Rejuvenated Britpop stars Shed Seven return to the Midlands next month for a show that will bring back fond memories of one of their favourite venues - as singer Rick Witter reveals...

“We have a soft spot for the Wulfrun - it’s a great little venue. We’ve played it loads of times over the years, and we’ve also done the Civic. We must’ve been big in the ’90s because they broadcast the entire gig live on Radio One!”

Shed Seven singer Rick Witter is on a roll, reminiscing about the band’s previous appearances in Wolverhampton as they prepare to return to the city next month. 

A quick check on Google reveals that the Radio One gig took place on 28 May 1998 - but it’s a legendary performance from 10 years earlier that first brought the venue to Rick’s attention; namely, the debut solo show by Smiths singer Morrissey.

“One of the reasons I enjoy the Civic so much is because it’s where Morrissey played his first-ever solo gig. He filmed the Hulmerist video there, and I remember the footage of him getting off his fancy tour bus backstage. I’m a big fan of The Smiths, so I’ve watched that video loads. It’s nice to know I’ve shared the stage with Morrissey, even though it was on different nights!”

The pair’s career trajectories have had a few ups and downs since the heady days of their ’80s and ’90s peaks, but Shed Seven - named after a numbered railway building the band spotted while on a train heading into their hometown of York - are currently enjoying something of an Indian summer. Nearly 30 years since the height of their fame - in 1996 they had more top-40 hit singles than any other act - the five-piece are playing the biggest shows of their career and are arguably a bigger live act now than they were in their heyday.

It’s something that seems to confound and delight the friendly, straight-talking Yorkshireman in equal measure.

“It’s funny because we’ve been going for so long and we were big in the ’90s, but we just seem to be going up again. We were kind of also-rans in the Britpop scene - it was basically Pulp, Blur and Oasis, then lots of also-rans like us, The Bluetones, Cast… lots of Championship teams!

“It’s weird to be back and doing so well, but I’m enjoying the process and long may it continue - I am the pilot of the good ship Shed Seven.”

The ship recently gained a couple of new passengers in the shape of drummer Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Tim Willis, who joined Witter and fellow core members Paul Banks (guitar) and Tom Gladwin (bass) following the departure of longstanding members Alan Leach and Joe Johnson. Rick believes the new arrivals have given the band a “big kick up the backside”, an argument borne out by the speed with which they wrote and recorded new album A Matter Of Time. The aptly titled LP is the band’s first new music in six years and came together in a matter of months - unlike previous album Instant Pleasures, which took three years to write. And even though the songs were all written by Rick and Banks, “everyone brings their own little bit to the party.” 

The new members have had a direct and indirect influence on proceedings, according to Rick. “These two guys came on board and settled in straight away - they fit in so well, they’re great musicians and it just flows. Maybe that’s why the album was so quick to write - we were invigorated enough to think, let’s crack on with this.

“I think me and Paul must’ve also hit some type of purple patch because the ideas were just flowing. You have to kind of embrace that to a point because the tap can turn off at any time. We enjoyed the process a lot, and I think that shines through when you hear the music.”

The album wears its heart, if not its influences, on its sleeve. Rick reveals that during the writing, the duo went back to their early years and the music that inspired them as teenagers. 

“Before the first Stone Roses album came out, Paul and I would listen to Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Duran Duran. Paul was hugely into Simple Minds, and I loved U2 around the Joshua Tree period.

Almost without discussing it, I think we’ve kinda gone back to our youth.”

The resulting album - due out next January - is full of the catchy, jangly guitar anthems that made the band famous. “It’s very Shed Seven,” says Rick, “but it sounds fresh and new.” It also adds a few new colours to the palette, not least in the form of guest turns from the likes of Happy Mondays’ Rowetta, Laura McClure (Reverend & The Makers) and Peter Doherty. The latter connection was forged when Shed Seven opened for The Libertines at the Bingley Weekender festival in Yorkshire last summer.

“As we played, I noticed Peter stood at the side of the stage watching our gig and singing along. I thought, alright, so you’re a bit of a fan, are you? We got chatting afterwards and he was telling us how he listened to Shed Seven in the ’90s. That opened the doors to me saying: If you like us that much, why don’t you come and sing on one of our songs!”

That track (Throwaways) is an anthem for “people who don’t fit”, according to Rick, and closes the album in suitably epic fashion. Earlier tunes, such as opener Let’s Go and current single Kissing California, are natural successors to the band’s best-known hits, such as Going For Gold and Chasing Rainbows.

“‘Kissing California is Shed Seven’s summer anthem. It’s essentially a celebration of being alive, and grabbing the opportunity to paint the town red with someone special and have the best of times.”
And these are very definitely the best of times for the band, he believes - even though he’s loathe to reel out one particular cliché.

“I really don’t like it when I read interviews with bands and they’ve got a new album out and they tell you it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. But I’m just gonna have to be in that camp because I really do think it. And that’s after 30-odd years of doing this. It’s taken us that long to get to a point where I can feel like we’ve achieved something.”

That satisfaction also comes from seeing younger audiences and generations of families at Shed Seven’s live shows, which Rick believes means that the band can go on forever (“we are the new Rolling Stones”) - an ambition he’s determined to follow through on.

“This is basically all I’ve ever wanted to do. When I was nine, I used to sing in front of the mirror with a hairbrush and shake me hips, so I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do it as a career. This is my life, so I’ll do it till I’m dead.”

by Steve Adams

Shed Seven play Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, on Monday 23 October and Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, on Tuesday 24 October