Shed Seven

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Shed Seven
Background information
Origin	York, England
Genre(s)	Britpop Alternative rock
Years active	1990–2003
Label(s)	Polydor Records [1993-1999] Artful Records [2001-2002] Taste Media [2003]
Website	http://www.shedseven.com
Members
Rick Witter [1990-2003] Paul Banks [1993-1999] Thomas Gladwin [1990-2003] Alan Leach [1990-2003] Fraser Smith [1999-2003] Joe Johnson [1990-1993 & 1999-2003]

Shed Seven were a Britpop band from York, England, originally comprising of Rick Witter (Vocals), Joe Johnson (guitar & Keyboards), Tom Gladwin (Bass) and Alan Leach (Drums).

The band formed in 1990 from the ashes of Brockley Haven, a band featuring Witter, guitarist and songwriter Paul Banks and Gladwin, along with John Leach, brother of Alan Leach. Both Witter and Banks had also previously played together in a band named ENAM, performing to German exchange students in Paul's front room.

1 The early years
2 Peak of success
3 Shed Seven mark II
4 Beginning of the end
5 Shed Seven post-split
- 5.1 Album releases
- 5.2 Band members
6 Discography
- 6.1 Singles
- 6.2 Albums
7 Trivia
8 External links
- 8.1 Fansites
- 8.2 Media

[edit] The early years

Prior to signing a six album deal with Polydor Records in November 1993, guitarist Joe Johnson left the band and was replaced by former cohort, Paul Banks. The band twice entered the local Fibbers/Evening Press 'Battle Of The Bands' competition, twice failing to win, whilst in September 1993 they were voted third best live act at London's Inner City Festival.

Their debut single, the double A-side Mark/Casino Girl, was released on March 7th 1994, but failed to make the UK Top 40. The follow-up single, Dolphin, released on June 13th 1994, peaked at number 28 with first week sales reaching 15,000 leading to the Shed's first ever TOTP's appearance on June 23rd 1994.

However, despite their third single release, Speakeasy, entering the UK charts at number 24 and giving them their biggest hit to date, the first negative press reviews began to emerge. John Mulvey of the UK music magazine, NME, wrote the following Speakeasy single review, in August 1994;

"Four clumsy blokes trying to come over all sensuous, fragile and complex. Ham-fisted, circling elaborations in a doomed search for a song."

Despite gaining a loyal and ever-growing following of fans, the band failed to receive much positive press attention in the UK; the NME never featured Shed Seven on its cover, whilst the now defunct Melody Maker did so only once.

Speakeasy was later to be re-written as an advertising jingle in 1999, for the mobile phone company, The Link, with Rick later admitting regret at his re-recording and re-wording of the original. As a result, the song was omitted from Shed Seven setlists for a number of years, only making its live comeback as a stripped down acoustic version on their farewell tour, in December 2003.

As well as enjoying great popularity in both the United Kingdom and Australia, Shed Seven also found an audience in Thailand, where they managed to beat London based pop act East 17 to the Christmas number one spot with their fourth single release, Ocean Pie.

[edit] Peak of success

With five UK Top 40 entries in 1996, Shed Seven had more hit singles than any other act that year, the high point coming with the release of their seventh single, Going For Gold, which gave the band their biggest ever hit entering the UK chart at number eight on March 17th. A sold-out thirteen-date Autumn tour followed, including their debut appearance at the York Barbican Centre.

The definitive band line-up went on to release 3 studio albums; Change Giver (1994), A Maximum High (1996) and Let It Ride (1998) along with a greatest hits compilation, Going For Gold (1999). The release of the greatest hits package was forced upon the band by their record company, Polydor, after their third LP, Let It Ride, failed to match the album sales of its predecessor, A Maximum High, which sold 250,000 copies in Britain alone.

Despite the band's obvious reservations about issuing such a compilation so soon into their career, they reluctantly gave in. The album featured brand new material in Disco Down and High Hopes, the inclusion of which, based on the notion that they were both to be issued as singles, and therefore would both become 'hits'. Disco Down went on to become the last Banks-era hit for the band, peaking at number 13, whilst High Hopes was sidelined by Polydor in favour of a proposed re-release of the previous single, Going For Gold. However, the band refused to comply, leading to Shed Seven and Polydor Records parting company in late 1999.

[edit] Shed Seven mark II

In December of the same year, Paul Banks left the band by mutual discontent, with Rick Witter citing "musical differences" for the split. Banks was replaced by original guitarist Joe Johnson, whilst part-time keyboardist, Fraser Smith, was also permanently added to the line-up.

The band later signed with Artful Records, and in 2001 they went on to release their fourth studio LP, Truth Be Told which spawned two further Shed Seven singles in Cry For Help and Step Inside Your Love.

Yet, despite finding themselves a new deal, the band were continually dissatisfied with the lack of promotional support from their new record label and found themselves frustrated by both mis-management and delayed releases, as highlighted by Artful's bizarre decision to change the band's Step Inside Your Love single release from a 2 CD chart-eligible format, to a non-eligible 4-track EP, subsequently ending their chances of a fifteenth consecutive chart hit.

The band were further hindered when BBC's Radio One refused to playlist them in their post-Polydor days (this, despite Radio One DJ, Chris Moyles, being a long time supporter of the band).

As a result, Shed Seven quit Artful Records in 2002.

[edit] Beginning of the end

In 2003, Shed Seven found a new home at Taste Media, and it wasn't long before they returned to chart action in the form of their seventeenth single, Why Can't I Be You?, released on May 5th and peaking at number 23. However, rather than being a sign of things to come, it proved to be their first and last single release for the label as the band lost patience with Taste's refusal to release their fully recorded would-be fifth studio LP, slated for release in September 2003. With Taste demanding another 'big hit' before they were willing to release a new Shed Seven album, the ready and complete LP was held back indefinitely.

One further album release did come of their time at Taste; their one and only official live album, Where Have You Been Tonight? Live, recorded at various destinations on tour in December 2002.

As a consequence, the band announced their imminent split via the official Shed Seven website on the 23rd November 2003. They went on to play a well received and sold out farewell tour the following month, playing their last ever gig on the 20th December 2003 at the Barbican Centre, back in their hometown of York.

[edit] Shed Seven post-split

[edit] Album releases

An alternative hits album, The Collection, which in large part featured album tracks and B-sides, surfaced in 2004, whilst in 2005, after being inundated with requests by fans, the band eventually released the official post-split album, One Hand Clapping. The much welcomed 'new' material, which would have been the band's fifth studio album, featured the unreleased demos of songs that were submitted to, and refused by, Taste Media in 2003.

The album was initially released in a strictly limited run of 1000 copies, however, a Japanese version of the album, complete with four extra acoustic tracks, enhanced sleeve notes and all lyrics, surfaced in June 2006.

[edit] Band members

Former lead singer Rick Witter began a solo career with new band, Rick Witter & The Dukes, in 2005. The band played several low-key gigs in Scotland as well as two sold out shows in York shortly before Christmas of the same year, before embarking on a month long tour in April and May of 2006. The Dukes have recently completed work on their debut album, The Year Of The Rat, produced by both the band & Will Jackson [ The Music, Embrace ]. It is set for release in late February/early March 2007.

Alan Leach returned to York, where he now teaches drums, and also runs speedquizzing which takes place on Monday nights at Orgasmic and also on Tuesday nights at Kennedys, both bars in York. Tom Gladwin went on to join Leeds-based pop/dance outfit, The Clients. In 2007 Tom Gladwin started a new band, people:in airports with singer/songwriter and guitarist, Paul Downes.

After leaving Shed Seven, Paul Banks went on to form The Rising, a York-based band comprising of Paul (on Guitar/Bass/Keys), David McKellar (of The 88's on Vocals), Rob "Maxi" Maxfield (of Audioweb/Ian Brown on Drums & Programming) and Stuart Fletcher (of Seahorses/Rick Witter & The Dukes on Bass). Paul also returned to York to become both a freelance film-maker and music tutor, currently teaching Guitar/Bass and songwriting at his studio in Pocklington. Since late 2006 he has also been writing and recording new material with Alistair Griffin (Vocals), Walter Gibbon (Drums) and Paul 'Foda' Fothergill (bass), for his latest band project, Albion.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

- Mark/Casino Girl (March 1994) [80]
- Dolphin (June 1994) [28]
- Speakeasy (August 1994) [24]
- Ocean Pie (October 1994) [33]
- Where Have You Been Tonight? (May 1995) [23]
- Getting Better (January 1996) [14]
- Going For Gold (March 1996) [8]
- Bully Boy (May 1996) [22]
- On Standby (August 1996) [12]
- Chasing Rainbows (November 1996) [17]
- She Left Me On Friday (March 1998) [11]
- The Heroes (May 1998) [18]
- Devil In Your Shoes (August 1998) [37]
- Disco Down (May 1999) [13]
- Cry For Help (April 2001) [30]
- Step Inside Your Love EP (November 2001) [DNC]
- Why Can't I Be You? (May 2003) [23]

[edit] Albums

- Change Giver (1994) [16]
- A Maximum High (1996) [8]
- Let It Ride (1998) [9]
- Going For Gold (1999) [7]
- Truth Be Told (2001)
- Where Have You Been Tonight? Live (2003)
- The Collection (2004)
- One Hand Clapping - The Unreleased Demos 2001-2003 (2005)

[edit] Trivia

- The band were originally labelled by the NME as being New Wave of New Wave.

[edit] External links

[edit] Fansites

[edit] Media

Britpop - Where are they now? BBC News, August 2005 Audio clip (Realplayer)
Concert review and recorded interview, BBC Manchester, December 2002 (Realplayer)

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Categories: Music from Yorkshire | Britpop musical groups | York