of early–mid sixties pop and rock. The Yardbirds and The Animals played there before passing into rock history along with less well remembered groups like the Graham Bond Organisation. It also played host to many visiting American blues musicians including Howlin' Wolf, Freddie King, Lowell Fulson, Otis Spann and John Lee Hooker. The Beatles also came to De Montfort Hall. [3]
Colin Hyde (East Midlands Oral History Archive) carried out a range of interviews about growing up in Leicester in the 1950s and 1960s and began to map where all of the venues of the day were. [4] He identified a number of clubs, pubs, and coffee bars like the Chameleon, run by Pete Joseph, the El Casa, or the El Paso – cafes which stayed open after the pubs closed. Among others, people also remembered the Blue Beat club on Conduit Street, run by Alex Barrows who later started the House of Happiness on Campbell Street. Night clubs such as the Burlesque or the Nite Owl became more popular as the 1960s progressed, and they opened up the opportunity to dance all night. [ citation needed ]
Also emerging during this period was the notable band Family, fronted by Leicester man Roger Chapman which had some success nationally but mixed success internationally until they disbanded in 1973.
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The early 1980s saw Leicester punk band Rabid have two minor indie hits, and there were greater successes later in the decade for Yeah Yeah Noh. Leicester funk band The Apollinaires signed to 2 Tone Records in 1982, and released three singles. [5] The mid-1980s saw the emergence of bands such as Gaye Bykers on Acid, Crazyhead, The Bomb Party, and The Hunters Club, who were all associated with the Grebo scene. The Deep Freeze Mice had formed in 1979 and went on to release ten albums in total. Diesel Park West had their first top 75 hits in the late 1980s. Other notable Leicester bands from this decade included Po!, Blab Happy and Chrome Molly.
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The band Prolapse, was formed by a group of Leicester University and Polytechnic students in 1992. The band rose in popularity, and quickly gained a record deal with Cherry Red Records, recorded a number of John Peel sessions for Radio 1, and toured with Sonic Youth, Stereolab and Pulp. 1992 also saw the formation in Leicester of Cornershop, an Anglo-Asian agit pop band, who became most famous for the 1998 Number 1 single "Brimful of Asha". Perfume and Delicatessen both also rose to critical acclaim. Leicester is home of the influential Rave – Drum & Bass Formation Records label and associated 5HQ Record Shop, which was reopened in 2012 as an active recording studio.
Since 2000 the city has once more seen a notable upsurge in the success of the local music scene. Several Leicester musicians and/or acts have received considerable media attention in their fields since 2003–2004. Kasabian, followed by Pacific Ocean Fire, The Displacements, [6] Kyte, [7] Maybeshewill and Neon Sarcastic [8] have all risen from the city to national attention. The Go! Team were first signed to local label Pickled Egg Records, other Leicester musicians feature in notable national and questionably international bands such as; Fun Lovin' Criminals, Happy Mondays, The Holloways, Envy & Other Sins, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw.
Kasabian albums Empire and West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum both achieved number one status in the UK Albums Chart in 2006 and 2009 respectively. Success followed in 2010 when the band won the Best British Group Award at the BRIT Awards 2010.
Other Leicester acts enjoying chart success in the Official UK Singles Chart during the 2000s include bassline act H "Two" O eventually reaching number two, and remaining there for three weeks, with their hit single "What's It Gonna Be". Dance music project Stunt eventually reached number nine with their collaborative hit single "Raindrops (Encore Une Fois)" (with Sash!). They have also gone on to collaborate with Europop sensation Basshunter.
2006 saw the closure of The Attik, a venue that for over twenty years had played host to hundreds of bands. The newly refurbished 'The Music Cafe', located on New Parks Street, was the venue for The Bandish Projekt and Stereophonics videos in 2011 and late 2012 respectively.
Leicester born writer and producer Nat Powers has also been active in the music industry, working with Run Dmc, the son of Dr. Dre amongst others.
The development of the award-winning music festival Summer Sundae with connecting Summer Sundae Fringe Festival (predominantly run by the local arts collective 'Pineapster') focused on blues and folk music may well provide the city with more of a focus for its local bands to break out nationally. Described by Steve Lamacq as 'the Grandson of Glastonbury [ citation needed ] and sponsored by BBC Radio 6 Music, the festival took place in the city's Victoria Park from 2011 until 2013 and featured headlining acts including Mumford & Sons, Public Image Ltd and McFly.
In 2013, organisers including local label Robot Needs Home established the 'Handmade' music festival which included acts such as Rolo Tomassi, Dutch Uncles and Tall Ships in its debut year. [9] [10]
Leicester grime artists such as Kamakaze and Jafro have gained some popularity within the scene during the mid-2010s. [11] [12] In 2015, Kamakaze released a freestyle on JDZ Media, which by 2019 has reached over 3 million views. [13] [14] In 2019, Kamakaze performed a football freestyle on the BBC, and featured on the FIFA 20 Volta soundtrack alongside Leicester producer Massappeals. [15] [16] Kamakaze's song "Kam Dog" also featured on the gameplay trailer for FIFA 20 Volta. [17]
Victoria Park in Leicester, England is a public park of 69 acres. It is in the south-east, just outside the city centre, backing on to the University of Leicester and close to the Leicester railway station.
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
De Montfort Hall is the largest music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after the Father of Parliament, Simon de Montfort, the 6th Earl of Leicester.
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, near Caversham Bridge. The Leeds event is held in Bramham Park, near Wetherby, the grounds of a historic house. Headliners and most supporting acts typically play at both sites, with Reading's Friday line up becoming Leeds' Saturday line-up, Reading's Saturday line-up playing at Leeds on Sunday, and Leeds' Friday line-up attending Reading on Sunday. Campsites are available at both sites and weekend tickets include camping. Day tickets are also sold.
Kasabian are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff left the band in 2006 and founded a new band called Black Onassis. Jay Mehler joined as touring lead guitarist in 2006, leaving for Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye in 2013, to be replaced by Tim Carter, who later became a full-time band member in 2021. Meighan left the band in July 2020, with Pizzorno stepping up as full-time lead vocalist.
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused Balado airfield, Perth and Kinross, from 1997 to 2014. In 2015 the festival moved to Strathallan Castle. It was originally held over two days, and extended to three days from 2007. In 2016 the daily capacity was 70,000.
Summer Sundae was an annual music festival held in Leicester, England which initially focused on indie, alternative, and local music. The festival began as a one-dayer in 2001 and grew year on year since then, adding first one and then two campsites, and later involved five stages running over three days.
The Charlotte was a pub and concert venue in Leicester, England, on the edge of the City Centre, on Oxford Street, opposite De Montfort University.
Thomas Peter Meighan is an English singer and musician. He co-founded the rock band Kasabian in 1997 and was its lead vocalist until 2020, when he left the band following his domestic violence charges.
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Maybeshewill are an English post-rock band from Leicester, England. Their music is characterised by the use of programmed and sampled electronic elements alongside guitars, bass, keyboards and drums.
The Dykeenies are a Scottish indie rock band from Cumbernauld, formed in 2005. The group consists of brothers Brian Henderson and Andrew Henderson, along with Steven Ramsay and John Kerr. Since their formation, they have released one studio album, Nothing Means Everything, accompanied by three singles. After a worldwide tour, the band began work on their second album, which was released in October 2011. They broke up in January 2012, before re-forming for two performances in 2017. The Dykeenies released their EP 'I Wanted To Show Her All The Beautiful Things in the World' on 11 May 2018. The title of the 2018 EP was taken from Bret Ellis-Easton's 'American Psycho'.
The Enemy are an English indie rock band formed in Coventry in 2006. The band's debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007) went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart on release. Their second album Music for the People (2008) went to number two on the UK Albums Chart. Streets in the Sky, their third studio album, was released on 21 May 2012 and was also their third UK top 10 album. Their fourth studio album, It's Automatic, was released on 9 October 2015. After disbanding in 2016, the band reunited in 2022 for two reunion shows in their hometown of Coventry and a UK tour.
Kyte are an electronic indie pop group, from Leicestershire, England.
Summer Sundae Fringe Festival was an annual music festival, running from 2006 to 2010 and held in Leicester, England, which focused on showcasing artistic talents and communities within the city of Leicester.
48:13 is the fifth studio album by English rock band Kasabian. The album, produced by the band's leader, songwriter, guitarist, and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, and named after its total running time, was released in Germany on 6 June 2014 and in the UK on 9 June 2014. The album entered at number one on the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release making it the band's fourth consecutive UK number one album. The album received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics who were divided on the electronic-heavy direction as well as criticising the lyrics.
Matthew James Robinson is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for National League side Braintree Town, on loan from National League club Woking. He is also an MC, making music under the name Kamakaze.
Achi Avelino, better known mononymously by his stage name Avelino, is a British rapper and singer of Congolese and Angolan descent from Tottenham, London, known for his "unique tone" and "deep wordplay".
TRNSMT is a music festival staged at Glasgow Green in Glasgow, Scotland, organised by DF Concerts.
The Newport music scene, in and around Wales' third city, has been well documented and acclaimed for cultivating bands, singers, and famous music venues. Newport has been traditionally a rock city since the 1970s, but it has evolved over the years to include forms of punk, 1990s alt-rock, and more recently metal and hip-hop.