APRIL 2022
NUBIYAN TWIST BRING THE FUNK TO PEDDLER WAREHOUSE PROUDLY
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APRIL
JENNY SMITH
Jenny is a professional and versatile vocalist, and though rooted in jazz and popular music she effortlessly moves between many genres and styles. Her Band features some of the North’s finest jazz musicians. Playing arrangements of jazz standards, Jenny presents a varied set of hard swing and Latin American influenced jazz.
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BOB LUDLAM BAND
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THE BIG EASY
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THE DIZZY CLUB
WEDNESDAY
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WEDNESDAY
APRIL
WEDNESDAY
APRIL
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Playing old-fashioned jazz and swing, from Louis Armstrong to Frank Sinatra this group of musicians bring a real sense of fun to the party. Easy improvisation and spontaneity gets everyone singing and dancing and the skilful and accomplished musicians convey their own enjoyment in every tune.
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B I RT H DAY S & C E L E B R AT I O N S
CONTENTS 24
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APRIL 2022
FEATURES 24: TALKING ALL THAT JAZZ
Ahead of their upcoming headline show at Peddler Warehouse, Melanie Rawson sits down for a natter with Finn Booth and Nick Richards from eclectic Leeds/London musical collective Nubiyan Twist.
11: LAST CALL FOR VOTES
Yussir, it’s back. After a two-year hiatus, the Exposed Awards returns to biggup everything great and good about this wonderful city of ours. We’ve got the lowdown on this year’s event plus details on how you can cast your vote.
30: SUSTAINABLE SHEFF Sophie Watson speaks to a selection of local businesses doing their bit in working towards a greener future.
70: POP AND BOTBOPS
Everything Everything’s lead singer Jonathan Higgs chats to Mark Perkins about jamming with an algorithm to create their latest album, Raw Data Feel.
76: GONE TO THE DOGS
Sheffield artist Sarah Sharp AKA Tsarzi speaks to Tom Bell about her upcoming show inspired by Brexit and featuring new alterego Lady Britannia.
REGULARS
50: FOOD & DRINK 65: MUSIC 74: COMEDY 78: FILM 80: LGBT+ 83: CULTURE 86: ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
It makes me extremely pleased to report that spring has well and truly sprung here in the Steel City, bringing with it warmer climes, brighter days and, in keeping with the season’s spirit of bloom, a whole slew of fresh openings and events to get stuck into. This month alone will see a brand-new carnival heading to Kelham Island (p22), a family-friendly street food market arriving at Victoria Quays (p19) and work beginning on a container hub of retail units heading to the top of Fargate (p41). Throw in a few trusty old faves - Peddler Market, Pollen, Veg Out, Sheffield Music Trails, Sharrow Lantern Carnival - alongside a multitude of live music, comedy and theatre (rounded up for your convenience on pages 73, 60 and 94 respectively) and there’s plenty to keep you occupied as we take a few excitable steps towards what could be the first restriction-free summer in three years. Another biggie on the imminent horizon is the return of the Exposed Awards following its covid-enforced hiatus (p11). For those of you who aren’t familiar, the premise is simple: head to exposedmagazine.co.uk and vote for your favourite independents in a range of categories, then we invite the nominees to a big bash at Peddler Warehouse and announce the winners. It feels a tad poignant this year considering the difficulties faced by local businesses since the first national lockdown; there were moments where we all wondered whether our favourite places would still be there once restrictions lifted, so getting them together under one roof and celebrating their contribution to the cultural fabric of the city seems more important than ever. Our cover story this month is dedicated to genre-blending afro-jazz collective Nubiyan Twist, a genuinely innovative bunch of virtuoso musicians and producers who play Peddler Warehouse next month. I’d recommend their latest album Freedom Fables as a juicy appetiser, but for the full experience they’re an act that really needs to be seen live. With local partystarters Franz Von and La Rumba also on the bill, it’s guaranteed to be a lively one and the perfect way to ease yourself into festival season. Sticking with music, we’ve got some intriguing chats with Mancunian art-rockers Everything Everything (p70), Sheffield-based fraternal duo In The Nursery (p80) and shapeshifting eccentric pop artist Tsarzi (p76). That’s it from me this month. I’ll get off and leave you to it, eh? JF
NUBIYAN TWIST BRING THE FUNK TO PEDDLER WAREHOUSE PROUDLY
PARTY STARTERS
SUPPORTING
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING // TSARZI // IN THE NURSERY EXPOSED AWARDS 2022 // SHEFFIELD FC // KELHAM CARNIVAL
GAFFERS
Phil Turner (MD) phil@ exposedmagazine. co.uk Nick Hallam (Sales Director) nick@ exposedmagazine. co.uk
FINANCE
Lis Ellis (Accounts) accounts@ exposedmagazine. co.uk
GRAFTERS
Joe Food (Editor) joe@exposedmagazine. co.uk Ash Birch (Online Editor) ash@exposedmagazine. co.uk
GI’ US A HAND PLZ Heather Paterson, Cal Reid, Mark Perkins, Tom Bell, Grace Burr, Phoebe Melmoth, Eve Cowlishaw, Hannah Robinson
THE BUSINESS STUFF
EXPOSED IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY BLIND MICE MEDIA LTD UNIT 1B RIALTO 2 KELHAM SQUARE KELHAM RIVERSIDE SHEFFIELD S3 8SD The views contained herein are not necessarily those of Blind Mice Media Ltd and while every effort is made to ensure information throughout Exposed is correct, changes prior to distribution may take place which can affect the accuracy of copy, therefore Blind Mice Media Ltd cannot take responsibility for contributors’ views or specific entertainment listings.
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UPFRONT
DAYM! MCKEE MAKES RETURN
10K
PEOPLE ATTENDED THIS CLASS WORKS OVER 16 DAYS OF ITS RUN, PETE’S MOST RECENT EXHIBITION IN THE STEEL CITY.
2013
FIRST LARGE-SCALE HOME TOWN EXHIBITION OPENED, JOY OF SHEFF.
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THE ADDRESS OF FAGAN’S PUB, WHERE YOU’LL FIND MCKEE’S FAMOUS MURAL ‘THE SNOG’ PAINTED ON ITS SIDE.
Sheffield artist Pete Mckee returns with Don’t Adjust Your Mindset, a new mixed media exhibition. The new show is compiled of paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations which will take a look at modern British life and how we communicate today. Digital dependence, climate change, internet fame and police brutality are some of the themes explored, reflecting information the artist was inundated with while scrolling through social media during the pandemic. ‘DAYM’ will be exhibited in Sheffield 13th-22nd May at Millenium Gallery. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 9
The Categories
EXPOSED AWARDS 2022: VOTE NOW! Want to shout about your favourite people and places? It’s your last chance to vote for this year’s Exposed Awards! Following two years of covid-enforced cancellations, our grand ol’ do bigging up the best of Sheffield returns to Peddler Warehouse next month! As per, the Exposed readership has really turned out for this one, voting in their thousands to share the love about your favourite bars, pubs, clubs, shops, events, brands, restaurants businesses, salons, stylists, musicians and everything else that goes with making Sheff a pretty spiffing place to live. But we’re rapidly approaching last orders and will be ringing the bell on 11th April to bring an end to this year’s voting. So, if you want your vote to count, be sure to get ‘em in before time’s up! What’s The Plan? It’ll be the usual big night craic, taking place at Peddler Warehouse on Thursday 19th May and bigging up the best of the local scene spanning food, drink, culture, fashion, music and beyond – with all winners on the night chosen by you lovely lot, the Exposed readership, and a handpicked selection of local judges with expertise across a number of sectors: Franz Von (musician), Xanthe Palmer (BBC Radio Sheffield), Heather Paterson (SAYiT), Alex Deadman (Tramlines) and Mark Mobbs (Sheffield City Council). How do I vote? Simply by scooting along to exposedmagazine.co.uk (or scanning the QR code on this page) and filling in the form. Voting is open now and you’ve got up until 11th April to cast your votes. Once the votes are counted, we’ll announce the shortlist
for each category. The votes are split 50/50 between you guys and the judging panel (the Strictly method, basically). ‘Ow Much? Tickets are £40 a pop (£20 standing), which includes entry to the awards, drinks on arrival and food from a range of street food traders – as well as plenty of live entertainment to get you in the party mood.
Brought to you with the invaluble help of our lovely sponsors
1. Best Bar sponsored by Moretti 2. Best New Bar sponsored by Beavertown 3. Best Traditional Pub sponsored by Staropramen 4. Best Restaurant sponsored by Madri 5. Best New Restaurant sponsored by City Grab 6. Best Vegan or Vegetarian Restaurant sponsored by Rekorderlig 7. Best Sustainable Brand 8. Best Cultural Experience sponsored by OEC 9. The Tramlines Award for Best Local Event 10. Outdoor City Award 11. Best Café sponsored by PAGO 12. Best Indie Retailer sponsored by Napoleons 13. The Henderson’s Relish Made In Sheffield Award 14. Best Local Brewery 15. Best Live Venue sponsored by Heineken Silver 16. Best Club sponsored by Gatecrasher Apartments 17. Best Food Halls & Courtyards sponsored by Owlerton Stadium 18. Best Unsigned Band or Musician 19. Sarah Nulty Special Recognition Award
Fancy a biggun? Our favourite mezcal-soaked taqueria/late-night boogie hotspot piña will be hosting the (in)famous Exposed afterparty bash. In a nutshell… Exposed Awards 2022 May 19th Peddler Warehouse £40 seated // £20 standing Contact: nick@ exposedmagazine.co.uk // 0114 2757709
| 11 THE EXPOSED AWARDS 2022 IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR WONDERFUL VOTING PARTNERS MR WILSON’S AND CUBANAWWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK TAPAS BAR
BAGS OF LOVE Free tote bag when you #ShopLocalSheffield Look out for the poster in the windows of participating shops across Sheffield.
UPFRONT 2. Yoga is not just about the pose
In the West what we see on social media is mainly focused around postures (asana). However, Yoga is an entire body of philosophy, practices and poses dating back thousands of years. When you step into a yoga class, you are stepping into a living, breathing experience of a tradition that has been around for millennia. The 8 limbs of yoga are the foundation of a yogic lifestyle and the basis for the yogic tradition. Each limb covers a different aspect of yogic practice, and together they form guidance on how to achieve freedom from suffering, inner peace and selfrealisation. The poses (asana) are just one limb.
THINGS YOU ONLY KNOW IF YOU’RE A...
YOGI 1. You don’t have to be flexible to do Yoga
There is a common misconception that you must be flexible to start going to Yoga. In reality, flexibility is a by-product of a regular yoga practice. It is also really important to acknowledge that everybody is unique, and some bodies may be more naturally flexible than others. And that’s OK! It doesn’t mean you are ‘bad’ at yoga, it means your body is unique to you and that your journey with yoga can be rooted in getting to know these edges.
3. Yoga is rooted in spirituality, but you don’t have to be spiritual to do Yoga
People start their Yoga journey for various reasons: addressing anxiety and depression, learning more about mindfulness, building strength and flexibility in the body, etc. Most people stay with their yoga practice because it gives them the opportunity to dive into self-inquiry, brings about more self-compassion and creates a path of self-discovery. It delivers a whole lot more than their original goal.
4. Showing up to class is often the hardest part
There is no mistaking that some of the poses and practices in Yoga create challenges for the body and the mind, but sometimes the biggest challenge is turning up to class at all. In our busy lives, it’s easy (and often rewarded) to put the needs of others above our own, and it can be hard to step away from those patterns and take time for yourself. The mind is good at putting obstacles in the way, and it takes devotion to Self and to the practice to overcome this mental barrier.
5. Yoga means union
At the heart of Yoga is unity. Yogis recognise the importance of connection and creating communities. This ethos is at the heart of Soul Fire Studios, where we create a space for all to feel welcome and to explore their Yoga journey in a supportive environment. Everyone’s Yoga journey is unique and it is a beautiful experience to share with a collective of like-minded individuals. Jasmin is a certified traditional yoga, hot yoga and aerial yoga teacher working at Soul Fire Studios, which is located at 7 Edgedale Road. She is also a Rebirthing Breathwork practitioner and leads bi-monthly breathwork and cacao ceremonies – also at Soul Fire Studios. soulfirestudios.co.uk @soul.fire.studios @iamjasminchew WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 13
UPFRONT
TOTES
AMAZING This month, four specially designed tote bags encouraging Sheffielders to shop local will be available from selection of independent retailers in the city.
The initiative fronted by Business Sheffield saw local company BIDBI (Bag It Don’t Bin It) producing the eco-friendly bags, while local agency Eleven Design worked with Marketing Sheffield to help bring the creative side of the vision to life. To give the bags a truly local flavour, four Steel City artists were commissioned to provide the eye-catching designs: Oli Frape, Suzi Kemp, Aleema Ali and Lydia Lapinski. The brief was to create artwork inspired by the city and themed around shopping locally and supporting the wider high-street community. The limited run of bags will be distributed to high-street businesses across the city, who will then decide individually how to make use of them, be that as a free gift for spending a certain amount, as part of a loyalty/reward scheme or simply as a welcome gift to first-time customers! Following an exceptionally challenging two years for the high street, it is hoped that this awareness project coinciding with the removal of Covid-19 restrictions and the arrival of Spring will help to stimulate trade and pride in local retail. Keep an eye out for posters displayed in shop windows letting you know which businesses are stocking the totes. And as ever, don’t forget to share the love on social media when shopping local using the #ShopLocalSheffield hashtag!
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OLI FRAPE I’m passionate about supporting local independent businesses and we’re fortunate enough to have loads of them in Sheffield. It feels like there’s a strong independent spirit in this city and I’m proud to be a part of it. I live in Meersbrook, where we’ve got a great collection of indies. Create Coffee on Chesterfield Road is a good spot and always buzzing with people. The Tramshed bar next door is also great (every community needs a good independent bar, right?!) A few doors further up is the record shop Spinning Discs, and I should also mention Kopi and Chai café – which is literally a minute from my door and does good coffee and food. My lettering for this project is a nod to vintage temporary ‘sale’ signs that sign-writers used to make for local businesses, known as Sho’ Cards. They’d have been hand-painted by a local sign-writer, just on card or something impermanent, and used by local independent shops to promote that day’s special offer. It seemed like the perfect response/reference for the theme of this project. @olifrape ALEEMA ALI I got involved with this project because it meant me designing for local shops, getting people to shop more locally and supporting all those small incredible businesses. I mostly wanted to focus on the food sector; there are so many incredible cafes, restaurants and markets in Sheffield that I feel need so much more attention.
When it comes to independents, I mostly use cafes, restaurants and markets. My favourite has to be Burritos Y Mas, as they do some incredible burritos. I also like Hygge Café – it’s such a nice, chilled-out environment and does amazing dishes and desserts. Last but not least is the Sandwich Division on Division Street – these guys do the best sandwiches you will ever taste. The inspiration behind my design was all the independent local cafes, restaurants and food markets. I did illustrations based on what these local shops provide such as cakes, sandwiches, burritos and much more. My design consists of bright and bold colours reflecting the local businesses. @designs_by_aleema SUZI KEMP I really admire Eleven Design and follow the work they do, so was really happy when they asked me to get involved in this project. I love visiting and exploring independent shops and events in Sheffield; it was a joy to interpret and reflect this through illustration. A few of my favourite Sheffield independents are Pom Kitchen for curated gifts and the prettiest food you’ve ever seen; All Carrot No Stick, a completely plant-based grocery store, Lembas, Sheffield Makers, Saucy, Baked and Caked, Create Coffee, Forge (for vegan cinnamon swirls), Mookau, Zeds, Cafe No 9. Moonko is amazing because it’s filled with dried flowers, then there’s also Ozmens, Spinning Discs, Kelham Arcade and Empire News for a trove of sweets and seasoning!
For this design, I illustrated some of the items available to buy through independent shops in Sheffield, and also wanted to capture the friendliness of the communities behind these shopping experiences! I’ve used wildlifeinspired character design to capture the diversity, community and positivity present in Sheffield’s local independents. The use of animals is a nod to the wildlife and nature abundant in our city and its surroundings, too. Hopefully, this design communicates the friendliness and supportiveness of Sheffield communities in a joyful, colourful way! @suzikemp LYDIA LAPINSKI The main reason I was happy to get involved with this project is because I’m really passionate about supporting Sheffield’s many independent shops and businesses. I think they all need a bit more love at the moment. I love to shop for clothes, haberdashery, toys and trinkets at St Luke’s Vintage and Kelham Arcade. Or if I feel like a treat, a nice bunch of flowers or a new plant, I’ll head to Swallows and Damsons or Plant. If I’m meeting friends we usually head to South Street Kitchen or Albies, and for days with my daughter we love to head to Cocoa Wonderland or Pom Kitchen for some treats. For the design I was thinking about each square being a snapshot of a little happy memory – anything from finding a piece of treasure after hunting in a shop or just getting some food you just really fancy. @thoughtsmakethings WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 15
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TRAVEL IN STYLE
Exposed Magazine tries out City Taxis’ long-distance executive vehicle service, City Connect, and discovers why they are much more than just a local taxi service. City Connect is the new premium travel service from City Taxis – and is ideal for your next family holiday, lads or gals holidays, or stag and hen do. It utilises high end, executive vehicles ranging from Mercedes S-Class to Tesla Electric to Mercedes V-Class for group bookings. Passengers are invited to travel in optimum comfort and forget the stresses of airport transfers and airport parking, with services available in Sheffield, Chesterfield, Barnsley and Rotherham, making it ideal for travelling to the airport or your next special occasion. Sharing their satisfaction with the new service, previous customers said: “Thank you so much! My mum’s driver was awesome and that car!! Thanks so much, my mum said she felt like royalty.” “Travelling with Connect was an excellent, comfortable, polite and friendly experience.” “Top service from you guys today. I really appreciate your help with the airport transfers!” “I was that impressed by last night’s ride home I’ve decided against booking the airport parking. Instead I’m getting this beautiful car and lovely driver to take me there.” Suitable for business journeys as well as taking the whole family away, the services includes meet and greet at the airport and preallocated drivers to guarantee stress-free experience, as well as the opportunity to book executive travel for clients and minibuses for events and group travel. With restrictions now lifted on entry to the UK, now is the perfect time to look at booking a last-minute Easter getaway, and why not travel in style with City Taxi’s new City Connect service.
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To request a journey, email our dedicated booking team on connect@ citytaxis.com or call 03301 220 045. More info can be found on our website: city-connect.co.uk.
Picture: Joe Griffiths
A MIDLANDER UP NORTH “Despite the endless walking up hills and wind forcing you in every other direction, Sheffield has a charm like no other. ” I moved to Sheffield 18 months ago. The sun was beaming that day and, mixed with the excitement of moving out of my parents’ place and meeting new people, I was eager to start the next stage of my life. I’m not going to lie to you, the first year of university feels like a complete blur: a constant shift in and out of lockdown, being home by 10pm and basically being forbidden to have contact with anybody outside of my flat. A flat, I might add, where its only views were a brick wall and the back of Ozmens. A flat that I was put into with five strangers, with one who only made it 17 hours until she dropped out. I was lucky enough to form a friendship with the only other girl I lived with, Lauren. She was the first friend I made in Sheffield and we clicked instantly. We found that we were similar, maybe too similar, but that helped us navigate our way through all the weirdness of university during the height of the pandemic. We managed to make other friends beyond the flat walls, which was a relief. After nearly coming to the end of first year it was weird to think that all these people I had met I’d never been out with – not even a quick pint down the pub. Then April came and, finally, we were free to get out and socialise in bars. I was proud of myself. I had come to a new city
BY EVE COWLISHAW
“THE STREETS MAY LOOK DINGY AND WORN TO THE NAKED EYE, BUT PEEL BACK THAT INDUSTRIAL LOOK & YOU’RE PRESENTED WITH COLOURFUL, INTRICATE GRAFFITI...”
not knowing anyone or anything about it. By the end of my first year I had a group of friends from up and down the country and a new job. This is when I realised how much I loved the city I lived in, more than I ever loved my hometown of Nottingham. The streets may look dingy and worn to the naked eye, but if you peel back that industrial look, you’re presented with colourful, intricate graffiti that lines the walls of most streets. Despite the endless walking up hills and wind forcing you in every other direction, Sheffield has a charm like no other. From its endless amounts of boozers, to the greenery of the Peaks right on your doorstep. It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling, like when you’ve been out in the treacherous weather and finally get to that cosy pub with the blazing fire. Coming from only 40 minutes down the M1, I never knew I had such a thick Notts accent until my Sheffield-born boyfriend said, “Oh god, you sounded so Nottingham then.” And the constant debate of whether I’m a Northerner or Southerner still rears its head… (the votes are in and I’m a Midlander). It’s crazy to think I’m about to go into my final year of university and I’ll be one of those students standing in a graduation gown on the City Hall’s steps. But for now, I’m happy up north and now consider Sheffield my home. Sorry, Nottingham!
EVE IS A STUDENT STUDYING AT HALLAM UNIVERSITY WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 17
UPFRONT
DOWN BY THE QUAYSIDE
There’s a new family-friendly street food market heading to Victoria Quays this month…
Quayside Market launches on Saturday 9 April in the heart of the canal basin and will feature a host of independent street food traders, craft beer, familyfriendly activities, local arts and crafts under the arches. Now, we’re more than partial to the new Victoria Quaysbased market is set to become a regular monthly event on the under-utilised quayside and runs from 12–9pm with stages for DJs and musicians running throughout the day. Market organiser Bally Johal, who also owns True Loves restaurant based on The Quays, said: “It’s a great spot for a market. I think the challenge here is just letting people know it’s actually here! There’s still a lot of people in Sheffield who don’t know it exists, which is a travesty.” “The market will help bring a monthly footfall all the time. There are already some great businesses down here. We’re creating a place where you
can come down and sit in a public space and hang out, have a beer and some good food and bring the family. It’ll be heavily focused around families because it’s not industrial here, we’re not trying to do the same as Peddler.” Another different feature to the usual street food markets you’re used to will be the market’s unique cups. Rather than offer disposable cups, the Quayside Market will use cups specially designed by local artists that
marketgoers will be able to purchase on the day and take home, or if you don’t want to keep, pay a deposit and return when you leave. The market is being set up in conjunction with the Canal and Riverside Trust Part and of the reason for the move away from disposable cups is an effort to take into consideration the local community that live around the quays and on the boats that are moored there. Bally explains: “It’s important
to remember that it is a living community and people live on the boats, so we always say to be mindful of that, and to be respectful. Whilst it’s a public space, it’s like anywhere, if you live here and there’s rowdy people that are shouting and leaving plastic cups everywhere, it’s not nice, so we want people to enjoy it respectfully.” “It is a beautiful space, and to respect that we’re doing the whole deposits on cups and that’s also a bit Sheffield if you take away, but equally, we’re respecting the environment and not just throwing these cups away, because they’ll look great.” “We live in a city built around the waterside and we need to celebrate our waterways a bit more. These spaces are there to enjoy and they’re great, and this event is another way we can enjoy them.” For more info, head over to quaysidemarket.co.uk or follow @ quaysidesheffield WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 19
UPFRONT
THE CLUB ON TOUR
In the early days of Sheffield FC’s illustrious history, the club were keen to spread the word of where football originated. This led to a number of trips into Europe and further afield, a tradition that has continued until today as they build networks across the globe celebrating pioneers of the beautiful game.
Spreading the word It all goes back to the 1890s. In 1894, Sheffield FC embarked on a European trip to play a game in the Netherlands, then to Belgium the following year. This has led to the claim that Sheffield FC were the first football team on the continent – although this is a difficult statement to prove. These strong links with the Netherlands continued a few decades later when, in 1946, Sheffield FC played a friendly against FC Eindhoven, bringing home the Eindhoven Cup, a trophy the club still have in their possession today. More fixtures were arranged over the coming years and later research into the club’s blossoming relationship at this time uncovered stories about how soldiers from Sheffield, some of them players for Sheffield FC, were actually involved in the liberation of Eindhoven during the Second World War. Back to the early 1900s and a popular Sheffield FC player, Frederick Milnes, was part of an amateur representative team of British footballers who toured the US, aiming to secure a foothold for ‘soccer’ in American culture. Aptly named ‘The Pilgrims’, the team toured the States in 1905 and 1909, first visiting Canada before moving south into the States for fixtures in St Louis and Boston. Back on British soil and another important relationship for the club is with Queen’s Park, the oldest amateur football club in Scotland, which has seen some illustrious fixtures taking place over the years – most notably the centenary celebrations in 1957, where a crowd of 5,000 (which included The Duke of Edinburgh, no less) witnessed a 2-2 draw between the two sides. More memorable meetings between the sides have taken places at Hillsborough and Hampden Park, with plans in the works to get this historic fixture back on the cards in the not too distant future!
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Recent escapades That’s just a small trip through the annals of Sheffield FC’s international history. To bring it up to date, we sat down with Sheffield FC chairman Richard Tims, who told us a bit more about the club’s more recent globetrotting escapades. The first big modern-day trip abroad was in 07/08 when Sheffield FC were invited to field a team in the HKFC Soccer Sevens, an annual tournament hosted by Hong Kong FC, the oldest club in Hong Kong. Also participating in the competition were a number of professional clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, PSV Eindhoven and Aston Villa – the latter of whom would go on to win the trophy. The following year, the club returned to play the tournament with a couple of well-known ringers in tow, none other than former Sheffield Wednesday keeper Kevin Pressman and former Sheffield United striker Tony Agana. India Pre-season fixtures in Germany and Poland followed, but a 16-day stint in India during the 2010/11 season was certainly the most eventful. Starting out in Kolkata, the team were assigned bodyguards for their stay (for alleged fear of kidnap) and they played their first games in a mini tournament up against Mohun Bagan (India’s oldest club), East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting Club. Richard takes it from here: “We played at the 120,000 capacity Salt Lake Stadium, which was incredible. We were in the stands to watch the game between Mohun Began and East Bengal, which we didn’t realise was such a big rivalry. There were about 40,000 fans inside and the game kicked off to fireworks and flares, before later in the game a goal triggered a full riot between the
fans on the terraces and the match was abandoned. It was a crazy experience!” Reaching their next destination on the tour saw the club coach having to navigate the infamous ‘death roads’ in the country’s more mountainous regions, passing overturned cars and roadside crash memorials on the way. “And then when we arrived at the hotel, our manager at the time, Gavin Smith, had a hypoallergic reaction to some fish,” says Rich. “His lips ballooned but thankfully he was able to find local doctor in time. So, you could say it was an eventful trip…” Russia The club’s latest international trip prior to covid restrictions also falls into the ‘eventful category’, a trip which saw the club play some matches in Russia. A game against Torpedo Moscow ended up in 5-1 defeat but was watched by 13 million on live TV. A game against Lokomotiv Moscow reserves followed in another crushing defeat before a garden party was hosted by the British Ambassador to Russia who had a special request for Richard. “I was invited to lay a wreath to honor to the war dead at a commemoration of the start of the German-Soviet War, which of course I accepted. It was another experience I’ll never forget.” The Pioneers In terms of what the future holds for Sheffield FC abroad, Brazil has been cautiously mentioned as the next destination. But in the meantime, they are looking to add more clubs to their Club of Pioneers list - a worldwide network of the oldest continuing football clubs. “The idea is to build a global network of likeminded football clubs to promote the importance of football history and its grassroots,” Richard explains. “We’ve got around 25 already signed up, but there’s another 200-plus to go for – we’re looking forward to building more longlasting relationships across the globe with the world’s first football club.” sheffieldfc.com // @_sheffieldfc // @sheffieldfc
BE PART OF FOOTBALL HISTORY SCAN THE QR CODE TO JOIN THE WORLD’S FIRST FOOTBALL CLUB AND RECEIVE REWARDS.
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UPFRONT
ROLL UP, ROLL UP Kelham Island’s Saw Grinder’s Union, in Globe Works, welcomes a brand-new carnival to its courtyards this April, featuring unique street food vendors, all-day DJ sets, and their own amazing burgers, craft beers and cocktails. The all-new Kelham Carnival will take place courtyards over the bank holiday weekend from 15 – 17 April and is set to become a regular monthly feature on the Kelham calendar. The carnival will feature somewhere between three and five independent street food vendors that organisers tell us are set to be slightly more unusual than your standard street food fare, with a seafood vendor from London already amongst plans for the unique line-up of traders. One of the event’s organisers, Alp Ozan, explains: “Kelham Carnival is going to be a new monthly event on our courtyards. Throughout the summer months it’s going to have more of a summery vibe, with dancers and DJs all day and unique street food vendors because we really want to add something different.” “I’m feeling pretty good about the event and I think it’s going to be really successful. I believe, if the weather is on our side, it will have a really good festival vibe and people are going to have great fun.” Contingency plans are in place for huge gazebos if the British weather doesn’t play ball, and the party will move inside the venue after 11pm, keeping the party going until 2am on the Saturday and Sunday. Alp, who is also part of the new Grind Café set up, is looking forward to inviting people down to the venue and has always enjoyed putting on events. “It’s just a childhood passion,” says Alp. “When I was young, I always told my mom to open me a nightclub and she was like, ‘No, you’re going to university.’” “I think even when I was at uni, my true love was always parties. Not because I wanted to get drunk by the bar, just because I just enjoy bringing people together and making them happy.” 22 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Kelham Carnival takes place on 15 – 17 April, and from 7pm – 12pm Friday 15, and 11am – 2am on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April. In the meantime, for your chance to win a table of six as well as a £200 bar tab at the event simply... > share the ‘Kelham Carnival’ event on Facebook > click attending on the event > tag your table of six on the event page
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PEDDLER WAREHOUSE
Set in Kelham Island, Peddler Warehouse is a 7500 square foot ex-industrial warehouse turned independent event space. Known originally for hosting the popular Peddler Market, in recent years it’s become a popular venue on the local live music scene, putting on some memorable shows with the likes of Children of Zeus, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and the Ibiza Classics Orchestra. @peddlerwarehouse
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COVER STORY
Ahead of their upcoming show at Peddler Warehouse, Melanie Rawson talks improvisation, writing modern-day parables and the commodification of jazz music with Finn Booth and Nick Richards from eclectic Leeds/London musical collective Nubiyan Twist. How has it been coming back to performing live? FB: There was a point during lockdown where I genuinely felt like proper live gigs were never going to happen again. For me, there was almost a grieving process. I thought this really could be it for my live music career and so when it came back it was just a massive release of emotion and celebration. Of course, it also came with a bit of anxiety being around hundreds of people again. The whole experience was really intense. NR: I remember I kept thinking, will it mean something different to gig again after the pandemic? For me, it’s become more profound really. Everyone’s been struggling and we all needed something, whether that was playing on stage or watching a band or working at a festival. I think we all needed a release and to be with one another again. The best thing about it is looking out into the crowd and just seeing people together having an amazing time. To be part of that is amazing. It feels a lot bigger than people just going to see a band. It’s like we’re all sharing something we’ve needed.
INTO THE GROOVE
You’re such a big band [11 core members]. Do you think the isolation of lockdown made you realise anything that you took for granted about big band life? NR: I think the social aspect of music is such a big thing for us. Music is not just a career; it’s deeply ingrained in the way we function and connect together as friends. It’s quite a typical musician thing to only see your mates on the gigs because finding time to hang out outside of that can be difficult. Throughout the pandemic, I felt like I’d lost touch with my main group of friends. We’re such a close band and we really do get on. I think that’s what has enabled us to keep going for so long. You’ve mentioned before that Freedom Fables references a lot of music that you all loved during your formative years. Was there a musical experience for you that really cemented becoming a musician in your mind? FB: I was exposed to music from a really young age. Lots of people in my family play instruments and my dad is a music journalist, so I remember he would get CDs in the post and then play them around the house to review them for newspapers. For me, it almost wasn’t even a decision. Becoming a musician was just something that kind of happened. NR: Like Finn, there was always music in the house because my dad played bass for a hobby. I remember, in school, my friends
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COVER STORY
were starting this punk band and said they needed someone to play bass. I knew there was one in our cupboard, so I grabbed this battered old Fender bass and had a go. I guess what I’m saying is the most important thing for me was people coming together to make music. It didn’t matter if it sounded good or not, it was the social aspect that was important. Since then, there’s never been a conscious decision to make a career out of music; it’s more like I need to do this to function as a human being and to be happy. Music is so meaningful to me, I guess so much so that it’s almost to my detriment sometimes. You have such a wide variety of vocalists/vocal styles in your music. When in the creative process do you decide who goes on which track and how much that makes it onto a recording is improvised? NR: I think on this most recent album it’s been about holding the singers and really using our music to facilitate them and their story. I remember we did a session in the middle of the pandemic for BBC 6 Music where we worked with three different vocalists: Ego Ella May, Cherise and Ria Moran. Within four hours we’d recorded with all these different singers, and I can remember sitting back and being really impressed how we’d managed to shape ourselves and our music to fit with all these completely different vibes. FB: In terms of improvisation, there’s a funny phenomenon that happens when we play live. Generally, we’re trying to play the tunes as perfectly as possible, but it’s so tempting to try and
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sneak in some little bits that aren’t on the album. Sometimes you can’t even help yourself. On stage, you’ll notice that someone has changed the harmony or put a slightly different chord in and it’s quite fun trying to gauge how subtle you can be and what you can get away with. If you had the chance to collaborate with any artist active right now, who would you choose? What about if we resurrected someone? NR: I think someone like Kano. He’s just such an amazing lyricist and I’ve been listening to his stuff for years. We’ve never quite explored that side of grime or UK rap. FB: In terms of the resurrection, weirdly, I don’t actually know if he’s dead or not but there’s a Brazilian drummer and percussionist called Airto Moreira. He’s a bit of a hero of mine and maybe had we lived 20 or 30 years ago I would have loved to collaborate with him. I’m going to check if he’s still alive though. Some people have an idea of jazz as a bit of a lofty, unapproachable genre but you manage to make your sound approachable whilst retaining real complexity. How do you find a way to communicate elements of jazz to listeners who might otherwise write the genre off? NR: Often people are thinking of earlier jazz, like 1950s jazz – something really fast and technical. In reality, jazz is about taking themes and genres of your time and using them as the inspiration to compose, improvise and explore music. People are able to relate to our music a bit more because we’re often referencing genres that are around now like hip hop, dub and contemporary African music. That’s the most important thing about jazz: you’re pushing forward with it and trying to fuse contemporary ideas, genres and sounds. Jazz is more of a process than an actual sound itself. FB: When people hear the word jazz they often think of a really expensive jazz club or hotel lounge. I think that has come from the music industry commodifying jazz. They’ve taken a type of music that didn’t start out as an elitist thing at all and tried to make it this luxury, expensive product. It’s interesting because I think the resurgence of improvised music of Black American origin in this country over the last 10 years or so has kind of shattered that idea of jazz being an inaccessible art form. It’s nice that people
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COVER STORY can see that it doesn’t necessarily have to be that. You can dance to jazz, you can listen to it in your headphones. UK jazz has blossomed as a scene over the last few years. Where do you think it’s heading and where does that take you as a band? NR: It’s amazing because it seems like there’s a whole other generation of musicians coming up now who have a fresh perspective and can push the music to areas that jazz musicians from previous generations weren’t able to do. The jazz scene has always been going. It was going way before it became this popular thing, but I think audiences are a lot more open to listening to more challenging music now. We’ve definitely seen that change. The festival scenes and the band scenes really didn’t have this level of improvised music. It was what we call party bands. You created a fun set to play at festivals, and that’s what the vibe was. Now it feels like there’s more depth, more challenging music in the festival lineups. I think it’s great that it’s opened things up, it’s definitely given us more opportunities to share our music. What would you love to change about the music industry? FB: One thing I’d like to change is having more women headlining festivals. You look at a festival lineup and the vast majority of musicians on the top slots are men, or fronted by men. I really hope that will change, especially because there’s so many exciting female musicians coming out in the live improvised music scene. That would be one of many things I’d love to see change. NR: I think we need to be able to gig in Europe for the band to survive. It’s very difficult to make any project function on the UK scene alone. We’ve seen so many venues close down, and you get to the point where there’s just not the shows there to sustain the project. It definitely needs to be easier to tour in the EU. There also needs to be better policy around musicians – their security and the support they have access to. The last couple of years, like for so many other professions, have been really quite bad for musicians. If performing is your main income and suddenly it’s just taken away it’s obviously going to be pretty brutal. The government needs a bit of a kick up the arse because it’s really not fair considering the amount of money the music industry brings into the economy.
Definitely one of unity. We’ve always tried to be a band that can facilitate the crossing of different cultures. I think the focus for this record in particular has been about holding the vocalists and allowing them to tell their story.
I love the idea that Freedom Fables is an album full of parables for modern life. What’s the parable you’d like listeners to take away from your music in general? NR: Definitely one of unity. We’ve always tried to be a band that can facilitate the crossing of different cultures. I think the focus for this record in particular has been about holding the vocalists and allowing them to tell their story. We want people to know that everyone’s story is valid, everyone’s struggle is valid and we want to stress the importance of being listened to. It’s about finding a way, whether through music or through talking to a friend, to express your troubles. Everyone needs that. Certainly, for me, singing a couple of tracks on the album allowed me to process stuff and share things in a safe way. This band has allowed me to express things that I find difficult to think about in any other way.
Nubiyan Twist play Peddler Warehouse on Saturday 21st May and their latest album Freedom Fables is out now. Get tickets from skiddle.com.
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SUSTAINABLE
Sheffield
WORDS: SOPHIE WATSON
The Steel City is estimated to have over 4.5 million trees – that’s a higher tree to person ratio than any other city in Europe. With 250 parks and around 22,600 acres of green space to enjoy, it’s no wonder Sheffield was named the greenest city in the UK last year. Since close ties to nature are very much part of our cultural DNA, it’s no surprise that there are a wide number of independent businesses across the city working hard to reduce carbon footprints and offer customers a sustainable alternative to fast fashion, supermarket shopping and singleuse products. Last month, I spoke to business owners in Sheffield’s hospitality and retail industries to see what processes they’re implementing to help protect our planet from further costly environmental damage.
The Nook Set up in July 2020, not long after the first
national lockdown, The Nook is a hair salon offering clients the highest quality experience whilst minimising their impact on the planet. Owner Hannah Emmerich likes to call this “hairdressing with a conscience”. The Nook is always looking for ways to reduce its carbon footprint and increase the use of local organic products in the salon. Hannah pushes to recycle as much as possible: the salon uses disposable compostable towels and gloves, hair cuttings are composted and all foils used for colouring are recycled. This is done through the Green Salon Collective, a company that focuses on finding circular solutions for salon waste. For colouring products, The Nook uses sustainable beauty brand Davines, who go above and beyond to reduce their 30 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
carbon footprint and use recycled plastic packaging. They also encourage clients to use their refillable product system instead of buying brand-new. All their products are environmentally-friendly and locally sourced where possible, including the floral decorations inside the salon, which are bought from independent Sheffield businesses. The Nook does not stop there, however. The whole salon runs solely on electric energy and all cleaning products are sourced from the aforementioned low-waste lifestyle store Bare Alternative. Hannah said: “As much as being sustainable is important, supporting fellow independents in Sheffield is also really important to us.” “We’re always growing and learning so, as much as we go above and beyond to be sustainable at present, we’ll always look for ways to be even more sustainable.” thenookhair.co.uk
Did You Know?
In 2019, a YouGov study of over 9000 consumers found that they were 67% more likely to choose a product or service from a business that is acting on climate change and the environment.
Photography: Lucy Revis
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SUSTAINABLE SHEFFIELD
The Bare Alternative
Mathew Reynolds opened The Bare Alternative after being inspired by the Crookes zero-waste shop ‘Unwrapped’. Looking to provide the Nether Edge community with a sustainable alternative to supermarket shopping, the Bare Alternative opened in November 2018 as a zero-waste refill store, bringing affordable packagefree shopping to Sheffield. The shop stocks dry food, oils, cooking/baking ingredients and household cleaning supplies for customers to buy as refills. The prices are measured by weight and customers can collect items in any container they want (or BYOC!). Mathew told me: “We get people coming in with takeaway boxes for washing up liquid. Some people who are walking even bring plastic freezer bags to decant them when they get home.” In December 2020, after its initial success, the Bare Alternative moved to a bigger space on Abbeydale Road, allowing the store to expand the list of products it sells. The shop now stocks a wide range of everyday sustainable alternatives and personal care products alongside its refillable items. These products are package-conscious and made of recyclable materials. “We’ve now renamed ourselves as a refill and low-waste lifestyle store,” Mathew said. “We always look for where we can make products refillable, but if the product isn’t suitable for this, we look for packaging which can be easily disposed of and recycled at the end of the product’s life.” Bare Alternative hopes to continue to expand its product inventory and introduce smaller refill stations filled with seasonal dried food. A lot of research goes into the products being sold, ensuring that they fit the ethos and genuinely make the difference. Mathew enjoys hearing suggestions from his customers about what the shop should stock next and hastens to mention his appreciation for their support through the pandemic. “I’m always thankful to the community. They kept us running through Covid and supported us in what we are trying to do.” barealternative.co.uk
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SUSTAINABLE SHEFFIELD
Lavang In 2021, Lavang became a certified carbon-neutral restaurant.
Did You Know? “It is estimated that five million tonnes of plastic is used every year in the UK, nearly half of which is packaging.” (gov.uk)
Located on Fulwood Road, owner and executive chef Jay Kawsar has worked hard to reduce the business’ carbon footprint and energy used on-site. Alongside a number of sustainable business practices, the restaurant now runs a smaller, seasonal menu which they change every 4-6 months. The basics are important, too, such as ensuring no food wastage, ensuring all appliances are switched off before closing and employing local staff to reduce the distance travelled to work. On top of all these efforts, in order to achieve their goal of being a carbon-neutral business the Lavang team then had to go through the process of calculating their emissions by partnering with (TAG) Carbon Neutral Britain. After a rigorous and public registration and issuance process, a third-party audit is overseen by the CDM Executive Board (appointed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), then ratified by the Kyoto Protocol. Once this was all in place, they could then announce that they are certified as a Carbon Neutral Business. Lavang’s unique twist on Asian cuisine provides guests with an “elevated experience”, serving up dishes far from anything you would find at a local curry house. Alongside the restaurant’s thoughtfully crafted menu of innovative plates and signature dishes, customers can choose a drink from Lavang’s curated wine list to complement the diverse flavours of their cuisine. “It’s not that we don’t like the traditional Asian food, we just want our guests to try something different and have an experience. Dishes on our menu include Indian flavouring, but it’s a lot more subtle and a lot more refined,” said Jay. In February this year, Lavang celebrated its five-year anniversary after opening in 2017. With their carbon-neutral status achieved, the restaurant hopes to one day be a Net Zero business. But, for now, Lavang’s short to medium-term sustainable goal is to get planning permission to convert their outdoor space, so they can start producing their own renewable energy on-site. “We hope we’re making a difference and by doing so, this shows us in a different light to our clientele.” lavangsheffield.co.uk
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SUSTAINABLE SHEFFIELD
Vulgar
Celebrating its 10th anniversary next year, Vulgar has earned its spurs when it comes to delivering sustainable fashion to Sheffield.
Picture: White Rose
Owned by couple Amber Savage and Liam Smith, Vulgar was founded through their mutual love of vintage fashion and second-hand clothes. As a company, the shop sells vintage items, second-hand designer garments and reworked pieces. The clothing store also sells deadstock items, allowing Vulgar to keep on trend by finding clothing items unworn from decades ago. They are always looking out for old shop stock from the noughties, particularly skatewear and vintage rave gear. The shop also repair and mend garments while upcycling thousands of items each year to sell to the Sheffield public. Amber said: “I think my best tip, whether you’re shopping vintage, second-hand or from a new sustainable label, is to look at what things are made of.” “You’re always better off with clothing made of natural fibres like pure silk, cotton, denim, pure wool and cashmere in my experience, as they last and wash better as well as feel nicer on your skin.” vulgarsheffield.com
White Rose 9 + 10
Opening in April last year, White Rose 9 is labelled a charity shop but not as we know them. Inside the Ecclesall Road store, customers will find “handpicked recycled fashion” which includes many designer brands. White Rose aims to offer an affordable alternative to fast fashion, marketing themselves as an ethical and sustainable clothing brand. There are now 13 shops across the UK and Ecclesall road is also home to White Rose 10, a men’s clothing and accessories shop. Jess Bradshaw, store manager of WR9, told me: “We want to be the blueprint for second hand recycled fashion.” “I think your typical charity shops are great to look through when you’re on the hunt for that amazing piece, but when you shop at White Rose everything is handpicked so nothing will be of bad quality, ripped or stained.” A focus on the planet is important, but so are wider global issues. The company was founded by two Nottingham Trent graduates back in 2010 after being inspired by the works of the Aegis Trust charity in Rwanda, a charity that recognises the issue of climate change and works to prevent genocide and mass atrocities worldwide. Profits go towards supporting the trust’s vital work and the store itself is named ‘White Rose’ in recognition of a WW2 Nazi resistance group set up by Munich university students in 1942. Jess continued: “If a donated item isn’t fit for our store, we either send it back to the main warehouse in Nottingham to filter through to our White Rose outlet stores. If the item is not right for the outlets, the item will get tagged and sent to a developing nation. None of our items end up in landfill – they always get used somehow.” “What someone doesn’t love anymore, someone else will love now and I think that is the way we should shop.” @whiterosesheffield // @whiterosesheffieldmens
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Thrift & Bits
This sustainable clothing brand focuses on delivering customers quality and individuality through their re-worked pieces. The Thrift and Bits ethos aims to give clothing a second chance, encouraging sustainable shopping to help look after the planet. Looking for a vintage sports jumper or a new bag to style out an outfit? Thrift and Bits has you sorted. Some of their tees even have Sir David Attenborough quoted on the back of them: “The future of humanity and indeed all life on earth depends on us.” The Thrift and Bits team love fashion, and it’s what motivates them to do what they do. Laura and Ed Grosvenor, a married couple and co-owners of the store, told me: “Shopping sustainably is important because the impact of fast fashion on the environment is extremely damaging.” “You don’t have to buy new items to look and feel great and this way, you can feel even better knowing you look good and that your purchase was another small piece of change.” “It’s important that we all try to change the way we view buying clothing and aim to reduce waste.” thriftandbits.com
Picture: Anisa M Photography
SUSTAINABLE SHEFFIELD
The Food Works
In 2015, Jo Hercberg started The Food Works under the name The Real Junk Food Project. Seven years later, Jo’s project is continuously expanding across Sheffield on a mission to save 500 tonnes of food a year from landfill. At present, The Food Works has two kitchen sites, a food market, and a farm. The Sharrow Vale kitchen/café is open to the public 9am-3pm, five days a week and is run by paid chefs and volunteers. The second café site is located at the Zest Centre in Upperthorpe and is open Tuesday to Friday. Customers who visit the Food Works cafés can enjoy a range of hot meals, snacks, cakes and barista coffee, all made from upcycled quality surplus food collected from supermarkets and food retailers across the city. The barista coffee is made with surplus beans supplied by Sheffield roasters Dark Woods. Cakes and pastries are made with upcycled food products or surplus food collected from supermarkets and bakeries to be sold at an affordable price. A recent venture is ‘Just Meals’ – a frozen ready meal made from leftover supermarket ingredients and packaged in home compostable and biodegradable containers. Just Meals are available at all of Food Works sites and work on a ‘pay what you can afford’ basis, allowing the community to access a sustainable, delicious meal without breaking the bank. “We’ve had an electric van on the road collecting surplus food since 2015. We also try to treat our staff and volunteers sustainably, ensuring a good worklife balance,” Jo said. “For us, it’s not just about the environmental sustainability; it’s about the sustainability of the people, too.” In Handsworth, the Food Works market welcomes members of the public to buy a market box, which is filled with a selection of surplus fruit, veg, chilled and frozen items. Again, a market box can be bought on a pay-what-you-canafford basis and the market usually serves over 100 customers a day. The Food Works farm was set up in 2021 and preparations are currently underway for this year’s season. Anything grown on the farm is put straight back into the organisation being used in the Sharrow and Upperthorpe kitchens, while additional products are sent to the market to be sold to the public.
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“The amount of food that is thrown away that we can’t access is eye-watering. Food waste itself is the third biggest producer of carbon emissions globally. If it was a country, it would be third after the US and China. It’s an enormous problem,” Jo explained. This year, The Food Works hopes to have their Just Meals stocked in more locations, including Sheffield hospitals. Just Meals were trialed during the recent Christmas period at the Sheffield Children’s Hospital with Junior Doctors and were a big success. “It is very early days, but we are hoping to expand this and work with the NHS and any organisations that will benefit from having sustainable frozen ready meals.” thefoodworks.org
Did You Know?
Food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. (earth.org)
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FOOD AND DRINK
FROM PUNJAB
TO PARK HILL
Exposed hears about how recently arrived restaurant 5Tara is putting truly authentic Indian cuisine back on the menu in Sheffield...
Situated on Duke Street, a stone’s throw from the city’s famous Park Hill complex, Indian restaurant 5Tara has been open for dine-in meals since January and already the venue has built up a dedicated following, not just in the Steel City but across the North and Midlands too. “In less than three months we’ve welcomed many guests from the local community but also from Birmingham, Leicester, Huddersfield, Barnsley and Rotherham,” says co-owner Aman, who runs the restaurant with his wife Shivi. “I guess word has got around quickly about the authentic food and flavours we serve here, so I think people are quite surprised when they turn up and see that we’re quite a small restaurant!” Modestly sized, yes, but taking huge pride in the warm, homely atmosphere on offer (though there is planning permission with the council to create an outdoor area that will take capacity from 26 to 55 in the summer months). 5Tara was inspired by the Punjabi Dhaba – roadside restaurants found in the Indian subcontinent serving fresh, wholesome dishes at affordable prices. “High quality in large quantities” is how Aman puts it, and that emphasis on value and taste is fundamental to their ethos. You won’t find an oily curry here; in fact, you won’t find much oil in their food at all. They’re looking to educate the local community on genuine Indian cuisine: how it should involve a changing menu of fresh, largely vegan-friendly dishes and not the anglicised version that revolves around staples such as chicken tikka masala, chicken balti and samosas (I’m informed that the latter actually originated from the Middle East). “India is the largest vegetarian nation in the world,” says Aman, “and one thing I can never understand is the amount of meat options you find at Indian restaurants here. It should be the other way around! 38 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
That’s why our food is 85% vegan, so you will see more of your veggies on the main menu and meat on the sides – as it should be. We’re motivated by keeping our heritage and cultural standards alive, so the vegan food we serve is full of flavour. I like to see our menu as essentially the craft of Indian culinary culture presented to you on a glossy sheet. 5Tara takes its name from the land of five rivers, Punjab, and also has its roots in Sikhism. The Guru Nanak appointed five devotees to spread the word of kindness and create a world where nobody sleeps on an empty stomach. These devotees were referred to as ‘my five beloved’ which Aman explains is translated as Panj Pyare or Panj-5 in Punjabi. Before finding restaurant premises, Aman and Shivi made sure to undertake some significant market
research. They originally set up 5Tara Overnight, a takeaway service operating from their home, which allowed them to test out the local appetite for their food. Both working separate jobs at the time, they’d come back post-shift and run the service from 8pm-2am, and almost instantly it became a hit and racked up glowing reviews from punters. The positive feedback convinced them to make a go of it. Breaking away from the confines of their home kitchen, the couple began searching for premises of their own, and when the spot at 139-141 Duke Street was acquired, they got their hands dirty and transformed the space in just three weeks. This haven of traditional Indian cuisine opens Tuesday to Saturday, running an all-day menu from 11am-10.30pm. On Sundays they open 9am-3.30pm, a popular day for customers looking to sample a traditional desi breakfast or Punjabi brunch, the menu for which changes every week to keep things fresh and exciting. Aman has been humbled by the success so far, but tells us that there’s plenty of passion and drive to keep pushing forward and spreading the 5Tara message further still. “We’re working for two communities – the food community here in Sheffield and our roots in India. We’re not doing this to make lots of money, we’re doing it so people can try food truly representative of our heritage and leave satisfied. That’s our motivation.”
5Tara Sheffield 139-141 Duke St S2 5QL 5tara.co.uk @5tara_sheffield WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 39
5तारा Sheffield KEEPING OUR ROOTS ALIVE
5TARA is the place where great cooking and fantastic vibes meet. Our food is nutritious, delicious and affordable, and we welcome diners young and old. Try it yourself—book your table or stop by today! We serve Cultural & Traditional and Punjabi Cuisine, focussed on our heritage of North India.
5Tara takes its name from the land of five rivers, Punjab, and also has its roots in Sikhism. The Guru Nanak appointed five devotees to spread the word of kindness and create a world where nobody sleeps on an empty stomach. We donate part of our profits to our hardworking farmers in India who strive endlessly to feed the masses.
Traditional & cultural Indian cuisine 139-141 Duke Street Sheffield S2 5QL 07440 620 792
5tara.co.uk
FOOD AND DRINK
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX Planning permission has been granted to begin work on Steel Yard Kelham’s new £300,000, 426 square metre container hub, which is set to be full of cafes and shops, along with a big screen and much needed city-centre toilets. Construction has begun on Fargate and the site is due to be completed and open to the public this month. The council said it will be a new quality attraction in the heart of Sheffield, providing an inclusive meeting space for city centre residents and workers as well as others in Sheffield and beyond. The scheme is part of a wider project to regenerate the city centre. The site will also boast living walls and outdoor seating and will be open from 8am to 11pm every day. Speaking of the exciting new project, Councillor Mazher Iqbal, executive member for City Futures’ development, culture and regeneration, is reported to have said: “We know that the high street has faced many challenges throughout the pandemic and it’s really important
that we take every opportunity to support local businesses and encourage people to visit and spend time in the city centre.” “Including a large outdoor screen and free to use public toilets alongside a mix of local retailers, the containers will be a great new addition to Fargate and complement the eclectic, vibrant mix of restaurants, bars and shops already in place across the city centre.” “Steel Yard Kelham which is a locally owned company has been a huge success and we are excited to bring a taste of this to Fargate for 2022.” Funding will come from government grants including the Government’s Get Britain Building Fund that was secured through the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
MEET MR WILSON Owners of CODE nightclub and popular West Street Irish bar, Molly Malone’s, have confirmed that their latest venture Mr Wilson’s is all set to open on 6 May. The new two-floor West Street bar will combine both modern and classic looks, with a contemporary cocktail bar featuring luxury seating areas, indoor waterfall and a large island bar at ground level, while the basement transports guests back to 1920s prohibition era, with low
ceilings, dramatic dark woods and plush upholstery. A spokesperson for the venue said: “This project has been over two years in the making, and now, as it enters the final stages of construction, we couldn’t be more excited to bring this new luxury venue to Sheffield”. For table bookings, venue hire and general enquiries, head to the bar’s website. mrwilsons.co.uk
KURIOSITY PEAKS An all-new, fully equipped creative hub, film production studios and post-production facility has opened in the heart of Sheffield this month. The Kurious officially opened its doors in Castle House, which is already the home of Kommune food hall and Kollider, on 16 March and boasts 8500 sq ft of hireable co-working spaces, offices, production space, and industry standard post-production facilities in-house. kuriousarts.co.uk ABOVE PAR Sheffield’s newest adults-only crazy golf venue, Golf Fang, opens on John Street next month and promises cleverly themed holes in a venue plastered with graffiti, along with street food, DJs and cocktails. Guests can keep their cool on the course with bespoke cocktails, including Lethal Drizzle and Nuthin’ But a G Ting, whilst fuelling up with an amazing mix of street food including burgers, nachos, loaded fries and an impressive selection of vegan options. golffang.co.uk DOG DAYS The guys behind Cutlery Works specialist beer bar Boozehound, as well as the Plough Inn out in Derbyshire, are bringing their new micropub and café, The Boston Arms, to Woodseats. The venue is set across two floors, with a bar on the ground floor featuring eight keg lines, three cask lines and a bottle fridge with 40-50 cans and bottles available, including American and Belgian imports as well as a host of local faves. instagram.com/the_boston_ arms_sheffield WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 41
FOOD AND DRINK
Straight from the Horse’s Mouth
Back in January, Ecclesall Road’s newest bar The Dark Horse opened its big green doors to a wave of optimism from locals, and judging by the fact that it was standing room only when we popped in (on a random Wednesday night, no less!), it appears to be going down rather well. We caught up with co-owner Andy Grice to find out the secret to their success… WORDS BY ASH BIRCH. PHOTOGRAPHY: ROSS JARMAN AND DOUG BANKS
“The support has been overwhelming,” says Andy. “We’ve already surpassed our expectations in terms of the number of people coming in and it just keeps getting busier. We open from 11am to 11.30pm every day and we’ve got people coming throughout the day for lunch, and then in the evenings we’re absolutely packed to the rafters! It’s been really good.” “We’ve had lots of positive feedback for the quality of what we do, as well as for the aesthetic, and people are coming back time and time again. We’re starting to see regular faces, which has been kind of humbling.” “We wanted to do something that’s not currently being done around here. There are places that serve cocktails within a short distance of us and there’s obviously plenty of sports bars in the area now, and craft ale pubs or micropubs, but we wanted to do something that just kind of fits into a different slot.” “It’s definitely more of a bar than a pub, and even though it kind of looks like an old pub, it’s got a traditional vibe with a modern twist.” The interior, as well as the name, give a nod to the building’s previous tenants, Lloyds Bank, who 42 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
occupied the space for over 30 years. The green theme that runs throughout uses the Lloyds green from their branding and the bar’s name, The Dark Horse, refers to the black horse in the bank’s logo. Fortunately, you won’t need a bank loan to sample the drinks on offer and whether it’s a steady pint, an extravagant cocktail or a glass of carefully selected wine from Sheff favourites Starmore Boss, they’ve got you covered with two rotating cask and ten keg lines, and a bespoke cocktail menu that is soon to feature a specials menu, chosen by their knowledgeable staff. Another major draw (and a bit of coup) is their partnership with Slap and Pickle, the hugely popular burger brand who built up a huge following over lockdown, and already have a kitchen in Kelham Island brewery and bar, Heist. Andy told Exposed: “We were really passionate about having a good food offering, and we were just very fortunate; I think the star’s aligned when we were approached by Slap and Pickle.” “They’re incredibly popular in Sheffield, in fact; one of the most popular burger joints in the city during the pandemic with Deliveroo quoting them as having the biggest selling product on their platform during that time, which is amazing.” “It just goes to show the quality of what they
do and how popular it is, so we were very, very happy to have them on board and it’s been a winner ever since. People come in specifically to try their stuff and obviously while they’re here, they’re getting to experience what we do in house as well, so the contrasting aesthetics really work well together.” Now that the dust has settled on opening, Andy and the team are all relieved with how well it’s going so far, particularly given that there was a nervy wait to see if they would even get open in the first place. Andy reflected on getting business off the ground: “I’ll be honest, we were planning this and going through the legal stages through the thick of the winter lockdowns, so it was nerve-wracking thinking are we ever going to exit this lockdown stage and what’s the world going to look like for hospitality?” “We feel very fortunate that everything seemed to ease up when we opened in January 2022 and people’s confidence in going back out was increasing, so it just came at a perfect time. I think that’s added
to our momentum and we’re running with it.” The trick now, as far as Andy is concerned, is to harness that momentum. Over the coming months, they are looking at events and offers, with a freshly instated weekly quiz every Tuesday night and plans for a monthly ‘Meet the Maker’ style evening, where one of their suppliers can come in and talk about what they do, as well as potential live music nights featuring acoustic acts. Whether you’re after a pint, a cocktail, or a bit of Slap and Pickle (we strongly recommend the vegan duck loaded fries), judging by the bustling bar we encountered, it’s probably a good idea to get booked in soon. For more info, chuck them a like on socials at @dark_horse_bar or facebook. com/thedarkhorsesheffield.
The Dark Horse 928 Ecclesall Rd S11 8TR WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 43
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FOOD AND DRINK
SPREAD YOUR WINGS
Exposed tries out the much-hyped street food offering at Wingin’ It.
One of six street vendors tucked away inside Sheffield Plate, the city’s latest food hall experience, local traders Wingin’ It have been slinging out bangin’ wings accompanied by a mixture of street food bites since the venue opened in September last year. Now, we’re more than partial to the odd bit of fried indulgence here at Exposed HQ, so it wasn’t difficult to round up a few heads last month for a post-work sample of what they had to offer. The menu offers up to nine different types of wings, showcasing a wide range of flavours from your classic sticky BBQ sauce and southern fried offerings to less typical options such as the Korean-inspired Tiger Style Wings and deepfried Fiery Jamaican Jerk Wings. There’s also a nice local nod in there with the Northern Fried Wings, tossed with lashings of Henderson’s Relish for that traditional Yorkshire kick. Hoping there was some wisdom to be found in the majority vote, upon arrival we spoke to owner Lewis and decided to order some of the customer favourites: Zing Wings, Tiger Style Wings and Sticky Icky BBQ wings. Pretty much all the chicken wings flavours can be transferred to a cauliflower wings option - handy as there
were a couple of vegans present in the group - so we topped off the order with Cauli Salt ‘N’ Pepper Wings and Cauli Southern Fried Wings. Complementing this veritable smorgasbord of wing-based action were some hearty sides, the ever-classic Mac N Cheese Bites and Rustic Wedges, which arrived flanking the mouthwatering main event in less than thirty minutes. If the meal arrived in good time, it was devoured just as quickly. Picking over the bones (literally) of our once resplendent looking platter of scran, the verdicts were in, and the Asian-inspired Tiger Style Wings soaked in a delightfully tangy sauce declared the overall winner. The crispy southern fried ‘Zing Wings’ were a close second and, for my
money, much crunchier, meatier and generally superior to those offered by a certain big chain founded by a moustachioed colonel. The Sticky Icky BBQ Wings were everything they needed to be: unbelievably messy but covered in such a tasty marinade that licking the remnants from your hands felt more like a treat than a chore. The vegan crew were equally content with their lot: the Cauli Salt N Pepper Wings impressed with some wonderful orientalinspired flavours and the Cauli
Southern Fried Wings went down a treat when dipped into the homemade Jerk Ketchup and Wingin’aise sauces. A shoutout, too, for the plump Mac N Cheese Bites providing a delightfully gooey accompaniment to proceedings. After they were finished off, all that was left was mopping up any remaining sauces with the nicely seasoned wedges before contentedly calling it a day. Oh, and pass us the napkins, pal. VERDICT: If you’re going to make wings your forte, they better be good. Thankfully, Wingin’ It have got the game down to a tee. We’d highly recommend popping for some indulgent street eats the next time you’re feeling peckish in town, or you can enjoy via the comfort of your home via Deliveroo/Just Eat/Uber Eats. You won’t regret it. WINGIN’ IT Sheffield Plate, 31-33 Orchard Square @winginitsheff WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 45
FOOD AND DRINK
SLICKS JOIN THE CLUB
Work is underway to create Neepsend Social Club and Canteen, a modern re-imagining of a classic social club brought to you by the owners of former Cutlery Works faves Slick Chicks, who are also housing their amazing fried chicken and cheesecake restaurant in the venue, under the slightly new name of Slicks. The new social club and restaurant can be found in 92 Burton Road, next door to The Parrot Club and Peddler Market’s Warehouse and is on course to open this spring with a new fried chicken menu, a games area for a quick round of arrows, and a slew of events in support of local causes. The idea comes from twins and business partners Tom and Ben Miller who, after visiting Denmark around five years ago, hit upon the idea to create a new-style social club that engages with the local community and provides funding and support for local causes, as well as being a welcoming space to eat some banging fried chicken and sink a few craft beers or cocktails. Neepsend Social Club co-owner Tom Miller told Exposed: “We wanted to grow the fried chicken restaurant, but we’d always wanted to do something bigger and more involved than that.” The space itself will be loosely split into three areas: the front section being more of a lounge vibe, the middle given over to the canteen and restaurant, leading into the back area for darts and table fussball. The aesthetic will borrow from 60s era working men’s clubs, with vinyl patterned floors, red carpet tiles, maroon curtains and lots of wood cladding throughout. “These are the kind of places my dad forced me and my brother to go to when we were kids, with the promise of naff cola, crisps and football,” explains Tom. “There’s something that’s so nostalgic for me; I just want to recreate what that is. Obviously, I can’t lean into it too hard because we’re creating something new, but we want to try and capture that vibe.”
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“That also feeds into the community element because those places were the heart of the community, where you’d pay your subs and go and catch a turn. We will be doing things like that, and we’ll have a loyalty scheme where you can collect points, giving you offers and discounts and the opportunity to donate to the causes we support by being a club member.” Mondays and Tuesdays will also be given over to club member events, or things like new menu item testing for members, with the venue open to anyone as a restaurant and club from Wednesday to Sunday. The menu itself focus on fried chicken in all its forms, from burgers to wings and everything in between, but will also feature mac and cheese, poutine and plenty of vegan options. Desserts are all about big comforting baked cheesecakes.
As far as the drinks go, the bar has eight taps, which will see a rolling cast of craft ale from local breweries, as well as some wellknown favourites, plus a small section of good cocktails. “I am just buzzing to get going again,” says Tom, “It’s a nervous energy, but I mean if I wasn’t nervous then there would be something wrong. I’m feeling confident and it’s a good energy.” “The idea is for this to be the cornerstone of the community. Somewhere people can come and connect. Somewhere you can expect good quality products and good quality conversation, whether that’s with us or with your friends, or whatever. That’s what a social club is about, it’s about being social.” Neepsend Social Club and Canteen is set for a spring opening. In the meantime, go chuck them a follow on @neepsendsocial
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FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS @ LAMAMATAPASBAR 238 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, S7 1FL Tel: 0114 327 9597 www.lamamalatin.co.uk
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FOOD AND DRINK
SPOTLIGHT ON
LAVANG
After recently marking five years since opening the doors at their popular Fulwood restaurant, we caught up with the Lavang team to talk winning dishes, moving with the times and key lessons learned along the way.
How has 2022 been for Lavang so far? It’s still early days, guys! We’re battling the so-called end of Covid, supply chain issues, rise of the cost of living, so it’s definitely a challenge. But we’re putting all our energies into new processes and thankfully have been seeing an uptake in trade as we’re going along – so ask us again in a couple of months! Which dishes have been a particular hit with customers recently? All of them, of course! But seriously speaking, the team in the kitchen have been working wonders with a reduced budget and sticking to a smaller seasonal menu has helped us perfect the dishes that we put our name to. Needless to say our Lamb Nawab has been with us from day one; if you’ve never been before, this is the go-to dish. The Lavang brand is very much known for bringing a decisively modern twist to Indian dining. Where do you find the inspiration for these fresh fusions? All credit goes to Chef Jay and his team; they’re young, hardworking and looking for continuous improvements. We also collaborate amongst the wider team, experiment and go all-in when confident with the dish. If there was a dish currently on the menu which you felt encapsulated the Lavang way of doing things, what would it be and why? Goat Vindaloo – because it’s the G.O.A.T, obviously! The outdoor terrace is a huge pull for customers when the sun’s out, and hopefully, we’ll be seeing it bathed in some spring sunshine soon! What would you recommend for a perfect alfresco 50 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
tipple on a warm day? On a sunny day we’d recommend coming between 4pm-6pm and making use of our 2-for-1 drinks. Why pick one when you can have two?! A big moment for you as a business was achieving carbon neutral status last year. Could you tell us a bit about the importance of this and how it ties into the Lavang ethos? Absolutely. It’s just important that we are moving with the times and take a bigger responsibility for our actions; we’re based in a beautiful part of Sheffield and are proud to play our part. Far from being a gimmick, we actually have a social value action plan that helps to structure our business operations, reduce costs and ultimately it goes back to the community – it’s a win-win. Surprise us! Tell us one thing about Lavang that people may not be aware of. We have a Luton Town fan amongst us who’s enjoying basking in the glory this year, but we won’t name him otherwise he could be in trouble! Safe to say, we don’t discriminate and everyone is welcome here at Lavang. How’s the rest of the year shaping up – is there anything specific that you’re looking forward to? One hundred percent. We can’t wait to get back to the way things were, and particularly looking forward to an uptake with our catering arm ‘The Private Diners Club’, especially with the Jubilee celebrations coming up. We’re currently planning an upgrade to our outdoor terrace, which is exciting, so we’ll definitely have more for you on that at the end of this summer. Check back in with an update from us then.
For anyone reading who hasn’t paid a visit yet, how would describe the Lavang experience in a nutshell? Great food, great service, great staff, great customers… happy days! Finally, we recently saw Lavang mark five years since first opening its doors. Safe to say it’s been a journey with a few unexpected twists, especially in the last two years! What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in the process? Perseverance. Always take a look at the way you do things and change for the better.
@lavang_sheffield lavangsheffield.co.uk 478-480 Fulwood Rd S10 3QD 0114 263 0106
The Perfect Tonic
Did you know that Lavang have their own limited edition spiced gin? This awardwinning sup was created in Sheffield last year using a unique blend of ingredients and is available to purchase from their online gift store at lavangsheffield.co.uk.
WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 51
on the lookout for your student digs?
0114 263 1011 · 74 Barber Road, Crookesmoor, Shefeld, S10 1EE
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ROOMS TO RENT
IF YOU’RE A STUDENT LOOKING FOR A LAST MINUTE PAD TO RENT FOR NEXT YEAR, OR MAYBE YOU’RE JUST LOOKING FOR A NEW PLACE FOR YOU AND YOUR MATES, HERE’S A FEW PLACES STILL ON THE MARKET…
FLEXIBLE CITY CENTRE PAD
CITY CENTRE 4 BED
Exchange Works is a popular city-centre home for 430 students, located just a five-minute walk to Sheffield Hallam University, and 20 minutes to the University of Sheffield. Choose an en-suite room for your own bathroom and share a kitchen and lounge with flatmates. You’ll find a common room with games tables, TV, and seating as well as a study room. When you need some fresh air, there’s an amazing garden at Exchange Works featuring artificial lawn, ping pong table, benches - even palm trees! Rooms are still available for September 2022, book yours at unitestudents.com. Address: Exchange Works, Arundel Street, Sheffield, S1 unitestudents.com
This newly built 4 double bedroom student apartment is available in an outstanding City centre location, perfect for access to Sheffield Hallam University city campus. The apartment has been constructed to the highest standards, with luxury fixtures and fittings including a fully fitted kitchen with integrated appliances and granite worktops, two fully tiled shower rooms, TV and IT points in every room, free broadband, energy efficient gas fired underfloor heating and double glazing. The apartment is fully furnished with a double bed, wardrobe, desk and chair in each bedroom. The living space comes with leather sofas, a table and a flat screen TV. Address: Lion Works, Arundel Gate, Sheffield mafstudents.co.uk // 0114 272 6006
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DATES TO FOR ROOMS THE DIARY RENT
BOTANICAL GARDENS AT YOUR DOORSTEP This characterful six-bedroom Victorian house is just off bustling Ecclesall Road. Backing onto the beautiful Botanical gardens and a few minutes from the city it offers the perfect location, with both Sheffield Campus and Hallam Campus within easy reach. The property has a large baywindowed living room with wall mounted flat screen TV, kitchen with dishwasher and washer/ dryer, a large modern bathroom with separate bath and shower, plus a second shower room. All double bedrooms are fully furnished and there is also a lovely maintained, decked garden with views for your enjoyment! The property comes with everything you could need including; TV and DVD player, vacuum and super-fast broadband. The kitchen is also already fully equipped with crockery, cutlery, toaster, kettle and general utensils. The house is ideal for students or professionals and the landlord would consider a group of 5 or individual room lets. No deposit is required until June. Price: £79.50 pppw – bills inclusive options available Address: 35 Walton Road, Sheffield info@paproperties.co.uk // 0114 2670155
ECCY ROAD APARTMENTS A six-bedroom apartment is available within this ultra-modern development. The apartment is in an outstanding location on Ecclesall Road with amenities, bars, restaurants and universities close at hand. The apartment has been constructed to the highest standards, with luxury fixtures and fittings including a fully fitted kitchen with integrated appliances and granite worktops, two fully tiled shower rooms, TV and IT points in every room, free broadband, energy efficient gas central heating and double glazing. The apartment has a fantastic open plan living space with leather sofas and a flat screen TV. All bedrooms are furnished with a double bed, full height built in wardrobe, desk and chair. These apartments are always in high demand, so be sure to arrange a viewing soon as. Address: Ecclesall Gate, Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, S11 mafstudents.co.uk // 0114 272 6006
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0114 2726006 Check out our website Quality Accommodation for Professionals, Graduates and Students Available for groups of 2 -12 Rents ranging from £ 80- £ 150 per person per week All inclusive packages available Located in the City Center, Broomhill, Broomhall, Upperthorpe, Kelham Island and Ecclesall Road Ecclesall Gate Apartments 6 Bed Available Apartments constructed to the highest standard with many luxury & energy saving features. Six bedrooms with all the amenities of Ecclesall Road and the City Centre close at hand. Each apartment has a fully fitted kitchen with integrated appliances and granite worktops along with an open plan living area with leather sofas and flat screen TV plus two fully tiled shower rooms. They benefit from a free broadband service, energy efficient gas central heating and double glazing. Every bedroom has IT and TV points in and is furnished with double bed, full height built in wardrobe, desk and chair
Arundel Gate, Lion Works 4 bedroom Apt's. Available A newly built 4 double bedroom student apartment in an outstanding location in the City centre "on campus" for Sheffield Hallam University city campus. Constructed to the highest standards with luxury fixtures and fittings including Fully Fitted Kitchen with Integral Appliances and Granite Worktops, 2 Fully Tiled Shower Rooms, TV & IT Points in Every Room, Free Broadband, energy efficient Gas Fired Underfloor Heating and Double Glazing. Fully furnished with Double Beds, Wardrobe, Desk and Chair in each bedroom plus Leather Sofa's, Table & Flat Screen TV.
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ROOMS TO RENT
LEADMILL LIVING Looking for city centre living in Sheffield, at a great price? Leadmill Point is for you. Less than a five-minute walk to Sheffield Hallam University and the train station, this development is in the perfect location. Leadmill Point offers several room options. If you’d like a private bathroom, choose an en-suite. Don’t mind sharing? The property has rooms with shared bathrooms available too. Away from your room, you’ll find a shared common room with pool, table football, a TV, and comfy sofas - ideal for chilling out in the evenings. The whole city is on your doorstep. Local highlights include The Leadmill, Sheffield’s oldest live music venue, and the four-screen independent cinema the Showroom. Rooms are still available for September 2022, book yours at unitestudents.com. Address: Leadmill Point, Leadmill Road, Sheffield, S1 unitestudents.com
EXTRA LARGE BEDROOMS
5 MINUTES TO BRAMALL LANE
Situated just off vibrant Ecclesall Road, this cosy bay-windowed terrace is in the vibrant Ecclesall Road area of Sheffield. With easy access to the General Cemetery recreational area, this house is in a prime location, especially for Sheffield University and Collegiate Campus. There are 100s of shops, bars, restaurants and supermarkets on your doorstep and great transport links. The fully furnished property has 3 larger than average double bedrooms, a modern fitted kitchen, cosy living room, a large bathroom with toilet, bath and shower cubicle, and a separate toilet/ laundry room with washing machine and dryer. There is a secure outhouse for bikes and a small yard with picnic table. The property comes with everything you could need including; TV and DVD player, dishwasher, vacuum and super-fast broadband. The property also comes with a fully equipped kitchen including; crockery, cutlery, toaster, kettle and general utensils. The house is suitable for students or professionals and no deposit is required until June.
You’ll be part of a large student community at The Forge 2. From en-suite rooms in shared flats to self-contained, private studios, there are a variety of room options, so you’re sure to find one that’s right for you. Head to the common room for a game of pool, ping pong, or table football. Watch the TV from a comfy sofa or hit the onsite gym to sweat it out. It’s all for you, and it’s all free. The Forge 2 is only a 15-minute walk from Sheffield city centre, as well as Sheffield Hallam University’s City and Collegiate campuses. Bramall Lane Football Stadium is just a stone’s throw away and the University of Sheffield is just 20 minutes away on foot too. Rooms are still available for September 2022, book yours at unitestudents.com.
Price: £81.00 pppw – bills inclusive options available Address: 31 Rosedale Road info@paproperties.co.uk // 0114 2670155
Address: The Forge 2, Boston Street, Sheffield, S2 unitestudents.com
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FIND YOUR NEW HOME IN SHEFFIELD
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COMEDY
A FINE FELLOWS There are some strange things going on in the caves of Castleton in May. They’ve had live music, films and all manner of entertainment in the Peak Cavern, but not comedy – until now. Who better to pioneer such an event than Sheffield’s very own John Shuttleworth? To find out just how John’s coping with the prospect of moving from performing in the local drop-in centre to what is now known as the Devil’s Arse, we sent Mark Perkins to have a chat with the man behind the Yamaha keyboard, Graham Fellows. Like most performers, I imagine you were halted in your tracks when lockdown was imposed so suddenly. That’s how it happened, yes. I had about 25 dates booked on a tour, but had to put them all on hold, just as every other performer did, and they got rescheduled several times. I performed at the Crucible last September, but the Castleton date is now in a few weeks’ time on May 19th. Apparently, this is the first time a comedian has done a show there. The tour’s called John Shuttleworth’s Back Again, following on from the John Shuttleworth’s Back tour. This time though, it’s not about his back; it’s about his return after lockdown and how he coped with it. I imagine John would have quite liked lockdown. Yes, I think John would have found it quite satisfying being grounded in his neighbourhood. But he’s unhappy because he feels he’s not been very creative, unlike everybody around him. Mary started embroidering and watching the Craft TV Channel, Joan Chitty has been drawing and writing an erotic novel and Ken has been making sourdough bread and doing Pilates. Much to his frustration, all John has managed to do is to write one song, called ‘Stay At Home And Protect The VHS’. One innovation for the tour will be the introduction of a second keyboard. It’s just John onstage as usual, but this tour is billed as ‘now with two organs’. What ever happened to the documentary, which I know you filmed parts of in Sheffield some years ago? Yes, I did. And well over ten years later, it’s finally coming out! I got so far with filming it, and there’s even a sequence where John Shuttleworth plays in my dad’s sheltered accommodation in Broomhill. Unfortunately, my father died in 2012, so I sort of abandoned the film, as I couldn’t bear to look at the footage. Back in 2009, I bought a small electric car called a G-Wiz. The idea was to drive the car from London to Orkney, which in those days was something of a challenge. One of the reasons for making the trip was that I’d bought an old church 60 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
on Orkney that I was starting to renovate. The film was intended to be partly a road movie, with me and my eco-cynical friend Kevin. I also took my dad up to Orkney with a cameraman and we got some nice footage. On top of all this, the film touches on my relationship with the character of John Shuttleworth. At that point, I’d done John for over 20 years and I was a bit fed up with it all. I filmed myself having impromptu conversations with him in the dressing room mirror, on a small Flip camera. Fast forward to 2020, and I started making a film with David Kew, and I found myself again talking to John in a dressing room mirror and realised how I could bring the two time periods together. Then lockdown happened, gave me the time to edit all the footage, and the documentary finally came together. I’ve talked to several documentary filmmakers who all say that often, the story you end up telling, isn’t the story
you thought you were making at the start. That’s very true, and this turned out to be about quite a few things. It’s about family and how they affect you, it’s about my relationship with my son, George, and it’s about me and how I relate to John Shuttleworth. It’s also about our relationship with the environment. My dad was quite a remarkable man, which hopefully comes over in the film. He was keen on environmental issues but in an old-fashioned way. More reusing and reducing, rather than our modern-day obsession with just recycling. It is thoughtful, sad at times, but very funny at others. Early versions of the film have had previews at festivals and have gone down really well. It’s not easy getting a release for a low-budget, independent film these days, but I’m going to tour to promote it. It’s called Father Earth, and should be out in the summer.
John Shuttleworth plays Peak Cavern on 19th May // fatherearthmovie.
COMEDY // TOP PICKS
JOE LYCETT
Sheffield City Hall // 15 – 16 April // £35.15 Join Joe Lycett doing what he does best: talking at a room of people in a queer and comedic fashion. His first tour in years promises to be packed with more jokes, more comedy anecdotes and more inappropriate and arguably disturbing paintings, all in the hope of answering the age-old question: How do you Lycett? sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
ED GAMBLE: ELECTRIC
Sheffield City Hall // 19 April // £24.45 After a sell-out tour of his house in 2020, Ol’ Broken Pancreas is charged up and ready to flick the switch on another night of attention-seeking. Gamble is best known for co-hosting award-winning mega-hit podcast Off Menu with James Acaster, Ticketmaster champion, and selling his own special blood sugar on amazon prime. sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
THE GUILTY FEMINIST
Octagon // 23 April // £27.50 Award winning podcast ‘The Guilty Feminist’ goes live for an entertaining evening of stand-up, discussion, live music and 21st century feminism. Join Deborah Frances-White, a few podcast regulars and special guests including Mock of the Week star Sophie Duker, Motherland actress Jessica Fostekew and live music from singer and comedian Jess Robinson. gigantic.com
TITS, GITS AND LITTLE SH*TS: GILL SIMS
Sheffield City Hall // 28 April // £27.25 Jo Middleton interviews Gill Sims, bestselling author of ‘Why Mummy’ book series, and the woman behind the hugely popular ‘Peter and Jane’ Facebook page. Reassure yourself you are not alone in those FML moments, as Gill and Jo take a hilarious look at the changing face of motherhood. Talking relationships, the highs and lows of the school gate, unexpected bodily fluids and much more. sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
STRATAGEM WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE, LIVE
Utilita Arena // 30 April // From £41.35 Award-winning multi-hyphenate Steve Coogan is set to launch a series of live shows, ‘Stratagem with Alan Partridge’, in an attempt to heal a divided nation. In the new stage show, Coogan returns as the unrelenting broadcaster, as he ponders a way to re harmonise the UK in the wake of Brexit and the pandemic. Written by Coogan himself, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons. utilitaarenasheffield.co.uk
PAUL MERTON’S IMPRO CHUMS
Leadmill // 4 April // £23 Paul Merton is joined by his team of improv chums, Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Mike Mcshane and accompanist Kirsty Newton for another evening of mind-blowing improvisation. The unique comedy show is based entirely on suggestions from the audience and their hilarious improvisational skills. leadmill.co.uk WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 61
FOUNDRY // TOP PICKS
RIDE – NOWHERE 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
As we sprightly step into spring, Foundry have a fresh lineup of banging gigs waiting for Steel City music-lovers. From exciting album launches to nostalgic anniversary tours, there’s something for everyone to get stuck into.
21 April / £30.25 To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album ‘Nowhere’, Ride have announced a UK tour. The record was originally released October 15th, 1990 including some of their most notable songs. After being postponed due to the pandemic, the 2022 tour kicks off in Sheffield.
WET LEG ALBUM LAUNCH
LARKINS
April 13 / £11.50 To celebrate the release of their highly anticipated debut album, the band will play an intimate launch show. Catapulted from their confines on the Isle of Wight to sold out venues across the UK, the duo is ready to unveil two new songs alongside news of their debut, which will be released on April 8th 2022.
FRANK TURNER ALBUM LAUNCH
14 April / £14.50 FTHC is the ninth solo album from British punk and folk artist Frank Turner. He returns to Sheffield for the launch of his new album. Initially striking out as a vocalist in the punk rock band Million Dead, Turner then turned his focus towards a folkier, acoustic-based solo career.
GET TOGETHER
1 May / £14.50 Set across 3 stages at Sheffield University, Get Together festival 2022 is set to be nothing short of an incredible way to spend your bank holiday. This year’s line-up includes: Squid, Confidence Man, The Blinders, Phoebe Green, Etta Marcus, Pip Blom and many more. On top of the music on offer, the garden area outside Sheffield Uni will host a beer and cider festival and a vast array of street food vendors to keep you fed.
THE ALARM
8 April / £24.75 The Alarm return to UK stages as they announce their 40th anniversary tour. An alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. Displaying influences from Welsh language and culture, they became popular to the alt rock genre in the 1980s. To this day they retain a small but loyal following.
JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET
16th April / £22 For a quarter of a century, the James Taylor Quartet have set the standard for the coolest sounds in funky acid jazz. They are a British four-piece jazz funk band, who have become renowned for their live performances. The live set focuses on accessible rhythm driven music with elements of modern dance music. 64 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
22 April / £15.40 Led by vibrant guitar lines and refreshing productions, Larkins have announced rescheduled UK tour for Spring 2022. Their first full-length album ‘JCOY’ arrived in 2021. In 2016, the band released their debut EP, ‘Don’t Leave The Light On’. They have since followed up with a string of singles and a live album.
JP COOPER
4 May / £22 Acclaimed British soul singer and songwriter JP Cooper announces his first headline tour in almost 3 years. JP will be returning to smaller, more intimate venues in support of his highly anticipated second album ‘SHE’. The album is set for release on 15th October. Tickets for all these events can be purchased online at foundrysu.com
What is the Foundry?
A three-room live music and club night venue at Sheffield Students’ Union with a combined capacity of 1300. It’s one of the city’s most exciting gig spots and regularly plays host to the some of the UK’s best touring acts.
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ONL G O O DY VIBES
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
POP AND BOT BOPS Everything Everything were all set to tour with their album Re-Animator in 2020, when, as we all know too well, live music came to a dramatic and catastrophic halt. Two years on, the musical landscape has changed, and not everyone who worked in the music industry has managed to survive the shift. However, as Everything Everything’s Jonathan Higgs told Mark Perkins, the Manchester art-rockers are preparing to take up where they left off with a brand-new album, Raw Data Feel, created with assistance from an unusual addition to the band’s writing team…Words: Mark Perkins It’s good to have you back making music, but I’ve heard you’ve been writing lyrics in a way you never have before. I was messing about online with Artificial Intelligence, the idea of machine learning, and I became curious as to whether it could write lyrics. I put out a tweet saying if anyone knows more about this, send me a message. I got loads of replies, and so I picked someone who seemed to be the most qualified, a guy called Mark Hanslip studying machine learning at York University. He basically said, “Send me a load of data, I’ll put it into the program, and it will churn out lyrics based on the stuff you give it.” So, I thought to myself, ‘What do I want this thing to create?’ I wanted it to be sort of mystical and philosophical, but with a strange technology angle, making boring technical language poetic. In the end I gave it the entire terms and conditions from LinkedIn, Beowulf, 400,000 comments from 4Chan – which is obviously the worst place on the internet – and the sayings of Confucius. The machine thought about it for a while, then started to spin things out. Mark sent the best stuff back to me. I looked at it and used it as inspiration for my writing. Sometimes I put it into songs, or I wrote songs using little phrases here and there. Occasionally I put in entire lines. On the finished album about 10% of the lyrics are from using this technique. I also used the idea for the artwork: the entire cover of the record is generated by AI. Kevin gets a few mentions on the album. Is that the name you credited the AI with? Not originally, no. It was a character I made up to talk about some stuff where I didn’t want it to be about myself. I was making the character as a proxy, but at the end of the process, we thought we’d credit the AI as if we’ve really collaborated with another person. Someone suggested calling it Kevin. That will really confuse everyone. So, if you take that reading of it, it’s almost as if I’m singing to the AI. There’s a track on the album called Metroland is Burning, and I know you grew up in the North East. Is it about Metroland in Gateshead? Yes, I’m singing about that place, although Metroland does have other meanings. Metroland was the nearest shopping centre to where Mike from the band and I grew up. It was the place for us where dreams were made! Metrocentre and Metroland are very nostalgic for us. There’s quite a lot of nostalgia on the record, so that memory felt like a good place to zoom in on. How did lockdown impact you and the band?
For me personally, it completely changed my life. I live in a different place now, with someone else. I feel quite different about everything because it totally changed my day-to-day life. I think the same goes for others in the band. A lot has happened in the last few years. Despite what some people might assume, I didn’t do much creatively. That time feels like a big empty chasm. I remember people saying there would be a lot of ‘lockdown albums’ coming out when it was all over, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. Nothing happened! No one wants to hear songs about lockdown. Everyone had a shit time, and it wasn’t inspiring at all; but we know as a band we can’t complain. We are all still here, we’ve got the same job, which isn’t true for everybody. We lost a great number of our road crew, and our soundman is now working as a window fitter. People have fallen in love with Netflix and with not going out. I’m part of the problem, I know. I’ve not seen any live music since we moved out of lockdown. Didn’t the pandemic start as your last album, Re-Animator, was just released? Yes, it was recorded, but not released. We had a discussion about what to do with it, and we decided people need to listen to something, so we released it. We couldn’t get together to make videos, we couldn’t tour it, and so we didn’t promote it. It felt like that record went straight through people and got forgotten. The forthcoming tour will be a chance to play some songs from it, along with the newer ones. We did a bit of very sporadic gigging, and a couple of weird VR gigs, through webcams, but it really didn’t work at all. Music needs to be live, in front of a live audience. And you’ve also got a book coming out too. Could you tell us a bit about CAPS LOCKS ON? Yes. All my lyrics, even obscure B-sides and rarities. We felt we’d reached a point in our career where we have a lot of history, and we wanted to celebrate it in a new way, so we thought of doing a book. The lyrics you can find online are never correct, and they’re all in different places. Then there are photos and artwork from our entire career. We’re really pleased with it, so it will be available ready for the forthcoming tour, which we’re really looking forward to. You have a really distinctive falsetto voice, and I’ve often wondered how difficult it is performing that vocal range, live, for an entire set? It’s tricky, you’re right. You have to have stamina, and that’s what you lose during a pandemic lockdown. Right now, I’m trying to regain it, just in time for the tour.
Raw Data Feel is out 20th May 2022 and the band play Sheffield’s Float Along Festival 24th Sept 70 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
MUSIC
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MUSIC // TOP PICKS
LIZ LAWRENCE
Yellow Arch // 27 April // £13.20 Liz Lawrence returns with her heavily anticipated new album THE AVALANCHE. Written and recorded in ‘The Coffin’ - her self-built garden shed home studio - during the lockdown of 2020, the album showcases Liz’s growth as both a songwriter & producer and positions her as the UK’s foremost fully independent alt-pop solo artist. yellowarch.com
SEA POWER
Leadmill // 21 April // £19.50 Legendary alt-rock outfit Sea Power (formerly known as British Sea Power) make their long-awaited return to Sheffield as part of their Everything Was Forever tour! One of many highlights from the album, new single “Two Fingers” is a potential anthem for these troubled times. leadmill.co.uk
FLOAT ALONG SETS SAIL!
Float Along Festival, a brand new, multi-venue party is coming to Sidney & Matilda on the 24th September, with some huge names across a broad spectrum of genres and styles. Headlined by raucous indie art-pop band Everything Everything, acts include chirpy Brighton four-piece The Magic Gang and exhilarating Geordie collective Pigs x7. Other artists include Warmduscher, Los Bitchos, Katy J Pearson, The Lounge Society and Dog Unit. Early bird tickets go on sale 4th March at £38.50. Tickets available at floatalong. co.uk.
WET LEG
Foundry // 13 April // £11.50 After releasing two of the best singles of the year, Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers were catapulted from their confines on the Isle of Wight to sold out UK venues. The duo are now thrilled to unveil two new songs alongside their highly anticipated debut album with this intimate show at The Foundry. beartreerecords.com
DINA PRESENTS: SOLANA
Yellow Arch // 7 April // £10/£13 Solana’s rich and inventive sonic tapestry is anchored by a deep respect for traditions rooted in all corners of Europe and beyond. The virtuosic 5-piece weave together a multitude of instruments to take listeners on a journey from the contemplative to the euphoric and even cathartic. yellowarch.com
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ROUGH SHAG PRESENTS
15TH APRIL £7 ADV ROUGH SHAG PRESENTS: GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS / DUCK / HEADS OFF Rough Shag return to Yellow Arch bringing an excellent night of Punk, Synth Punk and dirty RockNRoll
GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS Formed in 2016 and still playing hard, you should expect big things from these guys! DUCK Hailing from Sheffield’s incredible DIY scene, these 3 will give you a great dose of noisepop and wonky synthpunk. You lucky buggers! HEADS OFF We really can’t wait! A fantastic one man show full of fuzz, blistering bass lines and lyrics that will turn ya mush upside down
IS THIS IT?
29TH APRIL FREE ENTRY 29th April sees the return of our new night dedicated to all things indie and alternative music. Is This It? celebrates the best anthems and forgotten favourites from the 80s, 90s, 00s and more recently. Expect to hear: Arcade Fire • Arctic Monkeys • The Beatles • Beck • Bloc Party • Blur • David Bowie • Cast • The Charlatans • The Cure • Doves • Echo & the Bunnymen • Eels • Elbow • Feeder • Foals • Franz Ferdinand • Garbage • Happy Mondays • Interpol • The Jam • James • Jamie T • Jet • Joy Division • The Kinks • Klaxons • Libertines • Longpigs • Maximo Park • Metronomy • My Bloody Valentine • New Order • Pavement • Pixies • Placebo • Primal Scream • Pulp • Radiohead • Red Hot Chili Peppers • Slaves • Smashing Pumpkins • The Smiths • Stone Roses • The Strokes • Suede • Supergrass • Talking Heads • The Zutons... and more.
APRIL/MAY 2022 04/04 07/04 11/04 13/04 15/04 21/04 27/04
WALT DISCO SOLANA CHILDCARE MOBIUS LOOP ROUGH SHAG PRESENTS YELLOW ARCH COMEDY CLUB LIZ LAWRENCE
28/04 29/04 07/05 12/05 14/05 16/05 19/05
LUCID DREAMERS IS THIS IT? FOR THE RECORD SHIRLEY SMART TRIO FREEDA CRACK CLOUD YELLOW ARCH COMEDY CLUB
YELLOWARCH.COM/EVENTS 30-36 BURTON ROAD, SHEFFIELD, S3 8BX
MUSIC REVIEWS
The Coral The Leadmill And so it begins. Fans of 00s indie rock ought to rejoice – the 20-year anniversary tours have started. The Libertines, fresh off a recent gig in Sheffield, just announced a slew of gigs to mark 20 years since the release of Up the Bracket. And tonight at The Leadmill, The Coral are also marking 20 years since the release of their self-titled debut album, with the first show of their own anniversary tour. Those 20 years have done little to take the sheen off an album that was nominated for the Mercury Prize just a day after its release. A proper miserable evening has done just as little to put off a sold-out crowd, who are packed into The Leadmill to relive old memories and create new ones (special shout-out to the guy at the back who projectile vomited halfway through the show – there’s one you’ll never forget). The Coral still sounds as fresh as it did 20 years ago. Opener ‘Spanish Main’ is a cracking start to the album, combining spooky feedback loops with ghostly psychedelic vocals and nautical lyrics that kickstarted the band’s ongoing – and possibly unhealthy – obsession with songs about the seaside. ‘Dreaming of You’, predictably, gets one of the biggest receptions of the night. Frontman James Skelly wrote the song when he was just 15, describing it as ‘probably the shittiest tune I’ve ever written’, but the song’s enduring popularity suggests otherwise. The band dig deeper into their psychedelic influences with the catchy ‘Simon Diamond’ and the sprawling ‘Goodbye’, which sounds like a lost Zombies tune. The second half of the set is a victory lap of sorts. ‘In the Morning’, ‘1000 Years’ and ‘Pass it On’ all elicit huge responses from the crowd, who by now are hanging on Skelly’s every word. If the first half of the set reminded fans why they fell in love with The Coral, the second half reminded us all why they’re one of Britain’s most consistent bands. They’re back at Tramlines in July for another lap of their victory parade, and you’d be mad to miss it. Words: Nick Harland Photography: Hannah Gough
Wolf Alice O2 Academy
Sheffield gig-goers finally got their fix of the Blue Weekend Tour last night when London four-piece Wolf Alice made their long-awaited entrance at O2 Academy.
They kicked off their set up in Yorkshire with the heaviest of bangers, ‘Smile’. Ten seconds of tension before a powerful guitar riff appears out of the mist sending fans flying around the room. Ellie Rowsell, the baddest b**tch in indie, wearing a blue blazer with every pair of eyes in the room on her, and singing in this direct but reserved tone leading me to feel like I’m watching the female version of Van McCann. Next up, and one of my personal favourites, ‘You’re a Germ’. Starting off with the slight strumming of the guitar behind Ellie’s reserved vocals, the impact of a screeching guitar guides us into a heavy but heavenly instrumental. However, the pace then changes back to something more reserved yet again; no one can take their eyes off the band because everyone is transfixed waiting for the chorus. The band is counting down, ready for the moshpits and chorus to launch in “One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven!” - and then Miss Rowsell put us out of misery, bellowing every single word of the catchy chorus, “You ain’t going to heaven / ‘Cause I’m dragging you down to hell.” The band closed the Sheffield set with their most popular tune ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’. The most utterly stunning and romantic indie love song filled the room with a sense of euphoria; fans gravitating together, linking arms and belting out every single word. The chorus each time like a tribal cry, “What if it’s not meant for me? Loveeee.” Wolf Alice, you are my new number one. Words: Laura Mills // Photography: Sahar Ghadirian WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 75
MUSIC // TSARZI
FOOL BRITANNIA Exposed meets Sarah Sharp, stage name Tsarzi. Religiously experimental and eloquently spoken, the artist waxed lyrical about upcoming show ‘Gone to the Dogs’ and the forlorn alter-ego Lady Britannia who’ll be taking to the stage at Yellow Arch next month. Words: Tom Bell Photography: Barbora Cetlova (@barkaphotographysheffield)
Your show is ‘an affectionally nightmarish reflection on Britain’s Imperial Nostalgia and obsession with the war(s) presented by a faded Britannia’. How is your show both ‘Nightmarish’ and ‘Affectionate’? It sums up my style essentially. I had been doing it in a smaller way before now and I think because of time over lockdown and the new studio space I’ve had the chance to properly sing out and find out more about the sound I’m making. I have quite a theatrical, operatic voice which has gotten bigger and when I sang, I found the songs I’d been singing leant increasingly towards nightmarish ends as I’ve been able to exaggerate the extremities of my voice. It’s nightmarish as I found myself ventriloquising a lot; I allowed myself to have a theme and a concept meaning I could ventriloquise all these different voices. I’ve worked in rough pubs and listen in to conversation where there are extracts spoken from the Daily Mail. The main song ‘This Is England’, which tops the show, is quite demonic and frenzied and portrayed through me as this faded Britannia. The show is affectionate as the show isn’t just me standing there and ranting at people e.g., ‘Tories are bad’ etc. It has more of an amused, darkly humorous element within. I find a lot of affection with all the portraits I do of people and therefore why there is a lot of tenderness and sadness within the show. ‘Britain’s Imperial Nostalgia and obsession with the war(s)’. What motivated you to do a piece on this topic? For me, post-Brexit opened a schism. My 76 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
personal experiences such as working in pubs, being on buses, my family etc, meant I could overhear conversations and see how people were living in cocoons before the result. It created the awareness of this gap and the awareness that we were splitting. At the end of 2019, I was thinking about what I should release, and I’d finished a song called ‘This Is England’. It’s a mad, very weird song but I could instantly see it’s a fun song which I could centre around a figure and talk about the empire. Lockdown happened and I feared people would forget about Brexit, but instead people started using rhetoric about covid like we were at war and this Blitz spirit emerged about us always winning. The virus doesn’t care! In some ways, this period was a gift, as for the last two years I’ve been able to see this story unravel. We’re in an interesting space on the concept of ourselves and what makes England. I’ve been getting back into learning about history, and I realised that we have always been like this since the empire – e.g., the identity of England and the notion of exceptionalism. The show features a whole war section with themes based on Last Night of the Proms and Purcell’s aria which they play at the Cenotaph and is based in Greek myth. We are so steeped in war and tradition and the idea of how things are memorialised and what makes an Englishman. There’s a teaser YouTube clip of one of your songs called ‘Lady of Shallot’, which will be in your show. It’s very unique with just you
and a looper. Can we expect to see more experimentation like that? There are some wonderful sounds that are produced from my new kit, the Nord keyboard. It’s a weighted 88 key piano that can split the sections, so I can layer piano, bringing sounds in and out and setting up weird segments. There’s a lot of vocal looping, strange pedal/voice effects and audio effects to mirror the radio. There is some violin, too! What has influenced this new sound? Over lockdown, I think that everyone has been given the chance to reset and rethink and I felt like I was becoming a little stagnant in what I was doing. Lockdown gave me the chance to retreat into this self-directed learning space. It gave me a chance to reconnect with myself.
“We’re British” are phrases which I can’t understand. I had to make these phrases look like a person (Britannia), a person who is feeling a bit cast off, very resentful of the world but she’s scared to go out in it. She’s half a prophetess figure, as she sees what’s going on, but also a neglected priestess because no one is paying her homage. She is part of a forgotten age. She’s stuck in the past, which I feel like a lot. There’s the constant threat of missing out but not having the wherewithal to go out and address it. Its predominantly a case of seeing what she is like when she is in front of people. Everything I do will be done with a slight wink to the audience! Do your personal experiences link in with her perspectives? I don’t think my experiences link in with her perspectives as she allows me to ventriloquise things that I hear and the feelings that are present in a room. My first album is so much from my perspective and was a way of dealing with things. The show allows me to give voice to things I don’t agree with but notice. The idea isn’t that I change between her on stage; I come on stage as her and that’s that. The character allows you to open yourself up without you having to come in with a political agenda. There’s something very freeing about it. ‘Gone to the Dogs’, the artist’s show conjoining songs and theatre in a wonderful summation of her lockdown creativity, heads to Yellow Arch Studios on Saturday 7th May. Tickets and info available on eventbrite.com.
I’ve now become a Radio 3 girl! There’s been a lot of influences such as the haunting sounds of ‘Long Lankin’ from the Wainwright Sisters and other stuff which has been brewing in the background, ready to enter my songs. Scott Walker is my hero and having the studio space has allowed me to go full operatic. I felt that I’ve become a hermit over the last 2 years and that’s why the show is very relevant because she is like that, too! The character is ‘a faded Britannia sits in her shabby bedsit’. (What an intro!) ‘She sings in grief and forgotten glory’. Who is this person and why is she so depressed! She is an image and an idea of an empire. She embodies the people and voices that I hear: “We won the war”, “We used to be great” and
We’re in an interesting space on the concept of ourselves and what makes England. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 77
BRITANNIA
A faded Britannia rolls back the centuries and dips once more into her plentiful reserves of nostalgia for this month’s jaunt down musical memory lane. MOST CHERISHED MUSICAL MEMORY… Every year at the Last Night of the Proms when everyone waves their small (but mighty) flags and sings ‘Rule Me’. FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCE YOU ATTENDED... Likely it was some maypole folk affair in the rurals of deep England, now lost to the mists of time. The first one I remember though was going to the music hall in London (this was back in the 1850s, when music was still good). We drank gin and sang along to our favourite tunes and booed the bad ones offstage. It was a jolly time. A SONG I WISH I’D WROTE... All the good ones are about me - so in a way, I rather did write them. A SONG THAT CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE... My perspective is panoptic and omniscient, thus the notion of it being changed in any way is laughable. However, I did hear Shivering by that prolific young gentleman Edward Sheerhands recently on the wireless - and it made me think. SONGS THAT TAKE YOU BACK IN TIME... I spend all my time in the past - every song is a foxtrot down memory lane for me. OTHE FIRST RECORD I EVER BOUGHT.. I am an anthropomorphised ideal of a perfect golden age that never existed, so technically I have never ‘bought’ anything. However, an admirer once courted me with a particularly fine rendering of the Pomp and Circumstance March No.4, played at double speed across a separate recording of cannon fire recre-
ated from the Battle of Waterloo, while a bulldog barked the most quotable lines of Churchill’s Top 10 war speeches in morse code. My suitor was ultimately unsuccessful in his quest - but I still have the record, and play it often.
THE FIRST SONG I PERFORMED… I believe it was a tune of my own devising. An ode to ruined hope and despair (I was so carefree in my youth). Perhaps I will sing it for you, if you can make it to our little show.
SONGS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE… There’ll Always be an England - Vera Lynn. Greensleeves. Crocodile Rock - Elton John.
Gone to the Dogs - 7th May at the White Room, Yellow Arch tsarzi.com @tsarzipan
Photography: Barbora Cetlova (@barkaphotographysheffield) shot at The WareHouse, Yellow Arch (@warehouseofantiques) 78 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
MUSIC // IN THE NURSERY
FAMILY HISTORY
In The Nursery have had a long and successful musical career, much of which we have reported on in this very magazine. Twins Klive and Nigel Humberstone came to the city in 1982 to attend Psalter Lane Art College and have been performing and recording here pretty much since. Their new album, eponymously titled Humberstone, is out this month, so we sent Mark Perkins to have a chat with them in their Sheffield studio to get an idea of what we can expect. Pictures: Chris Saunders This new album is called Humberstone. I’m guessing there’s some family connection or theme going on here? K: We always like to have a concept behind the album. Something that gives some sort of sense to it. I’m not really sure how the concept came about but we started drawing inspiration from our ancestors, our family history. We knew quite a bit about our family, but after both our parents died, we had to sell the family home, so going through all their stuff brought back some memories. The name of Humberstone comes from farming families from Lincoln. In fact, one track is called ‘The Ploughman’. How much did you know about your family history before you started looking into it in more detail?? N: We knew quite a lot, but there were bits we looked into even more. One of our ancestors, from Jersey, was going on an immigrant boat to New Zealand, and it burned and sank off the Cape of Good Hope. An entire fleet of ships on their way to New Zealand to start a new life. There was obviously no such thing as health and safety in those days. All but four people perished at sea. That then gave us a narrative to write the music to. K: Another of the tracks was inspired by a great uncle of ours, who served in the mounted Yeomanry in Gallipoli. He wrote back to his parents, and the track is based on one of his letters. He was stuck in the trenches in Suvla Bay and was fighting the Turkish army. Even though it was a letter home to his parents, it’s a very harrowing piece to read. On the one hand, it’s very matter of fact – ‘I’m OK, mum and dad’ – but it’s also a very upsetting account of what happened. N: The track ‘Mallards (The Storyteller)’ has our mother reading the two of us a bedtime story, from when we were about 3. Our dad, who was an animator, was a great cine enthusiast. He made his 80 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
own films and audio recordings, which we digitised. I just took a section of her reading to us, spun it into a track we were working on, one which I thought would suit it, and it just worked. K: When I think back to bedtime reading, I distinctly remember an old Metek bedside reading lamp. At the end of the track is the sound of an old antique lamp being switched off. I suppose, what we’re almost doing is dissecting our genetic code, our musical DNA. Is it fair to describe this as a ‘lockdown album’? K: No, we would have made this album anyway. We had started it before then, and when lockdown started in 2020, we both went away, worked from
home on our own and started coming up with ideas. We recorded more of this album in our studio than we have with previous albums. More live recording, anyway, using some vintage equipment we’ve been collecting over the years. I’ve seen a photo you shared online of an old RCA microphone… K: Yes, we used that. We picked it up in a market in Mexico, years ago. It needed to be restored and mended; it was used to record pretty much everything in the studio. It’s an old ribbon microphone and has great character to it. How do you compose between the two of you? N: We sometimes compose together. The first single, ‘Ektachrome’, started as the two of us playing just piano and a guitar riff. Other tracks come from one of us creating something, and then the other one will come in the next day to add and subtract bits. A number of tracks we started on didn’t go past a certain stage. If you look at the album tracks, each one has a number – H21 or H43 for example. These denote the order in which we composed the tracks. One of the tracks on the album is H58, so you can see how many potential ideas we had before they were whittled down to just ten tracks. K: That’s quite normal for us. Often we just go down the wrong road, and there’s no way back apart from stopping and starting again. I’m going to ask a very unfair question now. Is it possible to give a potted history of what In The Nursery has been doing over the last 40-plus years? K: No, not really! We came to Sheffield and formed the band in 1981 when we were at Psalter Lane Art College. We had our own little band before we moved here, but being in Sheffield at that time, going to gigs, and the whole sort of scene that was happening then, it just inspired you to do your own thing musically. At first, we just wanted to play live, but Marcus Featherby came up to us one day and told us we should record something and bring it out as a record. We had no idea we wanted to do that, but we’ve just carried on like that ever since really. N: We’ve kept our independence, reached outside Sheffield, toured Europe, and indeed all over the world. We just focussed on making music. We also moved into making music to accompany silent films, with our Optical Music series of releases. Are there any live dates planned? K: Not really, no. I know some bands record an album, tour to promote it, but we’ve never really done that. Things are much more difficult, postBrexit, and our normal market in Europe is very difficult to reach now. It was never easy before for it to be financially viable, but now it’s virtually impossible. We may well do something in Sheffield later this year, but we need to get the album released first. HUMBERSTONE WILL BE RELEASED IN LATE APRIL AND IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW AT INTHENURSERY.COM WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 81
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FILM WITH CAL REID& MARK PERKINS
THE BATMAN It’s important to say at the beginning that The Batman is not a superhero film. Matt Reeves’ epic has more in common with Taxi Driver and Seven than any previous screen incarnation of The Caped Crusader, or any other comic book film before it besides, perhaps, The Crow. Reeves has managed to give audiences a Batman film that steps out of the long shadow cast by the legendary Christopher Nolan trilogy. From the first few minutes, the tone is set and the world established perfectly. It is a threatening, hopeless and repugnant Gotham City, existing seemingly in a constant state of winter dusk and night; it’s a place where the sun can never shine its light on the brooding Gothic architecture dominating a dystopian metropolis. An urban hell, haunted not just by scum, serial killers and organised crime but by a vigilante who may very well be just as disturbed as those he hunts. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is terrifying and brutal, though not infallible. He takes a lot of punishment throughout, demonstrating he is not yet the invincible legend the character will become over the years. Much like Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, this Bruce Wayne is a withdrawn, socially awkward insomniac. It is as though the Batman is a morally dubious entity that infected Bruce Wayne long ago, now at a point where it has nearly taken complete control. It is a film about Batman, not Bruce Wayne: Pattinson spends most of the movie in costume, and when he’s not wearing the armoured gear, there is a palpable sense of separation anxiety. Wayne cannot live long outside of the suit. Pattinson’s performance is mesmerising, but so are those of Paul Dano’s menacing, unhinged Riddler; Zoë Kravitz’s mysterious, seductive Selina Kyle; and Colin Farrell’s up-and-coming disfigured mobster, Penguin. All the performers put an iconic stamp on their famous characters, further enriching the universe of Gotham that Reeves has created. There are no CGI-fest fights here, as the film is more of a neo-noir detective story in narrative, visuals and execution. The investigative element of Batman is focused upon heavily, as is his relationship with GCPD officer James Gordon. The police are facing a losing battle and must reluctantly rely on The Dark Knight’s resources and determination to do their jobs. The chemistry between Jeffrey Wright and Pattinson is on par with Oldman and Bale. Reeves also confronts the idea that Batman may, in fact, be the cause 86 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
of the sick monsters he battles. Those who pay attention and know their comic book lore will understand the significance of involving Bruce’s parents in the second half of the film. Speaking of comic book influences, The Batman draws heavily on several of the best graphic novels of all time, primarily Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Earth One and Batman: Year One. Some initial reviews have complained about the tone and the lack of humour, without really elaborating upon why that is an issue. Batman, of all the well-known comic characters along with Daredevil, is at his best when taken very seriously. Not in the way Zack Snyder took him seriously, clearly, but being brave enough to explore the textured, dark material that exists in the comics. There is humour here, but not of the kind Marvel fans would be used to. The film’s subtle comedic elements are more in line with “Leave the gun, take the Cannoli.” An immersive experience that may be the definitive – and most unique – cinematic take on the character so far. Reeves and the cast have given birth to a new and exciting world for Batman. 5/5 CR
COMING SOON... The Northman A violent, visually striking tale of a Viking prince’s quest for revenge starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Alexander Skarsgård, from The Lighthouse director Robert Eggers. The Outfit A noirish thriller set in a Chicago tailor shop, starring Mark Rylance, Dylan O’Brien and Simon Russell Beale. Downton Abbey: A New Era Follow-up to the 2019 film adaptation of the TV series, starring Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery and Maggie Smith.
HIVE
It’s no great revelation that the misery of war extends well beyond the fighting, and Hive profoundly explores a widow’s struggle to rebuild her family’s life in the aftermath of the Kosovo War. And if it were possible to make things worse, she’s not even officially a widow. Her husband disappeared in a town where men were rounded up and slaughtered seven years previously, but his body has never been identified or found. There’s no hint of sentimentality in this superb film, where Ylka Gashi plays Fahrije, who struggles to support her children and her father-in-law by selling honey. She decides to take further control and tries to sell homemade pepper sauce to make more money, but Fahrije is opposed at every turn by the cultural expectations of the people she lives amongst; they want her to be respectfully waiting for her husband to return, and even the women around her find it hard to support what she is trying to achieve. She herself struggles with the complexities of balancing her family and community obligations with a conviction that what she is doing is right. It’s all based on the true story of the real Fahrije, who we finally get to see as the credits roll. It’s difficult at times not to feel this is now real footage, as it would be no struggle at all to sell this as a documentary. At no point in the entire film does it seem like anyone is acting; it is a true triumph of cinéma vérité. Bierta Basholli’s film of a woman’s struggle against the patriarchal environment where she lives has already started to win awards – and deservedly so. It will inevitably get a limited cinema run up against the big Hollywood giants, but this perfectly crafted story will live with me much longer than the adventures of Bruce Wayne or some Belgian detective. In fact, I doubt I’ll see a more engrossing film this year. 5/5 MP Exposed saw Hive as part of a press screening at The Showroom Cinema. Head to www. showroomworkstation.org.uk for the latest film listings and news. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 87
LGBTQ+
Spring has sprung and beer garden weather is finally upon us, so if you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy the weather then head to Malin Bridge Inn’s outdoor cocktail bar, where they will be kicking off summer early with the launch of their new cocktail menu and their George Michael Tribute show (Sat 2 Apr). Also appearing at Malin Bridge Inn this month are drag residents DJ Brooke (Sat 9 Apr), with non-stop bops and the Tanya Minge Disco Diva Party (Fri 22 Apr) where she’ll be spinning the decks, dishing out the dirt and, if you’re lucky, showing off her amazing powerhouse vocals with a few songs here and there. There’s more drag over at Picture House Social as Karma Leon’s Kabaret return for their second showing of Mischief! (Fri 1 Apr). Karma Leon’s Kabaret is a kick-ass variety night that promotes breaking the rules and mixes dirty girl punk with the glitz and glamour of classic cabaret showcasing all the new and emerging talent within South Yorkshire – celebrating drag, burlesque, magic, circus and more! In more drag events, the amazing Trixie Lee returns to Hagglers Corner for Drag Queen Bingo (Wed 20 Apr) and the latest batch of RuPaul’s Queens sashay their way to Sheffield for the Drag Race UK Series 2 Tour (Sat 9 Apr) at City Hall. Also appearing at City Hall this month is Joe Lycett (the artist formerly known as Hugo Boss) for three nights for More, More, More! How Do You Lycett? How Do You Lycett? (Thu 14/Fri 15/Sat 16 Apr) and doing what he does best: talking at a room of people in a queer and comedic fashion packed with MORE jokes, MORE comedy anecdotes and MORE inappropriate and arguably disturbing paintings. Over at Spirit of Sheffield, LGBT Sheffield’s night of old-skool hi-nrg Rockies (2 Apr) returns following their packed-out launch night and DJ Jaxter and Tia Anna are back for Club Flora (Fri 8 Apr) playing dancefloor classics and forgotten gems with live cabaret performances. In addition to their regular pre-match socials (9/15/23 Apr) Rainbow Blades,
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Photo: Emma Boileau
SPRINGING FORWARD
Sheffield United’s LGBT+ supporters club will be throwing a party to celebrate their 2nd Birthday with DJ Anna Kissed (Sat 16 Apr) and their new karaoke night (Thu 21 Apr) returns for the singers amongst you. Feeling creative? Then join DDY as they make their way to DINA for their Queer Art Club (Wed 13 Apr). Poor Spice, Bambi Smith and Gnarkill also return to DINA for Cyb3r Party (Sat 9 Apr) a night of hyperpop. For more queer dance joy, check out Club Rush (Fri 1 Apr) at Gut Level with Michael Upson (Love Muscle) DJ Subaru
(Pleasuremaxxx) and Rush Residents. And last but by no means least, acoustic singer-songwriter Rhiannon Scutt (pictured) takes to the stage at Greystones on Fri 22 April to launch a series of three connected EPs entitled ‘Facets’ – showing the development in her powerful, emotive music since the first live solo release ‘#9’ in 2018. That’s your lot for this month, as always keep an eye on the Sheffield LGBT+ events page on facebook.com/ sheffieldlgbtevents for updates and announcements on the latest events and news.
Until next time, love and rainbows...
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CULTURE
HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS A citywide showcase of creative talent in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, local artists will celebrate 24 years of Open Up Sheffield by showcasing their work and speaking to the public about the influences behind it. Open Up Sheffield is one of the largest and most successful open studio events outside London, run by a dedicated team of volunteers, all of whom are practicing artists and craftspeople, headed by ‘Open Up’ Chair Annette Petch. With no event in 2020, Open Up Sheffield 2021 was a bit different. Instead of being held over two weekends in May, it was an online event over the whole of May. Artists had their own dedicated page accessed via the Open Up Sheffield website with photographs featuring their artwork, along with information about the artist, virtual studio demonstrations and artwork tours. This year, Open Up Sheffield 2022 will be back to opening up over two weekends (30th April, 1st-2nd May and 7th-8th May 2022) and artists will have their artwork featured online too. The event comprises of workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions across the two weekends – plus a chance for members of the public to meet and speak with participating artists. Visitors will also have the opportunity to buy a unique piece of artwork or even commission a bespoke piece themselves. The artwork on offer will unite a wind range of styles and formats: watercolour, oil and acrylic paints, jewellery, ceramics, textiles, crafts, wood, glass, photography, print, mixed media and even handmade shoes. Open Up Sheffield is a free event and prides itself on being familyfriendly, so much so that it is now a validated Children’s University Learning Destination, meaning that children can complete an art activity in their own time in order to earn credits to gain awards and certificates. Head to openupsheffield.co.uk/childrens-university/ to take a closer look.
For more information on the artists featured and where you can find them this year, head to openupsheffield.co.uk. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 91
CULTURE // BURNING MAN
RADICAL HORIZONS
Renowned for their thought-provoking sculptures and artwork, Burning Man, usually held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, will be making their UK debut at Chatsworth this spring with an ambitious and free-to-access exhibition in the Derbyshire estate’s parkland. Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man at Chatsworth is a large-scale, sculpture exhibition in the publicly accessible 1000-acre park surrounding the house, which sees 12 sculptures from Burning Man, going on display in the UK for the first time from 9th April to 1st October. The idea comes from twins and business partners Tom and Ben The exhibition features eight existing sculptures and four works built on site, including three new participatory sculptures that will be created in the parkland with the help of visitors and local community groups over the course of the year, mirroring the build process at Burning Man that sees teams of volunteers gathering in the desert to create new artworks. Free to access and enjoy for all, the exhibition also benefits from a dedicated engagement programme working with communities of people who generally find Chatsworth hard to access, offering activities designed to leave a legacy of creative possibility and new connections with people. The Burning Man Project produces the annual Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, and works year-round to extend and facilitate the culture that has grown from the event into the larger world Kim Cook, Director of Creative Initiatives at Burning Man, told
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Exposed: “We’ve come to understand Chatsworth as a place to foster innovation, creativity, thoughtfulness and thinkers since its early days, something that is also central to our work and ethos at Burning Man. Our hope is that the art in the landscape will provoke joy, new ways of viewing, and be an invitation to make up your own story about meaning as you explore the beautiful expanse of Chatsworth.” For those who don’t know, Burning Man Project is a network of people that is reflected in the Ten Principles and united in the pursuit of more creative and connected existence in the world. Their
mission is to facilitate and extend the culture that has issued from the Burning Man event into the larger world. The project aims to produce a positive spiritual change in the world and communicate with one another. Burning Man states that they are radically inclusive and its meaning is potentially accessible to anyone. As these works are usually displayed in the USA, this is possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to view these sculptures before they return home. The exhibition opens on 9th April and is free to all. Head to www. chatsworth.org for more information.
CULTURE // TOP PICKS
WOLF!
Studio Theatre // 4-6 April // £8-£10 With original music, puppetry and a tale you thought you knew, Wolf! is a retelling of Aesop’s Fable. Jack is bored. Bored of watching sheep. Bored of counting sheep. Bored of Sheep. Find out what happens when Jack cries WOLF! sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE
Lyceum // 11-16 April // £15-£50.50 The smash-hit musical returns home to Sheffield, featuring West End star Layton Williams and EastEnders’ much-loved Shane Richie. Funny, fabulous and feelgood, this is the musical sensation for all the family and not to be missed! sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
SURVEY II
Site Gallery // 12 March – 5 June // Free Survey II presents new commissions by 10 artists from across the UK, focusing on a common preoccupation with how we relate to each other and the world around us. Artists consider subjects such as the balance of control between humans and nature and the representation of queer and marginalised bodies. sitegallery.org
SIX THE MUSICAL
Lyceum // 19-30 April // £15 - £42.50 In this sell-out international smash hit, the six wives of Henry VIII finally take to the mic to tell their tales. Nominated for 5 Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, SIX sees five hundred years of historical heartbreak remixed into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
NISH KUMAR: CONTROL
Crucible // 7 April // £22 From the host of Late Night Mash and one of the Guardian’s Top Fifty Comedians of the 21st Century, Control sees Nish Kumar somehow take the uncertainty of COVID and the recent political situation personally. As seen on Live at the Apollo and Taskmaster, Kumar is hilariously furious and often the butt of his own jokes. sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
JON RONSON: THINGS FELL APART TOUR Sheffield City Hall // 5 April // £20 Things Fell Apart is the live version of journalist Jon Ronson’s hit BBC Radio 4 podcast in which he discusses how people have lost their careers and wellbeing after getting caught up in online culture wars. There’ll be brand new stories, rare video clips, surprise guests and a Q&A. sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
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