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Shed Seven

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Shed Seven

Shed Seven are an English indie rock band from York. Formed in 1990 and originally comprising of Rick Witter (Vocals), Joe Johnson (later replaced by Paul Banks) (guitar & Keyboards), Tom Gladwin (Bass) and Alan Leach (Drums). At the height of their popularity, 1994-1999, they had numerous top 40 singles and four top 20 albums in the UK. The band officially broke up in 2003, but announced their reformation for a greatest hits tour in mid 2007.

The early years

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, and Magnus Thomson. Both Witter and Banks had also previously played together in a band named ENAM, performing to German exchange students in Paul's front room.

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.

The band got their name while returning to York, as they approached York station the band noticed a small shed on the sidings "Shed 7". Witter said "all my previous band names sounded like cheeses so I wanted something cool, simple and completely original".

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.

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.

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.

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;

"The split did not come without a great deal of thought by the whole of the band. We have taken the decision together and all of the band members fully agree that the time is right to move on. Although we feel that certain aspects of the music industry have put a strain on the recording side of things in recent years, the one thing that has remained consistent throughout has been the band’s love of performing live and the ability to please the fans by giving 100% every time. This is exactly what we plan to do at these last remaining shows, making a special effort to play what people want to hear. This means all the obvious faves plus some lost gems that we perhaps haven’t played in a long time.

A celebration, a retrospective, a Shed Seven tour to remember.

The Sheds would like to thank each & every fan for their phenomenal support."

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.

Shed Seven post-split

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, although a Japanese version of the album, complete with four extra acoustic tracks, enhanced sleeve notes and complete lyrics, surfaced in June 2006.

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 (who's also worked with both The Music and Embrace), released on April 16th 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 Laybourne (Drums) and Paul 'Foda' Fothergill (bass), for his latest band project, Albion.

Reunion Tour

On the 5th of July 2007, after widespread rumours, the band announced a one-off greatest hits reunion tour of 14 UK venues for November and December 2007, starting in Scotland and culminating at London's Shepherds Bush Empire. The reformed line up includes all original members, including both Joe Johnson and Paul Banks; though Fraser Smith does not appear to be involved in the reunion. This will be the the first time Banks has appeared on stage with the band since 1999. The announcement also stated "These plans do not affect the individual members’ projects which will continue as before. This includes Rick, who recently released a debut album with his new band The Dukes".

The announcement was timed in order to allow their Myspace fans to buy tickets from 07.07.2007.

Discography

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]

Albums

VHS

    • Stuffed (1997). Features all the Shed Seven promo videos up to the date of release, along with live footage of various album tracks and B-sides recorded at The Forum, London on December 16th 1996.

DVD

    • See Youse At The Barras (2003). Features Shed Seven recorded live in concert at the Glasgow Barrowlands, Scotland on December 3rd 2002.
    • Classic Shed Seven (2005). Released as part of the Universal Masters DVD Collection series, the disc contains the promo videos of 10 Shed Seven singles.

Trivia

  • The band were originally labelled by the NME as being New Wave of New Wave.
  • Some old Brockey Haven tracks were reinvented in the form of 'new' Shed Seven songs, such as the Speakeasy B-side, Your Guess Is As Good As Mine, and the 1998 single release, She Left Me On Friday, which is known to be a variation of the Brockley Haven song, Sexy Legs!.
  • Brockley Haven gained a notorious reputation on their local scene and, as such, were banned from playing in many of York's music venues.
  • Shed Seven frontman Rick Witter has a long running feud with Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills over an incident at the Brit Awards in 1997.
  • The 1996 album release, A Maximum High, was originally titled, In Colour.
  • In Q magazine's 150 Greatest Rock Lists Ever special edition (from July 2004), Alan Leach featured at number 9 on the 11 Rock Stars Who Have Suffered From Stage Fright list.
  • Change Giver was voted in at number 29 in the NME's 50 Best Albums of 1994 list, at number 38 in Melody Maker's Top 40 Albums of 1994 list, and at number 48 in Select's Top 50 Albums of 1994 list.
  • A Maximum High was voted in at number 20 in Select's Top 50 Albums of 1996 list, whilst Chasing Rainbows made the Top Singles list of the same year, placing at number 21.
  • In 1999, Disco Down was voted as the 19th best single of the year by the readers of Melody Maker.
  • Oasis, The Bluetones, Ash, Supergrass, Dodgy, Cast, Longpigs, Mansun, Catatonia, Clint Boon and Puressence have all had support slots at Shed Seven gigs.

Media

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