Why do some cities just have it?
From synth-pop number ones to underground techno classics, industrial funk to accidental Britpop icons, the Steel City might have produced more brilliant music per capita than any other world metropolis.
And yet, no one has published the definitive book on the subject – until now!
@ddywray is one of the UK’s best music writers, and his new book Groovy, Laidback and Nasty: The History of Independent Music in Sheffield chronicles the maverick artists, chart invaders, parties, labels, venues and even Christian cults that shaped the city’s musical history.
We talked to Dan about why Sheffield rejected punk rock for Kraftwerk and Wendy Carlos, how Peter Stringfellow became a crucial early mover in the city's club scene, and why there are no murals of Jarvis Cocker in the city centre. We also heard about the unlikely chain of events that birthed
@warprecords , and one of the most important yet undersung ‘80s club nights, Jive Turkey.
We also unveil a major expansion of our Rockufiction canon of ‘music films that bend reality’, including Frank Zappa, Daft Punk, Macca and S Club 7. That’ll probably be the final update on Rockufiction, but if you have any burning additions then get them in quick…
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