DEC 2021
KID ACNE
OUR HOMETOWN HIP-HOP MAESTRO GETS BACK ON THE BEATS
2021 LOOKBACK // TALK CLUB // BILL BAILEY // FAUNAGRAPHIC KATE RUSBY // CHRISTMAS EVENTS ROUND-UP + MORE!
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New year from Freshman’s
CONTENTS 24
20
6 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
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DEC 2021
FEATURES 24: NO KID-DING
Adopted Sheffield son Kid Acne pops down the spray cans and paint brushes as he flexes his multi-talented artistic muscles in his musical guise with the release of new album, Null and Void. Joe Food caught up with him for a natter about his latest Yorkshire-based boom-bap efforts.
29: 2021 ROUNDUP
It’s fair to say, with one thing and another, it’s been quite the year! One that is hopefully ending far better than it began. Here, we roundup our Steel City highlights from the last 12 months, including the return of lots of lovely stuff like live music, theatre and festivals.
78: CHEEKY XMAS BAILEY
Comedian, musician and dancer (and soon to be anointed national treasure, surely), the much-loved Bill Bailey caught up with Dale Maplethorpe to talk ABBA, birdsong, and history lessons in Ragtime ahead of an upcoming Sheff Arena show in the new year.
20: TALKING IT OUT
Ashley Birch spoke to Talk Club founder and former broadcaster Mike McCarthy to discuss how the loss of his son has inspired him to get men talking (and listening) in our region.
REGULARS 45: FOOD & DRINK 68: NIGHTLIFE 71: MUSIC 74: FILM 78: COMEDY 87: CULTURE
It’s always a bit strange working on monthly magazines during the run-up to December. To try get ahead of the deadline curve, we start planning out the festive content as soon as we hit Autumn, chasing bemused venues for Chrimbo event listings in October, hitting the mince pies early doors and humming Nat King Cole while queueing at Tesco before we’ve even hit Bonfire Night. We go all out. As such, it’s nice for the rest of the city to have finally caught up. After spending most of last year’s holiday season cooped up inside eating masses of comfort cheese, it feels like everyone’s now trying to make up for lost time. Walking home via the bustling Christmas markets feels much more special this year considering where we were at twelve months ago... or at least that’s my go-to excuse when it comes to sneaking in a few ill-advised post-workies at the Alpine Bar. So, if you’re looking for a bit of yuletide inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. Our Step Into Christmas guide (p.29) has plenty of shouts ranging from markets to immersive light shows to festive theatre. Then there’s our usual pick of gigs (p.71), comedy (p.78), cultural happenings (p.87) and late-night shenanigans (p.68) towards the back. Elsewhere we’ve been getting a tad nostalgic, and our 2021 lookback rounds up some memorable moments from a whirlwind year. Citywide festivals, brand new venues, sporting events, film premieres – all the stuff we’d been starved of made a triumphant return and Sheffield woke up from its slumber in style. More of the same next year, please. Finally, a quick mention for our esteemed cover star. If you’re looking for the perfect gift to buy a hip-hop head, then Kid Acne’s recently released Null And Void should go down a treat. It’s album number five for Sheffieldbased artist/emcee, and he and his crew have served up a delightful smorgasbord of chaos theorising boom-bap. I had an enjoyable chat with Ed about the latest record and his musical journey over on p... Right, I’ll leave you flick through the rest. We’ll catch up again in 2022, but in the meantime, I’d like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at Exposed Mag. Have a good’un!
KID ACNE
OUR HOMETOWN HIP-HOP MAESTRO GETS BACK ON THE BEATS
2021 LOOKBACK // TALK CLUB // BILL BAILEY // FAUNAGRAPHIC KATE RUSBY // CHRISTMAS EVENTS ROUND-UP + MORE!
GAFFERS
Phil Turner (MD) phil@ exposedmagazine. co.uk Nick Hallam (Sales Director) nick@ exposedmagazine. co.uk Michael Johnson (Accounts) accounts@ exposedmagazine. co.uk
GRAFTERS
Joe Food (Editor) joe@exposedmagazine. co.uk Ash Birch (Online Editor) ash@exposedmagazine. co.uk
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Paul Stimpson (Design) paul@exposedmagazine. co.uk
GI’ US A HAND PLZ Heather Paterson, Cal Reid, Mark Perkins, Jukes Gray, Richard Phipps, Liana Sutherland
THE BUSINESS STUFF
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UPFRONT: NEWS
LOOKING TREE-MENDOUS Sheffield Cathedral’s Christmas Tree Festival returns this month
Sheffield Cathedral will sparkle and shine with more than 30 beautifully decorated Christmas trees this month. The Cathedral’s Christmas Tree Festival opened on the same night as the venue’s Christmas light show ‘The Beginning’ and runs through to 2 January. “It’s a very special time of the year in the Cathedral,” says Ben Rossi, Sheffield Cathedral’s Development Manager. “Having so many trees in this special place adds to the magic of Christmas. The festival is free (although the light show is a ticketed event) and visitors will be able to vote for their favourite tree. Afterwards all the trees will be chipped and disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way. For more information visit sheffieldcathedral.org or email arts@sheffield-cathedral.org.uk.
ROXY XMAS
Retro club night is on a ‘festive mission’ for Christmas appeal One of the city’s biggest retro club nights is promising to make up for the cancellation of Christmas last year with an 80’s and 90’s themed Christmas party at Sheffield’s O2 Academy on 10 December, in support of Hallam FM’s Mission Christmas appeal. The ‘Xmas Roxy’ – which has already sold hundreds of tickets – is making a donation to the Cash For Kids charity with every ticket sold. The event is set to deliver the biggest hit tunes from the ‘80s and ‘90s and is proving to be a popular destination for office Christmas parties. Hundreds attended the ‘Back To The Roxy’ event in July – just weeks after the full lifting of coronavirus restrictions. 10 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
It was the first night out for 17 months for many of the crowd and they made the best of it, with scores dressed up in elaborate ‘80s costumes to impersonate icons of the era like Adam Ant, Michael Jackson, Madonna and others. Dirty Stop Outs’ Neil Anderson – who is helping organise the ‘Xmas Roxy’ event – said: “Demand for tickets has been amazing – I think this really is going to be a Xmas party to remember. Think the biggest dancefloor tunes of the 1980s and 1990s on one of the biggest dancefloors in the north of England. We are definitely going to make up for last Christmas that never happened!” Prizes are up for grabs for the most elaborate costumes. Tickets for the ‘Xmas Roxy’ are just £10 from gigantic.com
UPFRONT: NEWS
SHOOTING FOR THE MOON Moonko hoping to scoop prestigious award at The Independent Awards
Popular Sheffield plant and homewares shop Moonko has been nominated for the High Street Shop Award, one of five categories within The Independent Awards, set up by Holly Tucker MBE, the founder of Notonthehightstreet.com. MoonKo is one of 20 independent shops that has been nominated for this category. Voting for The Independent Awards has now opened and the winner will receive a £10,000 cash prize. Debbie Back, owner of MoonKo, expressed her gratitude over her shop’s nomination: “It’s a great honour to be nominated for such an amazing award. The last few years have been hard. To get the recognition for all the hard work it has taken to keep my shop going on the high street is overwhelming.”
“I am so grateful and thankful for the nomination and to all those who have supported me during this time.” MoonKo opened its doors on Division Street in 2013. Over the last eight years, Debbie has worked hard to share her creative touch and love of botanicals with Sheffield. As a practised artist, art teacher and lecturer, Debbie chose selfemployment after becoming a mother to balance both her family and financial needs. Known as the ‘Yellow Shop’, MoonKo sells everything from jewelry and ceramics to dried flower arrangements and pin badges. To vote for MoonKo in The Independent Awards, visit holly. co.com. To find out more about MoonKo visit moonko.com.
PLACES IN TIME
Kenneth Steel was a skilled Sheffield artist and commercial illustrator who created visuals for classic mid-century travel posters and architectural landmarks, yet his name remains little known. From 17 December 2021 – 2 May 2022, a new exhibition opening at Weston Park Museum will shed new light on Steel’s considerable achievements. Places in Time: the Art of Kenneth Steel will bring together the most comprehensive collection of his art ever to go on display, including over 100 drawings, paintings, prints, posters and more.
WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 11
A Personal Love Letter to Sheffield
dancehall record label with an onsite stall. This 24th July 1993 Music In The Sun – A CD was a huge commercial success as jungle music - a sound emerging from the hardcore Multicultural Weekend Festival A rumble of intense bass and the clatter of breakbeat era of the late 80s/early 90s, fuelled multilayered drum patterns grabs my attention by Afro-Caribbean culture, samples and artists from a tent in the distance. I’m ten years old - takes hold of the UK underground music and though I’ve heard this sound before, I’ve scene. Artists including Macka B, Michael Prophet never heard it this loud! Alone as I wander into the tent, I’m met by and Sweetie Irie also performed at Music in the Sun in ’93. These artists a pulsating sea of colour, made a big impression on of moving limbs and of me too, especially Michael bodies much bigger than Prophet with his crying myself. Stack after stack of singjay style performing enormous speakers shake his ‘81 hit, ‘Gunman’. But me to my core. The music the biggest credit goes resonates with my soul. to local jungle artists I’m getting jostled “FOR ME, THE like Mongoose, Eazy D, about as I push deeper into the crowd but a MULTICULTURALISM Mental Power, MC Rush and DJ SS from Leicester friendly face looks down THAT LED TO over in the dance tent for on me and, shoving aside MUSIC IN THE forging my early obsession his flailing dreadlocks, SUN REPRESENTS with jungle music. he scoops me up and Honourable mentions onto his shoulders. From EVERYTHING I LOVE my new vantage point ABOUT THE CITY... must also go to Sound I can take in the whole THE FLAME IS STILL System crews like Desert Saxon, Gladywax scene: whistles and horns VERY MUCH ALIVE Storm, and DJs from Sheffield’s blasting and the ravers all WITH PLENTY SCR pirate radio station. smiles and dancing. The Watching these collectives DJ cues up slab after slab OF SMALLER of scorching hot vinyl and FESTIVALS TAKING at various Music in the Sun opened my eyes to acetate selections whilst an PLACE EACH YEAR” events a type of performance I’d MC (General Levi) pelts never witnessed before. I the audience with rapidvividly remember being fire lyrics. I’m totally swept astonished and outraged away with the energy and when Trevor Sax on the mic for Saxon Sound the vibe. From that moment on, jungle music was in marched over to the DJ and pulled back a tune. ‘MCs can’t do that!’ I thought. Now I my veins! When I finally leave the festival field I’m understand that Trevor was the selector AND clutching a CD, Jungle Hits Vol. 1, purchased the MC and he could do whatever he wanted! I must also big up Godson from UK Mama directly from Jet Star, a UK-based reggae/
BY ALEX DEADMAN
CATCH ALEX WITH THE JUNGLIST ALLIANCE AT TEKKERS MAD FRIDAY EVENT ON DEC 17 AT HOPE WORKS & AT CHURCH - TEMPLE OF FUN ON NYE FEAT. KENNY KEN. 12 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Image: Liam Spinks
who passed me plenty of free dumplings and gave me my first taste of raw sugarcane, helping a young lad low on funds to stay nourished over the weekend. Music in the Sun took place at Don Valley Bowl, a large green space created alongside Don Valley Stadium in preparation for the World Student Games in 1991. I was taken to the festival by my Dad, Alan Deadman (aka Papa Al), who ran the JuJu Club tent over the weekend in ’93 and also went on to have a hand in several events and festivals taking place at this site. Dad had run the JuJu Club, a global live music event alongside my Mum (Ro) and initially some other families since the late 80s. This early exposure to events like Music in the Sun was hugely influential on my own career. In the years that followed I helped to found The Junglist Alliance, a rag-tag crew of DJs, MCs, promoters, ravers, graffiti artists and party animals mostly comprised of youngsters who met at High Storrs school. The Junglist Alliance have been lucky enough to perform all over the UK and have appeared internationally including curating stages with audiences of over 5,000 at Rototom Reggae Sunsplash Festival in Spain and Italy and being the first ever international jungle ambassadors to perform in Albania. I’ve had a hand in Tramlines Festival since its inception in 2009 and have organised club nights, record labels and spent over 10 years working with Under the Stars, a disability arts charity running club nights and music sessions. Although Music in the Sun did include indie tents and performers (a young Richard Hawley performed in ‘93 with The Longpigs just months after the band had formed), the festival was very much a product of a thriving Afro-Caribbean community based right here in Sheffield. This was not a niche event tucked away in a hidden corner of the city. It was a huge event attended by all walks of life with mainstream partners including Radio Sheffield and the Sheffield Telegraph. I know that like many large-scale events, long term financial success did not materialise for this festival, but this does not diminish the influence. For me, the multiculturalism that led to Music in the Sun represents everything I love about the city. I’m aware that for various reasons, the Afro-Caribbean community is not as well represented as it used to be, but the flame is still very much alive with plenty of smaller festivals taking place each year and a steady stream of artists emerging in various musical genres. I hope the cultural cohesion that led to Music in the Sun can be strengthened for the future - to inspire the youth and to continue Sheffield’s legacy as a cultural melting pot. I give thanks to my family, to Sheffield, to everyone who made the festival possible and to the vibrant Afro-Caribbean community for the inspiration, the music, the curry goat and the memories! @DeadmanJunglist WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 13
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UP FRONT TRAMLINES
Sheffield’s biggest party has announced the lineup for the 2022 event at Hillsborough Park from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July. Headlining are Sam Fender (Friday), Kasabian (Saturday) and Madness (Sunday), alongside many more acts including The Wombats, The Vaccines, James, Declan McKenna, Sigrid, Becky Hill, Reverend and The Makers, Little Man Tate, Shed Seven, Self Esteem, The Coral, Sports Team, Inhaler, The Snuts, Jade Bird, Sam Ryder, Yard Act, Lottery Winners, Coach Party, Kynsy, Do Nothing, Working Men’s Club, Just Mustard, Swim School, Pixey, Everly Pregnant Brothers and more. Over five stages of music, art, performance, a soon-to-be-announced comedy lineup, family friendly area and a genre-spanning lineup of the internationally acclaimed to grass roots talent, 2022 will mark the 13th edition of the event. Tramlines 2022 takes place following a historic event in 2021 where the festival took place as part of the Government’s Event Research Programme. It was the largest festival in Western Europe to go ahead since lockdown restrictions were eased and marked a national celebration of the return to live music. Timm Cleasby, Tramlines Operations Director, said: “After the amazing spirit that everyone brought to Tramlines 2021
and how the team delivered an amazing festival in challenging times, we’re all back working hard to make 2022 better than ever. I honestly can’t wait to be back in the park and having a blast with Sheffield again. “There are so many great bands on the 2022 line-up. Those I’m really looking forward to catching are Sigrid, Kasabian, The Coral, Orla Gartland and James, and there’s some great Sheffield artists that I’ve been looking forward to seeing for a while too, the amazing Self Esteem, the return of Little Man Tate and our friends, Reverend and The Makers to name a few. Then to finish off the party, Madness will be sending everyone dancing back to their house…Tramlines 2022 is gonna go off.” This is just the first wave of
Picture: Charlotte Patmore / FANATIC and TRAMLINES 2021
TRAMLINES: THE FIRST WAVE
talent set to perform at Tramlines 2022. Festivalgoers should keep an eye out for further lineup announcements, plus further announcements from across the festival site including, comedy and cabaret, family fun, fabulous food and drink offerings and much more. Day tickets are priced from £50 and Weekend tickets at £130 (both plus booking fees) and can be purchased alongside VIP ticket options from tramlines.org.uk.
In a nutshell… Friday Sam Fender / James / Declan McKenna / Shed Seven (Special Guests) / The Snuts / Jade Bird / Orla Gartland / Coach Party / Kynsy / Lime Garden / August Charles Saturday Kasabian / The Vaccines / Sigrid / Little Man Tate / Self Esteem / Inhaler / Sam Ryder / Lottery Winners / Kawala / Working Men’s Club / Just Mustard / Swim School / Sheafs / Pixey / Everly Pregnant Brothers Sunday Madness / The Wombats / Becky Hill / Reverend and The Makers / The Coral (Special Guests) / Sports Team / Yard Act / Do Nothing / Bedroom High Club / Luxury Goods
Crowd picture: C Faruolo / FANATIC and TRAMLINES 2021
WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 17
Image: Dan Wood
HERITAGE SHEFFIELD
CHRISTMAS ON FARGATE As Fargate and the surrounding areas are now fully trussed up for Christmas, in this month’s column Heritage Sheffield founder Richard Phipp’s talks us through some of the famous street’s history and its eyecatching 19th century architecture.
The fairy lights are up, the market stalls are aglow and there’s a distinct earthy aroma of chestnuts in the winter air. It must be Christmas on Fargate! You’ve had your bratwurst, browsed the kiosks for a trinket or two and now it’s time for a pint of German Pilsner or a hot mulled wine. It’s a lively time on one of our city’s best-preserved Victorian streets and it is reminiscent of times passed when the crossroads outside the Town Hall were the heart of 19th and early 20th Century Sheffield. Whilst you soak up the festive atmosphere in the December chill, it’s worth having a good nosey at your surroundings. The Town Hall, Sheffield’s third, takes centre stage. It looms large over the streets below and is the epicentre of governance and decision making in the city. If you are standing at the top of Fargate, gazing up at the 61m high clock tower, then you are sharing a spot with thousands before who have witnessed royal visits, civic receptions and political demonstrations. The hall, designed by E. W. Mountford, is a brilliant example of Victorian Gothic architecture and adorned with the carvings of many Sheffield trades, all watched over by the celestial figure of Vulcan. The Town Hall was officially opened on the 21st May 1897 by Queen Victoria during her Diamond Jubilee year. It was the first time a sitting monarch had visited the city. Crowds amassed around the hall, bunting crisscrossed overhead down Fargate and ceremonial arches were erected on both Pinstone Street and Barker’s Pool for the occasion. The gilded gates of Sheffield’s largest civil building were officially open! Another royal engagement that attracted more 18 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
than 30,000 residents to Town Hall Square was the King’s announcement over the radio of Victory in Europe Day in 1945. Wild celebrations continued throughout the night and a woman dressed in the red, blue and white of the Union Jack scaled the hall’s gates and led the hordes in verses of the ‘Land of Hope & Glory’. The building continues to draw people in, whether it’s for celebrating their football team’s promotion or calling for action against the world’s ills. On the corner of Surrey Street and Fargate is another grand Victorian addition to the cityscape. Sadly, what we knew as the Yorkshire Bank is now vacant but it was a multifunctional hub for Sheffielder’s in the late 1800’s. Erected in 1889 for the Yorkshire Penny Bank, it housed a temperance restaurant and hotel above, known as the Albany Hotel. Temperance establishments prohibited the consumption of alcohol and at this time it was a growing movement, especially in Sheffield as the indulgence in ale and spirits was rife amongst those in the steelworks and light trade industries. I very much doubt the new owners will resurrect a 21st century Albany Hotel! In true Gothic style, gargoyles keep a watchful eye on the shoppers below from their fifth storey perch. Opposite the Town Hall is the home of HL Brown, that luxury Sheffield jeweller whose timepieces seduce the passer-by. They occupy what is known as Yorkshire House, an 1884 construction by Sheffield’s own Flockton & Gibbs. The building has an intriguing link to the Royal family for it is emblazoned with the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales. It used to be the showcase furniture shop for cabinetmakers Johnson & Appleyard, one of the most Credit: Steel City Drone Pilot
respected in the business outside of London. On top of their illustrious regal customer, they could boast a clientele that included the Duke of Norfolk and the Archbishop of York. They furnished the homes of Sheffield’s wealthiest with the finest crafted pieces. They also fitted the oak fixtures in the city’s council chambers across the street. The family business lost momentum in the 1910s with the death of Joseph Appleyard, the company’s head, which eventually resulted in the Appleyard’s selling the entirety of their shares in 1941. The masonry panel is a nice acknowledgement that whilst the metal industries were in full swing other businesses were thriving in a booming city. The former furniture store and its counterpart across Barker’s Pool, now used by Barclay’s Bank, also share a tale. At one time they were both occupied by the same company and deserve a mention in the city’s musical story. Now named the Town Hall Chambers, the five storey building was erected in 1885 and was renowned for its links with Wilson Peck & Co., thought to have been the city’s longest operating music shop. As the company’s flagship store, it must have enthralled the musician and ball room goer alike, with notes from its grand pianos and organs resonating across the square. Although temporarily obscured, there is a ‘ghost sign’ still visible between the chambers and the soon to be Radisson Blu. When Johnson & Appleyard’s cabinet business vacated their premises across the road Wilson Peck’s moved in, expanding their production and making this rather a musical enclave. Amidst this eclectic mix of services, brought about by Sheffield’s increased population and its demand for the finer things in life, the square became the perfect location to celebrate the late Queen’s life. When she passed away in January 1901, plans to honour the Royal who had opened the Town Hall were set in motion. E. W. Mountford, the architect behind the Town Hall, would judge 72 designs for a monument to Queen Victoria which was unveiled by her daughter, Princess Beatrice, on the 11th May 1905. The Sheffield public once again flocked to Town Hall Square in their thousands, miniature Union Jack flags in hand, to celebrate yet another occasion of pomp and pageantry. Alfred Turner’s statue was relocated to Endcliffe Park in 1930 as the city centre was adapted to deal with the increasingly popular motor car. There are no more grand showrooms or enticing typeface signs but amongst the gaggle of Christmas shoppers, the mince pie connoisseurs and the spiced wine sippers that head to Fargate during the festive period, it’s easy to imagine times past. Here’s to a very merry Christmas, Sheffield! WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 19
Exposed spoke to Talk Club founder Mike McCarthy to hear how the loss of his son has inspired him to get men talking (and listening) in the region Last February, Sheffield dad Mike McCarthy lost his son forever. After over ten years living with severe depression, Ross took his own life at the age of 31, leaving behind his young son, fiancé, and heartbroken family. Sadly, Ross’s story isn’t unique. It’s an all-too-common tale of loss that is repeated across the margins of thousands of lives up and down the country. In fact, statistically “I DON’T WANT TO suicide is offiFORGET, NOT THAT cially the biggest I’LL EVER FORGET HIM killer of men 45 in the ANYWAY, BUT I WANT under UK – not cancer, SOMETHING POSITIVE TO or road accidents, COME OUT OF HIS DEATH. or Covid even, I JUST WANT TO SAY TO but young men PEOPLE THAT THERE’S A taking their own REASON TO HOPE...” lives. 20 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
According to the latest figures, in 2020 the male suicide rate was 15.3 per 100,000, and of 4,912 deaths that year 75 percent identified as male (the female suicide rate was 4.9 per 100,000, still a shockingly high number). Ross took his own life while on a waiting list for therapy. Like many before him he left a long farewell letter for his friends and family, in which he implored them to ‘Please fight for mental health. The support is just not there.’ Mike carries these words around with him, on the front of his notebook, which he shows me while we sit chatting over a coffee. “Those words just went straight to my heart,” says Mike, a former Sky News and BBC broadcaster. “They are Ross’s exact words, and his final words in the last moments of his life.” “He was a good man. He had a great work ethic. He was conscientious, hard-
TALK CLUB
IT’S GOOD TO TALK working, very funny, loving and very selfless. Ross was a warrior and he fought hard to make life work. “He struggled for more than 10 years. He tried everything. He had tried to take his own life the year before and ended up in hospital, yet he was discharged the following morning, back into the system, told to visit his GP, and so the revolving doors continued.” It was at this stage that Ross asked for therapy and was told it would be six months before he could access any. He died a few weeks into that wait. This shortcoming in the system, combined with Ross’s final words, have inspired Mike to find out firstly what help was already out there, and secondly, and more importantly, what he could do himself. That’s when he discovered Talk Club. Talk Club was created after one of its founders, filmmaker Ben Akers, lost his childhood best friend to suicide in 2014. Struggling to process his grief, Ben set out to make a documentary about male mental health and Talk Club is the legacy of that project. Set up as a talking and listening club for men, they aim to get men to talk more openly about their thoughts, feelings, worries and day-to-day gripes (and all the positive stuff too!). Mike explains that they create safe and confidential spaces across the UK where men can meet regularly to talk and listen to each other. Once Mike realised that no Talk Clubs yet existed in Sheffield, or anywhere in Yorkshire for that matter, rather than set up his own charity or foundation and add to the already fragmented mass of charities already doing good work, Mike used his contacts to create Sheffield’s first Talk Club, meeting in September for the first time at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane stadium. Mike said: “With the fantastic support of the Sheffield United Community Foundation, who’ve been brilliant in supporting this project, we invite men to come every week, six till eight o’clock on John Street and encourage men, in a safe, non-judgmental environment, to get things off their chest. It’s as simple as it sounds. Talk Club is about men talking, but it’s also about listening to men talking, which is just as important.” “The focus is on mental health. Not mental illness. The phrase that we use is that WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 21
TALK CLUB
it’s a ‘gym for the mind’. We all spend loads of money and loads of time on our physical selves, sometimes maybe at the expense of mental and spiritual health.” “But there is no health without good mental health. You can be the strongest man in the world, but without good mental health, you can achieve very little, just speak to somebody like Tyson Fury.” “There’s no pressure. People can come along and not talk if they just want to sit and listen. The only slight difference with our particular group is that we take a score at the start, ‘how are you out of ten?’ with nought being the lowest and ten being the highest, and we ask people to explain why they give that score.” “We then gradually work towards things that we can do in the coming week that might help our mental health and mental well-being, and then we’ll take a score at the end as people go out. Invariably the score goes up.” “We’re not therapists, but we are listeners. We have trained Captains, of which I’m one, along with Josh Blunkett, who works for Sheffield United Community Foundation, and if there is somebody who appears to be particularly vulnerable, we have contacts that we can refer them to.” “We make no bones about it, we’re not there to give advice. We’re there to hear first and foremost. That being said, if there is someone who looks particularly vulnerable, we do have a quiet chat with them and ask if they are with a GP. We’re not raising expectations at all or allowing people to believe that we can help with their mental health, other than listening and just encouraging them to talk and talk to other men.” At the time of our interview, Talk Club is in its eighth week and is already beginning to see familiar faces return, as well as newcomers who arrive each week as awareness grows. It 22 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
has grown so much in its short time that they’re already reaching out to Sheffield Wednesday FC, to take the concept to the north of the city. “One thing that we want to do is send out the message that mental health is far more important, even than football,” adds Mike. “We’re hoping we can form what we call a common goal.” As well as Talk Club, Mike is also involved in fundraising and awareness raising efforts for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and given that the suicide rate is so high, he tells us he would ultimately like to see more research done into why this is the case, in order to help bring it down. “I was going to say the numbers speak for themselves, but that’s wrong, they don’t speak for themselves. They’re there but they don’t speak, because if they spoke the figures would start coming down. That’s why we have to keep repeating that three quarters of people who take their own lives are men.” “Even before we lost Ross that statistic shocked me. It shocked me partly because I thought, where’s the conversation? Where’s the political discourse? Where’s the debate and the media coverage of suicide? I believe that suicide lurks in a dark corner a little bit like child abuse used to 20 years ago. My favourite phrase is sunlight is the best anaesthetic.” “We’re in a post-industrial age, where men are having their roles questioned. What used to be a relatively simple equation about the role of men in society is now being examined and questioned as never before. I think that that’s part of it, plus the stigma, plus lots of lots of other things. I wish I knew more, and I don’t have the answers, which is why I also think
that there should be far more far more money spent on research.” In the meantime, Mike will continue to fulfil his son’s final wishes and fight for mental health through his work with Talk Club and CALM, and by encouraging more and more men to come forward and talk about their experiences, just like he is trying to do. Mike wears his grief very close to the surface, and his eyes begin to well as his voice cracks, delivering his parting words: “There’s a pent-up avalanche of people who want to talk about this now. They’ve had enough and I think they recognise that the wind of change is blowing through society in terms of how we look at mental health.” “People who you might think would want to be private and quiet, and silently grieve the passing of their loved one, like me, don’t anymore.” “I don’t want to forget, not that I’ll ever forget him anyway, but I want something positive to come out of his death. I just want to say to people that there’s a reason to hope. It’s too late for Ross, but there’s a reason for people like him to believe that there’s something worth staying for. If nothing else, if I can get that message across then that’s good enough for me. Talk Club takes place in Bramall Lane stadium’s Family Hub, on John Street, from 6pm – 8pm every Wednesday. A justgiving page set up in Ross’s memory has already raised over £40k for CALM and you can make a donation here https:// www.justgiving.com/remember/844507/ Ross-Mccarthy.
20-22 Burton Road, S3 8BX & WestOne Plaza, S1 4JB Open Seven Days a Week. @GaardCoffee
KID ACNE
RETURN OF THE KID
Sheffield’s adopted son and artist, illustrator and hip-hop emcee Kid Acne is back to the chew the phat beats on his latest album, Null And Void. Joined by an extended family of UK-based rap talent, backed by Illinois’ finest Spectacular Diagnostics on production and with lyrical content tackling everything from the Kardashians to subterranean bronze age megastructures, we caught up with the Yorkshire-based boom-bap purveyor on release day to explore the second in a trilogy of albums following 2019’s Have A Word. Words: Joe Food Photography: Danni Maibaum / dannimaibaum.com So, album number five - Null And Void. How are you feeling? Yeah, that difficult fifth album. I’m really happy with it and glad it’s out. Obviously, the latter stages of it were not easy to make during lockdown. That said, it also meant we had a bit more time on it, which I said to Dean [Honer, producer] was probably a good thing. A bit more time to think things through? Just a bit more time to make better choices about what songs made the album, what the order would be, etc. A couple of guest tracks made themselves evident a bit later on, so it was quite good to have more of an evaluation period, coming back to it later and switching a few things around. You’ve linked up again with Spectacular Diagnostics on production and Sheffield’s Dean Honer, > 24 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
> but this time you’ve also gone with a new label in Lewis Recordings? Yeah, it’s been fantastic working with Rob [Spectacular Diagnostics] again. Then Dean provides additional production, mixing and mastering. The three of us together work well, I think, and it’s very much become a collaborative ‘thing’. Mike Lewis, who runs Lewis Recordings, is an old colleague of mine. We used to work at Hip-Hop Connection together, the UK’s first hip-hop magazine, where I was doing illustrations and he was one of the writers. Mike does promotion
too and has helped with my last few projects, so working together more officially felt like the right thing to do. There are some recognisable voices on Null And Void from former Kid Acne albums with the likes of Cappo returning. But there’s new talent too, like Taja, who smashes it on the second track ‘Flame Wars’. Yeah, she’s amazing. I met Taja at Juga-Naut’s album launch at Rough Trade in Nottingham. Vandal Savage, who’s also on the album, is in Juga-Naut’s crew VVV with him and Cappo. So it’s like this extended family of East and West Midlands artists. Jaz Kahina, too, she’s friends with that lot. I’ve known Jehst since we were teenagers and we’ve been talking about collaborating for a long time, so we’ve finally got around to that. It’s the same thing for Junior Disprol, who’s from Cardiff. It’s about picking the right guests to help make the right balance, I suppose. What’s the balance that you are looking for? Two things really. First of all, they help me not to outstay my welcome on the record, because it’s quite lyrically dense so I want to keep the listener engaged. I also want to get that diversity of regional accents in there, so I try to pick guests who don’t sound like me. I want them to help break away from that, so the role of the other lyricists is to carry things forward and keep it moving. Talk to us a bit about the concept with this record. There’s a lot of recurring themes in the lyrics re: internet dominance and the proliferation of social media culture.
The loose concept, which we played into on the album intro, is that the world gets destroyed by the invention of the worldwide web during the golden era of boom bap hip-hop. Then the rest of the album is on this kind of dystopian future/alternate timeline strand. There’s exploring connections with other networks too, like our default mode network and nature’s internet - mycelium networks and how we communicate with one another. A lot of it is me having a word with myself about my own online usage, getting that balance right in my life, because it’s easy to fall into bad habits. I feel like that’s summed up nicely in the opening line to ‘Lo and Behold’: “Fuck the Kardashians, we’re chilling with Sumerians”. That’s a reference to Action Bronson [rapper], who did a show on Viceworld with his mates, literally sat watching the Ancient Aliens documentaries. So the next line is “... And watch Bam Bam and friends watch Ancient Aliens”. It links back into the pre-history stuff that I’m interested in, such as the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis explored by Graham Hancock in his book Magicians of the Gods, and other themes which we set up on the last album and will be explored further on the next album. I’m not sure if it’s elements of the production or the lyrical content, possibly a bit of both, but it feels like one of the most unsettling records you’ve done. Not that there aren’t still the usual flashes of humour to weigh it out. It wasn’t a conscious thing, but maybe as I get older, I’ve realised I was hiding behind the humour a bit too much. It can be a useful defence mechanism, can’t it? Even on my older albums there’s a lot of serious, real-life stuff in there, but maybe I was camouflaging it too much. Again, it’s about balance, and while I don’t ever think there’ll ever not be some humour in what I do, I don’t want it to be so silly that it falls in the camp of novelty hip-hop. On a similar note, a Stewart Lee clip from his Content Provider show makes an appearance on ‘Unsubscribe’ where he bemoans the ‘reflecting hall of digital mirrors’ we live in. > WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 25
KID ACNE
> Yeah, unoffcial collab that one, but he’s just good at summing things up in intelligent soundbites. It was important the album didn’t get too preachy, as that can get irritating. But I suppose the final two tracks reflect the overall yin and yang of the album. ‘Unsubscribe’ is quite self-explanatory in terms of its angle, but then you’ve got a more positive side with ‘Innovate’, which is all about finding your own style and voice in three steps: imitate, emulate and innovate. Who were you originally imitating as an artist? I suppose the Beastie Boys mainly, and The Goats were another one for that initial stage. Then in terms of emulating it’d be British artists like New Fresh amongst many others. Eventually, bit by bit, you become more comfortable with your own style and that’s what you bring to the table. It’s the same sort of process with the artwork. What came first for you – the music or the art? They were both not far off each other really. It was probably art first but only by a year or so. I was in bands as a teenager, trying to do a Beastie Boys hip-hop style thing. We’re talking ’94 around the same era as ‘Loser’ [Beck], Rage Against The
Machine, Nirvana – all that stuff. I had friends into the guitar stuff and friends into straight hip-hop, so there’d be times where we’d meet in the middle with a kind of rap/rock crossover. That was the starting point. I think the first record we ever made was my mate playing drums in his shed, sampling it on a Dictaphone and playing some synth over the top which we’d found at a car boot fair. Then there was a project called Toah Dynamic which wasn’t genre-specific, just 6/7 of us experimenting and collaborating on music together, and from that the idea was to be like Wu Tang and splinter off into our own solo projects. That’s where my own music started becoming more fully formed as hip-hop. What I’m making today is the most straight-up, traditional hip-hop I’ve ever made, I think, which I’m really enjoying; but the more futuristic themes we’re exploring on this record can also help drag me out of the 90s and into the current millennium. Where does this one leave you with regards to the next album? How do you intend to pick it up? More of the same really, taking on similar themes with an extended family of guests. The idea was that they’d be a trilogy and work in their own right, but also as a broader playlist. We might try get that out next year, but it’s still a way off yet and we’re focusing on getting this one out there now. NULL AND VOID is out now on Lewis Recordings. Available on limited edition vinyl, complete with customised sleeves, individually hand-printed, signed and numbered by the artist. kidacne.bandcamp.com WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 27
RESTAURANT, PIZZERIA & BOTTLE SHOP
7-9 Langsett Road South, Oughtibridge, S35 0GY @Luca_Oughtibridge
2021: TBF, the second half wasn’t too shabby…
TRAMLINES 2021
Image: Rob Nicholson / Pedalo
It was touch and go as to whether Sheffield’s biggest party would go ahead at all this year. After being forced to cancel proceedings in 2020 for the first time, the festival pulled out all the stops with its 2021 lineup, announcing that the likes of Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Royal Blood, Little Simz, The Kooks, DMA’s, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Blossoms and many more would, hopefully, be heading to Hillsborough Park for a hugely memorable shindig. Thankfully, in June 2021, less than a month before the event was scheduled to take place, the festival was finally given the green light to go ahead as part of the government’s events research programme. This made Tramlines Europe’s biggest music event post-covid, and the 40,000 revelllers in attendance made up for lost time in some style. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 29
2021
JAMIE RETURNS
We’re still pulling glitter out of hair following the suitably glam homecoming of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. The Crucible rolled out the red carpet to host a very special premiere of the film adaptation, originally staged as a musical by Sheffield Theatres, and welcomed a whole host of famous faces, cast members, drag stars and Jamie fans to watch the film for the first time where it all began.
LITTLE AMAL
Image: Becky Payne Photography
Back in October, we welcomed Amal, a 3.5m puppet of a 10-year-old refugee girl, as she neared the end of her international journey from the SyriaTurkey border to Manchester. Working in partnership with Good Chance - a charity who work with refugees, artists and local communities to tell stories of hope and humanity - Sheffield Theatres received Little Amal in Tudor Square, where large crowds gathered to enjoy activities, performances and displays aimed at celebrating community, diversity and Sheffield’s status as a UK City of Sanctuary. 30 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
BRINGING IN A NEW ERA
The multi-million pound development on London Road opened in May this year, bringing a selection of high-end restaurants, street food kiosks and brunch/ cocktail spots to the area. The future’s looking bright for New Era: soon joining Scandi-style café Lykke and fusion Asian restaurant OISOI Gathering will be an authentic Indian restaurant, Brazilian steak house, modern sports bar, Japanese restaurant and a wine bar.
SENSES WORKING OVERTIME
While we’re on the subject of innovative festivals, let’s raise a glass to Sensoria, our ever-inventive alternative celebration of film, sound and the digital arts. Highlights included Gwenno Saunders performing a live soundtrack accompiment to Bait, the award-winning Mark Jenkin film; a collaboration between local musician Jim Ghedi and photographer Laura Merrill, exploring rural and urban space on council estates in Sheffield; and The Afropean Express, a short film, music and audio piece which captured the unique multi-sensory experience of voyage, place and discovery.
FOOTBALL (ALMOST) CAME HOME
“Good times never seemed so good,” crooned Neil Diamond in his 1969 hit ‘Sweet Caroline’, a song that 50 years later would serve a fitting anthem for the England football team’s Euros campaign. Following a bleak 18 months for the country, it took a group of young footballers to help lift spirits across the nation and restore a bit of pride in what had become a very confused, divided island to live on in recent years. Sheffield, the home of football, naturally turned out in force for the tournament. Beer gardens were packed out at venues across the city to witness Southgate’s lions’ progression to the final, where they narrowly missed out on glory after losing to Italy. As if you needed reminding of that. Soz.
Image: Alex Morgan
NO BOUNDS FESTIVAL
Against all the odds in 2020, Hope Works’ No Bounds Festival managed to pull together a fully hybrid festival under strict social distancing measures. It was good; in fact, it was damn impressive. But, suffice to say, Sheffield’s celebration of electronic music, art, technology and dancing was back to its bass-shaking best this year. The full-capacity electro-industrial festival set their considerably elevated bar even higher, hosting everything from museum raves with Helena Hauff to experimental gigs in bus stations. It served as a fitting tribute to Sheffield-born electronic music pioneer and Cabaret Voltaire founder Richard H. Kirk, who sadly passed away earlier in the year. 32 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
ONE FOR ALL
From the ashes of The Night Kitchen a new nightlife destination was born in August. Fewer Than One brought a rejuvenated look to the famed venue along with a diverse events programme designed to provide a safe, welcoming space for all and have since launched some monumental bashes in the legendary space. Sling ‘em a follow @ fewerthanone to see what shenanigans they’ve got in store for this month!
2021
PUTTING IT ON A PLATE
The food hall revolution continues! Joining Cutlery Works and Kommune is recent Orchard Square addition Sheffield Plate, a two-floor venue featuring a mouthwatering selection of independent traders on top and a subterranean bar area below. Give them a a go next time you’re after a quick bite in town.
BREAKFAST, BRUNCH, LUNCH & COCKTAILS
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK LATE OPENING ON FRIDAY & SATURDAY FOR WINE AND COCKTAILS 1 LANGSETT ROAD SOUTH, OUGHTIBRIDGE, S35 0GY @JONI_OUGHTIBRIDGE
EVERYDAY WE’RE SHUFFLIN’
The unstoppable rise of Abbeydale Road continued as much-loved hangout Picture House Social added another room to their Crystal Maze for hipsters concept: Shuffle Shack. Inside the city’s only dedicated shuffleboard bar you’ll find four full-size shuffle ‘decks’, a bar serving old school classic cocktails (think Sex on the Beach and Miami Vice – holiday vibes), as well as a range of American beers, arcade machines, a fussball table and amazing artwork splashed across the walls courtesy of local artistic geometrist Rob Lee.
Image: Charles Leek
A DELI-GHTFUL RETURN
It was a pleasure to see Sheffield’s favourite fringe theatre, Theatre Deli, make a welcome return in September, reopening with a new programme for the first time since closing its doors in early 2020. Boosting the city’s cultural offering considerably has been a wide range of live performance showcasing everything from witty political comedies to horrifying hip-hop Halloween theatre events.
ALL TOGETHER NOW
There’s a new kid on the festival block, which arrived with a right ol’ bang back in August. Taking place at Sheffield Students’ Union, Get Together Festival hosted a genre-spanning line-up of talent including Self Esteem, Black Honey, Tim Burgess, Dream Wife, Billy Nomates, Ibibio Sound Machine, plus many more established and up-and-coming acts. An exciting addition to the scene – keep an eye peeled for its return next year.
2021 Image: Olivia Richardson WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 35
BACK ON THE MARKET
Two cracking street markets made their debut in the Steel City. Hedgerow Market has been a huge success on Division Street, serving up a curated pick of artisans and makers, live music and a dash of street food. Whereas down on Castlegate, inner-city flower market Pollen celebrates all things botanical. Keep an eye on their socials - @hedgerowmarket and @pollenmarketsheffield – for news on upcoming instalments.
THE BEAR NECCESSITIES
2021 PHOTO: MATT CROWDER
Following the hugely successful Herd of Sheffield, The Children’s Hospital Charity announced another sculpture trail, Bears of Sheffield, which brought together local businesses, schools and artists to raise money for the cancer and leukaemia ward at the hospital. 60 life-sized bears designed by artists across the country were dotted around the city from July. Thousands of Sheffielders tracked them down using the Bears of Sheffield app, earning rewards and paw points on the way. In a final auction held at the Crucible Theatre the bears raised a whopping 525k for the cause.
SOMETHING BREWING
The Kelham Island/Neepsend pub crawl added another gem to its crown when the long-awaited Heist Brewery opened its doors back in the summer. The Neepsend Lane spot has been a roaring success, enticing the punters in with 30 lines of keg beer, banging burgers from Slap & Pickle, heavenly doughnuts from Ritual and a selection of on-site arcade games to keep you well occupied.
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at
Christmas set menu available throughout December
Lunch 3 courses £30 Dinner 3 courses £40
Large groups welcome Perfect for works parties or family gatherings Private dining room available
a taste of Yorkshire 0114 270 6160 silversmiths-restaurant.com 111 Arundel St, Sheffield S1 2NT
COME ALPINE WITH ME
Sheffield Christmas Markets are back – bigger and better than ever! Joining the Alpine Bar will be the all-new, two-floored Alpine Lodge, the former situated on the top of Fargate and the latter nestled in the Peace Gardens. The markets themselves boast 50+ traders, Santa’s workshop, Ferris wheel, fairground rides and a vast assortment of food and drink offerings. Fill yer winter boots. Open 10am to 6pm Sunday - Thursday // 8pm Friday - Saturday.
Image: Luxmuralis
WITNESS THE BEGINNING
After the huge success of their first Christmas light show in 2019, Sheffield Cathedral will be welcoming back projection art specialists Luxmuralis for festive spectacular ‘The Beginning’. Visitors will be able to witness the historic building’s façade being transformed on the outside before heading inside to enjoy a stunning sensory experience of light and sound describing the story of the Nativity. PS: Grab yourself a 15% discount by using the code ‘EXPOSED15’ at the ticket page. 3 Nov – 5 Dec // £3-£7.50 (Under-3s free) // sheffieldcathedral.org
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Our ultimate guide to getting festive –
Sheff style.
ATTEND A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS MARKET Gather under the gaslamps and celebrate the start of the festive season at Kelham Island Museum. With 80+ market stalls selling an array of Sheffield-made wares, quality gifts and seasonal goods, you’ll find the perfect presents and stocking fillers for your loved ones. Enjoy food and drink from traditional hog roast to wood fired pizza, relax in the Millowners Arms, or warm up with a mulled wine and watch the live band play some festive classics. 4&5th Dec // £7.50 (U-16s free) // simt.co.uk
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BRING OUT THE BELGIAN BLUE GET YOUR DICKENS ON
Join the critically acclaimed Chapterhouse Theatre Company in the atmospheric surrounds of Sheffield Cathedral, where they’ll be bringing Charles Dickens’ classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ to life, complete with beautiful period costume, song, dance, and a magnificent musical score. 14th Dec // £12-£18 // sheffieldcathedral.org
Something of a Sheffield winter institution, you know you can start counting down the days until Crimbo when Bradfield Brewery’s famous Farmers Belgian Blue arrives in the pubs. You’ll find it at plenty of self-respecting local boozers, but you can also pick up kegs and cases online at the below website. bradfieldbrewery.com
KICK BACK IN THE SECRET GARDEN
Enjoy the winter chills at the Hallamshire House’s Secret Garden Early Yuletide bash. Grab a pint of seasonal Thornbridge ale, kick back and scoff some street food courtesy of Freak Street Café (the momo dumplings are sensational). Live DJs will provide the tunes, you just bring the festive spirit. 4th December
TAKE A WINTER STROLL
BOARD GAME BONANZA
Picking a decent board game is a key part of the Christmas festivities, and by paying a visit to Treehouse you can do much better than dusting off the old Monopoly set. There are over 300 games to choose from, staff to help out with rules/officiate any disputes, a fullylicensed bar and a menu of homemade food to peruse. treehousesheffield.com
VISIT A TRIMMED-UP CHATSWORTH
The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire’s stately gaff looks incredible all year round, but it’s particularly worth a visit during December when the famous venue is given a festive makeover. Enjoy an illuminated walk around the atmospheric gardens from dusk, experience the house in all its Christmassy splendour and enjoy plenty of fun family activities while you’re at it. Until 9th Jan // £15-£70 // chatsworth.org 40 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Get wrapped up warm and take advantage of our proximity to the Peak District, or find one of Sheffield’s many green spaces and woodlands to traverse. Ecclesall Woods is as close as you can get to Narnia after a dusting of snow, while following the Porter Brook up to Ringinglow can result in a well-earned fireside pint in The Norfolk Arms.
Real Ale, Craft Beer, Gin & Cocktails. Seven Days a Week. award-winning pies. free table tennis Pub Quiz Happy Hour Every Weds from 7pm
Every Day 5pm-7pm
Kelham Island Museum, Alma St S3 7RY
@TheMillownersArms www.TheRealKelham.com
DECK THE HALL
Situated in the River Wye valley, the Grade I-listed stately home Haddon Hall harks all the way back the 11th century. In recent years the house has been opened during December for candlelit tours, plus dining options, where visitors can learn about 900+ years of history and enjoy a tour around one of oldest stately homes in the country. Tour dates and prices at haddonhall.co.uk
SHOP, EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY AT ORCHARD SQUARE
Don’t miss Orchard Square off your Christmas list this year. Situated in the heart of Sheffield’s city centre, the square offers a leading line-up of national brands and independent retailers alongside a range of the latest and most popular food, drink and leisure destinations to suit all tastes. So, whether it’s Christmas gifts, a festive pamper or the place to relax and celebrate with family, friends or colleagues, Orchard Square has something for everyone this festive season. orchardsquare.co.uk
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GET MERRY AT THREE MERRY LADS
A traditional pub with countryside views and the wonderful Loxley Silver Band knocking out Christmas tunes and a few “local carols” – what more do you want this time of year? Music kicks off from 8:30pm and carol books will be on-hand for anyone struggling with the words! 7th Dec // facebook.com/thethreemerrylads
LET CITY GRAB BRING CHRISTMAS TO YOU
Popular Sheffield food delivery app City Grab are on-hand to take the stress out of the festive season. Download the app and have a tree delivered to your front door from Trees R Us, or use them to cover your Christmas parties with alcohol and party snacks from Spar 24/7, pizzas from local dough legends Proove or even a three-course meal from Nonnas. If you’re looking for gift inspo, City Grab have also launched a selection of gift vouchers, so you can give a loved one the gift of a takeaway from a wide selection of beloved local restaurants and brands. City Grab is available on the App Store and Google Play store. Download the app, browse the menus on offer, pop in your address and your food will be on its way.
HAVE A CRAFTY CHRISTMAS
The team behind Plantology are hosting a wreath-making workshop at Trafalgar Warehouse so you can jazz up the front door with your very own homemade decoration. All materials are supplied along with gentle step by step instructions during the two time slots (2pm and 5pm) to ensure you leave with an enviable design. 11th Dec // £45+bf // eventbrite.co.uk
THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Over the last ten years, the Christmas Festival of Music fronted by singer/songwriter John Reilly and musical director Lewis Nitikman has become nothing short of a local festive tradition. Helping the duo kickstart the Yuletide spirit will be Stannington Brass Band, Sheffield Community Choir, tenor Gareth Lloyd and soprana Emily Robinson, plus others, who will unite to perform a selectin of spinetingling musical arrangements inside the beautiful Victoria Hall. 10th/11th Dec // £20 // artmusicltd.com
LOVE ACTUALLY – LIVE!
Love Actually, the seasonal romcom that has become synonymous for so many with the festive period, will be coming to Sheffield City Hall this month with a full orchestra performing Craig Armstong’s evocative score soundtrack live to picture. 7th Dec // £35-£75 // sheffieldcityhall. co.uk WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 43
LA MAMA IS 12!
La Mama is 12 years old and what a journey it has been!
Now with a new opening time of 3pm, every Saturday La Mama will be serving you a fun style Latin Bottomless Brunch. Is your friend’s brunch ending at 3pm? Well, we’re just getting starting! NOW TAKING CHRISTMAS BOOKINGS Free to create your own Christmas party set menu from £22.50 per head. You choose 6-8 tapas from our menu and we will duplicate it to the size of your party booking. Open Christmas Eve from 5pm & New Year’s Eve we will be seeing in the New Year with a bang with live Latin music. FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS @ LAMAMATAPASBAR 238 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, S7 1FL Tel: 0114 327 9597 www.lamamalatin.co.uk
FOOD & DRINK
VIVA LA MAMA!
Abbeydale Road tapas hotspot La Mama celebrates their 12th birthday this year, so obviously we had to get down there and commemorate the occasion with some authentic Spanish/Latin American cuisine! The staff are always so warm and welcoming the moment you step through the doors of this intimate, cosy venue, where you’ll be rubbing shoulders with regulars and loyal customers like ourselves – the whole Exposed Mag team have visited by this point and we sing nothing but praises for them in the office. The great thing about tapas is you get to order more and try a bit of everything, so we ordered a range of small plates from each section after chatting to the owner Daniela about her Chilean heritage and what dishes she’d recommend. It wasn’t long before they started coming in thick and fast. We particularly enjoyed the big, juicy Chile Prawns which arrived sizzling in garlic, olive oil and fresh chillies, looking tempting alongside the Chunky Chorizo and Sobrasada Stew topped with fresh sour cream. What really surprised me was the Sopaipillas al Pebre – a delightful Chilean tradition of lightly fried pumpkin bread served with a lively salsa that I couldn’t get enough of. No tapas meal is complete without fried potatoes, so we got ours with alioli along with some loaded nachos, fresh crispy calamari and Porotos Verdes – their famous green beans – the latter of which I wouldn’t ordinarily order but I’m so glad we did. they were wonderfully soft in texture
and marinated in something that would make me eat more greens if they all tasted as exquisite as this. We then shared some perfectly piped churros with warm Dulche de Leche sauce. Now I’m not normally that keen on churros, but these were something else! Probably – nay, definitely – the best I’ve had in Sheffield. You’d think with ordering so much there’s bound to be a dud dish not quite up to par with the others, but there truly wasn’t. Everything banged. It’s unsurprising when you consider that this cornerstone of the Abbeydale Road foodie scene has been around for over a decade now, bagging awards and building up a loyal following in the process. We didn’t drink on this occasion, but they do have an excellent wine and cocktails selection and I’ll be getting on that Sangria next time. Speaking of booze, they host bottomless brunch every Saturday from 3pm and are currently taking Christmas bookings where you can create your own tapas party set menu. Feliz Navidad!
LA MAMA SHEFFIELD
238 Abbeydale Rd, S7 1FL 0114 327 9597 Words by @theinsatiablefoodie – follow on Instagram for more local foodie content
WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 45
FOOD AND DRINK / MEET THE BREWER
Masters of their
Craft
Kelham Isand’s thriving beer community welcomed Heist Brew co. to the neighbourhood earlier this year, and we caught up with owners Dan Hunt and Adam France to get the lowdown on the latest Kelham hotspot. Pictures: Marc Barker, Ben Hargreaves and Heist. As relative newcomers, Heist Brew Co. only began life as a fully-fledged brewery in 2018, following the success of the owner’s bar and craft beer export business in a sleepy former mining village in Derbyshire. Initially starting out brewing by creating collaboration beers with other established breweries around the UK, owners Dan Hunt and Adam France went on to make the bold decision to begin brewing for themselves out of their then base in Clowne. Dan, who has up to this point been head brewer, taking to his task like, well, hops to beer, explained their decision-making process: “We realised that we really wanted to bring something to Clowne that hadn’t been done before, so in 2018 we purchased the original brew kit and moved it on to site in the tiniest room ever.” “We had spent a lot of time with people researching and looking into brewing but I suppose, looking back at it, not coming from a homebrew background was a bit stupid! But, ultimately, one of us had to do it, and I’m very meticulous and liked going through and understanding the process. The first beer we ever brewed on the commercial kit, we fully expected 46 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
to be a bit of a drain pour, but it’s ended up being part of our core range and is still quite a highly rated beer.” Following this unexpected maiden brew success, confidence grew, and the brews have continued to improve ever since, leading to the development of an acclaimed core range. With everything from a milk stout to a Kölsch and a rotating cast of IPAs, it is perhaps their lack of experience that has been their major asset, leading them to fearlessly follow their instincts and create some of the most interesting brews in the region by doing ‘a bit of everything’. The most popular beer-style being their Imperial stout, which is often a collaboration. Recent versions have included a salted caramel chocolate stout with Emperors, which sold out in under an hour, and an equally popular chocolate and coconut stout with Hebden Bridge’s Vocation Brewery. The breweries rise has been so steep that they quickly reached capacity in Clowne, triggering 2020’s announcement of a move to the big city (well, the world’s biggest village, Sheffield). Following the various lockdowns and some well documented roof issues, Heist Brew Co’s brandnew brewery tap, on Neepsend Lane, finally opened its doors earlier this year – and take it
LATEST BREWS LIMBO SHOTS New England IPA 7.5% Collaboration with our friends from the Ukraine ‘Varvar’ - fruity, juicy, Hoppy IPA
BREWER RACHEL AND IN-HOUSE DESIGNER JASMIN SHOWING OFF THEIR RECENT HARD WORK
ON THE BRINK Chocolate Stout 5.7% Collaboration with Sheffield’s finest chocolatier ‘Bullion’. Dark, thick, creamy chocolate DO YOU THINK FRUIT FEELS PAIN Mixed fruit sour 6% Blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, blackcurrants and strawberry sour
from us, it sounds incredible. Not satisfied with a bigger and new-improved brewery, the site is also an ‘alternative hangout’ with shuffleboard tables, an arcade that boasts 2p machines and grabbers, TV screens showing alternative sports and a projector on which you’ll be able to play Tony Hawk’s on PlayStation. If that isn’t enough, top burger pop-up kitchen Slap and Pickle will make the venue their new permanent home and, perhaps most importantly, the bar offers a massive 30 different lines of beer, giving them the most lines and biggest selection of draught beer in the Steel City. Impressive stuff, we think you’ll agree. It would be remiss of us not to also mention Heist’s pretty out-there gin selection, which they currently distil at Derbyshire Distillery. The range includes the magnificent sounding wild mango, tobacco and oak flavour, which to their knowledge is the first-time tobacco has ever been used in a spirit and apparently tastes ‘surprisingly good.’ They also have plans to launch a rum and vodka range, with even more exciting ideas for unusual flavours. Whatever they produce though, the Heist boys are stealing the hearts of the Sheffield beer and spirits scene.
@heistbrew https://www.heistbrewco.com/ WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 47
GIN EXPERIENCE:
Make your
own Gin
Gin
EXPERIENCE MAKE YOUR OWN GIN
Join us for Sheffield’s premier hands-on gin making experience using mini stills and real botanicals. Here at Locksley Distilling we are thrilled that we can share our distillery with the world, welcoming you to witness, taste and immerse yourself in all of our magic! We’d love for you to visit us in the heart of Sheffield at Portland Works, a grade 2* listed building, and the birthplace of stainless steel. Here our small yet dedicated team have been creating, producing, and inspiring since 2014. Although we know we are never going to be the biggest distillery, we always aspire to be the best and love nothing more than sharing our passion with our fellow artisan drinks enthusiasts!
Scan to book
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BOOK ON THE LOCKSLEY DISTILLING GIN EXPERIENCE PLEASE VISIT:
www.locksleydistilling.com/shop/gin-experience-make-your-own-gin/
Fully Licenced Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch, Seven Days a Week. PRIVATE HIRE AVAILABLE. FREE TABLE TENNIS
KELHAM ISLAND MUSEUM, ALMA ST, S3 7RY @ISLANDKELHAM WWW.THEREALKELHAM.COM
The Perfect Tonic
Nestled in the heart of a Grade II* listed building at Portland Works lies one of Sheffield's most unique distilleries. Founded by husband and wife team John Cherry and Cynthia King, Locksley Distilling Co has fast become a firm favourite amongst artisan gin drinkers and connoisseurs. Sheffield-born John has over 20 years of experience in the drinks industry, spending almost half of that time working at several salubrious liquor stores in America. This experience was instrumental for a number of things: building valuable contacts, meeting some inspirational distillers and tasting winning products – all helping to sow the seeds that would eventually bloom into Locksley Distilling Co. While living in the US, John and Cynthia witnessed the craft beer scene boom before heading over to sweep the UK a few years later. When craft distilleries began to grow in popularity Stateside, they had an inkling that the same formula would transcend across the pond. The couple had already planned to return to England for their daughter’s schooling, so they decided to put this prediction to the test and began laying the groundwork for their own distilling company launch. In early 2013 the family stepped off a plane onto UK soil and the following day, Locksley Distilling Co was registered and flavour development began. Back then, there was only a handful of gins on the market – the usual suspects of Beefeater, Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire and Hendrick’s (the latter if you were feeling a little adventurous). All these producers exclusively made dry gins, so John and Cynthia zoned in on a gap in the market to create the country’s first ‘sipping gin,’ and there began the legend - Sir Robin of Locksley. “We wanted to create something you could drink on its own, a liquid that didn’t need a boatload of tonic to counteract the dryness,” explains John. “We were looking for something with a similar mouthfeel to a whisky or a bourbon. We had quite a specific goal as to where we wanted the gin to be taste and quality-wise; each product we make has to have a longevity of at least 20 years.” 50 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
And so, the real hard work began. Using a small distilling pot (or ‘still’) plotted up in the attic of John’s parents’ home, the best part of four months was spent on getting the flavour right, coming up with around 104 variations of Sir Robin of Locksley in the process – compelling proof, if needed, of the Locksley ethos that when it comes to distilling, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Of the 104 variants attempted, 79 blends were created using different flavours and strengths. The winning recipe was number 61, which you’ll find referenced on the bottle, combining five traditional ingredients (juniper, cassia, angelica, coriander and liquorice) with three contemporary (elderflower, dandelion and pink grapefruit) for the unctuous mouthfeel that moved it away from the dry gin category. It was an instant hit and, to this day, remains the company’s bestselling product. Following the success of Sir Robin of Locksley, and with their prediction of the so-called UK 'ginaissance' coming to fruition, John and Cynthia are always exploring ways in which they can diversify to stay ahead of the competition. Recently they have collaborated with a number of local companies such as Foundry Coffee Roasters, Thornbridge Brewery and Bullion Chocolate to create an exclusive range of drinks, which they now sell on their website. However, it's the emergence of their distillery tours and gin experiences that has been the success story of 2021. "Being able to open up our distillery and welcome groups from all around the world to witness, taste and immerse themselves in all the Locksley magic has been a real treat for us," said Cynthia. "People just love to come and look around our extraordinary building, experience the quirky gin-making
FOOD AND DRINK
equipment and invent their own distinct potion. I can't believe how popular they've become." Along with the distillery tours and gin-making experiences, Cynthia is busy creating gin-based cocktail recipes every week, which she shares on the website and through their various social media channels. "As we emerge from the covid pandemic, we are all excited by what the future holds," said John. "Moving forward, we won't be just limited to gin. It was only the starting point. Over the next 5-10 years, all sorts of exciting stuff will be coming out of Locksley Distilling Co. Watch this space!" locksleydistilling.com
WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 51
Craft Beer Bar & Bottle Shop Leadmill Rd, S1 4SE
Venue available for hire. Follow us on @industryhophouse
@industryhophouse
21 Rotating Craft Keg Lines // Wines Spirits & Non-Alcoholic Beers Venue Available for Hire 85 Sidney Street, Sheffield, S1 4RG // 0114 303 9390 Follow us @industrytapsheffield
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FOOD AND DRINK
TALK OF THE TOWN
We take a Luca what’s going on in Oughtibridge as the owners of popular local café Joni’s open a new ‘little bro’ restaurant just a few doors down. Pictures: Ben Hargreaves Deep in the depths of lockdown (part 2, the inevitably worse sequel), one bright spark in the north of the city was the emergence of a new café serving up exquisite coffees, brunch and lunches for takeaway. Its arrival in Oughtibridge proved incredibly popular with locals and walkers alike, and the queues down the street paid testament to how the cafe was helping to spread at least a bit of cheer through a difficult time. The venue’s popularity only increased once it was allowed to open fully, and a year after opening they have now taken the step to open Luca, a second complementary venue just down the road in the former home of Julio’s Italian restaurant. “Joni’s is so well known around here. We helped keep people afloat in lockdown and we were so busy every day,” says Luca’s general manager Jon Herdman, a familiar face if you’ve frequented many of the city’s favourite night spots. “People altered their long-standing walking routes to come through Oughtibridge so they could come to Joni’s, which was great.” “When we opened Joni’s, Julio’s was still here, and we sort of jokingly said wouldn’t it be good if we took on Julio’s and did our version of it. Then a year and one day after that we opened to the public!” “We didn’t really choose Oughtibridge. It was just a nice little spot on the corner. Then as we started working here over the year, we made so many friends and just really integrated ourselves. It just seemed like an obvious idea that we’d want to 54 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
do something more, which then became Luca.” The menu at Luca is a mix of Mediterranean dishes, including pizza, pasta and classic meat and fish dishes, all delivered with a distinctive Luca twist. They are also very proud of their beer and wine selection. As you walk in, the downstairs waiting area doubles as a bottle shop and huge fridges showcase a rotating cast of around 110 beers and 40 wines. The restaurant’s dining area can be found upstairs for the full-sit down experience, but all the menu is available for takeout, if you fancy the Luca
experience at home with a couple of beers or a nice bottle of organic wine. Whatever your preference, the idea is that Luca takes over where Joni’s leaves off. Jon explains: “Joni’s is daytime. This is night-time. We sort of call it Joni’s little brother, because we want to do a similar offering but with a different vibe, that’s maybe a bit more fun. You can swear in here, but you can’t swear over there.” “It’s a place where you can come and have a drink. We do expert quality coffees over at Joni’s and we do expert quality beer and wine over here. So, it’s still a similar lineage.” “In terms of food, it’s Mediterranean cuisine, through a sort of Sheffield lens. We don’t really hang on one cuisine; we can sort of flip and change it. We don’t necessarily use local ingredients. We just do things that we think will work, so it could be a French ingredient, in an Italian sauce on a Spanish base, and if it’s good we’ll put it on the menu.” “Our drinks offering is everything I like! I prefer organic wines and beers, so pretty much all our wines and beers are organic. I like to think of the drinks menu as auteured.” “I’ve worked in the booze industry now for 10 years, so I’ve been trusted to sort out the drinks offer, and because I’ve been over at Joni’s for a year and people have seen me put that bar together, they kind of trust me, so it’s whatever I want to bring in.” “We offer beer from mainly England, France and Belgium and it’s been really well received, because there’s nowhere quite like this to drink in Oughtibridge.” “Something we’re keen on is to demystify speci-
ality products. So, we’re not saying this uses malolactic fermentation and that’s why it’s 45 quid! We’ve found speciality wines that are great, and we’re undercharging on them. Similarly, with the coffee we’ve not got some ridiculous blend from some hillside somewhere, it’s all just about demystifying these speciality products.” “Normally a bottle of wine might be £100, but we found a £35 version of it, and it will have got the similar grape varieties and similar sort of terroir, or a similar region that you want and like, but through our knowledge we found a better value version. It took months to do that, and it’s something I’m really proud of. The wine list here is mega.” The food menu is pretty exciting too, and constantly changes to keep things fresh and interesting. A lot of care and attention has been taken to make sure the menu is inclusive, with vegan and gluten free options, as well as substantial kid’s menus. What is clear from our conversation with Jon is that a lot of passion, thought and expertise goes into everything at Luca. They want to be a great restaurant, offering a great experience, not just the best restaurants in the area. Ten weeks in, they’ve already made a great impression. Jon said: “It’s what I want to do, and I’ve put a lot into it. There’s lot of me in these four walls, and if you come in, you’re going to meet me, which has been great. Whilst we were at Joni’s we got to meet people and get an idea of what they want. It was nice to be able to give them back the restaurant that they’d want to come to.” “It’s definitely relaxed. We don’t do sirs and madams. If I’m taking your order, I’ll come and sit at your table. We always try and make a connection with people that come and dine with us.” Having sampled some of the dishes, we can vouch for the quality of the food and highly recommend taking the short trip out to the North-West of the city for an evening with Jon and the gang.
Luca 7-9 Langsett Rd South, Oughtibridge, S35 0GY. @luca_oughtibridge lucarestaurants.co.uk WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 55
FOOD AND DRINK
BATTLE ON
‘Battle Bar’ featuring axe-throwing, beer pong and ice curling Boom: Battle Bar, a new £1m, 12,000 square foot ‘battle bar’, with an ‘entertainment battleground full of competitive gaming’, is set to open on The Moor in early 2022. A spokesperson for the venue said the huge new ‘battle bar’ will comprise of a variety of activities, where grown-ups can eat, drink, play and party all under one roof. Opening on The Moor shopping centre, next to The Light cinema, guests will be able to enjoy a wide range of unique activities including axe throwing, shuffleboard, karaoke, mini golf, hammerschlagen (hammering a nail into a stump, apparently!), indoor ice curling, baseball batting cages and beer pong. The activities will be accompanied by a fully stocked bar with tons of wines, craft beers and delicious cocktails on offer, as well as an all-day kitchen serving up BBQ-inspired classics, including chicken wings and tenders with a huge array of spicy and BBQ-style sauces to glaze them with. Speaking of the new opening, Boom Battle Bar founder Richard Beese said:
“We’re thrilled to announce we are coming to Sheffield with a brand-new state-of-the-art site, it’s such an amazing, creative city to be part of.” “We are investing north of £1m into the venue and creating 40 jobs for the local community. We hope to bring the ultimate boom experience to the local community and beyond.” “We couldn’t be more excited for everyone to experience all Boom has to offer – we welcome customers to come together with their mates and dates for a night of friendly competition.” Casting their sites on much of the UK, Boom Battle Bar – which operates on a franchise basis – is set to open further sites across Yorkshire following its Sheffield opening, with venues in Hull and Leeds already in the works. There is currently no set opening date for the upcoming Sheffield venue but stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks.
INTO EXTRA TIME Extra Time sports bar reveal huge new gaming floor
Following the successful opening of their upstairs area, Sheffield’s newest citycentre sports bar Extra Time has launched a huge ground floor gaming venue, featuring shuffleboard on two 22ft long tables, digital ‘smart’ darts, two American pool tables (as well as two more upstairs), arcade games and plenty more screens to catch all the action. General manager Nathan Gordon said: “We’ve got 40 screens. We want it to be a really good place to watch sports where you can see from every seat.” They also plan to run shuffleboard tournaments in the future if the demand for a bit of friendly competition is there. The bar sells cocktails as well as alcoholic and soft drinks and Extra Time also has an American grill-style food menu offering burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, tortillas and loaded fries. @extra_time_sheffield 56 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
FOOD AND DRINK
STILL GRINDING Kelham café set to open second venue in Broomhill
Grind Café have revealed plans to take their popular Kelham Island concept up the road to Broomhill, opening a second venue in the former RBS bank on Whitham Road. Work is currently underway to transform the ground floor space into Grind II, and owners are hoping to be open for business before the end of the year. The offering will be the same as their Green Lane venue, so expect top-notch coffees, banging breakfasts and lunchtime menus including their trademark salads and sweet treats, as well as cocktails and a tapas menu in the evenings. Co-owner Alp Ozan told Exposed: “It’s a really
busy, lively environment and we want to bring what we have in Kelham Island, in terms of the food, the design and the feeling of the place to Broomhill. “But more than that, we want to spread the love and what we stand for, which is a friendly, warm environment, where anyone can come to our space and feel like they’re at home.” The ambitious owners have even more exciting plans up their sleeves (all will be revealed in the coming months), and they now feel the time is right time to expand their group. Watch this space for opening details and sneaky peeks of progress in the coming weeks, ahead of an opening date which will include a half-price food offer. @thegrindcafesheffield
ON THE MOVE Foodhall celebrates move with Pickle Festival
The amazing Foodhall / Sheffield Project recently made the big move across town from their home on Matilda Street to new premises on Brown Street, across from Site Gallery. They kicked off the fun at their new gaff with a huge Pickle Festival last month, which featured workshops, performances, food, and a community judged pickle competition. You can also donate to their venuture at crowdfunder. co.uk/foodhall-project Keep an eye on socials for more parties in the coming months. @foodhallproject
BOOK REVIEW SHEFFIELD’S REAL HERITAGE PUBS Edited by Dave Pickersgill (fourth edition) Published originally in 2017, Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs – Pub Interiors of Historic Interest is a book for fans of traditional ale houses – especially those who want to plough a little (or in fact, a lot) deeper into their origins and architectural history. Acknowledging what a tough year it has been for the industry in his introduction and the fact that some pubs in the city haven’t made it through the pandemic intact, the book clearly is a labour of love for Dave Pickersgill, painstakingly researched and updated so no stone is left unturned and no historical watering hole left un-dissected. The industrialisation of Sheffield is closely linked to the early development of many of our breweryowned ale houses, as Dave says, ‘The heavy sweaty steel industry of Sheffield meant big thirsts…’ and saw the likes of The Grapes and The White Lion become flagship pubs for the major breweries which dominated the city in the late 19th century. While that’s changed in the last decade or so, with smaller local breweries such as Thornbridge, Stancill and True North taking on a number of watering holes, their history is still celebrated, perhaps more so than ever. Seperated into regions (city centre, north, south, east and west) this guide is easy to use and well organised; it even has a section on closed pubs, which for me made for an even more interesting read. So if you like your beer but also like to know a thing or two about the building you’re drinking it in, Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs is an absolute must. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 57
See for yourself what’s in store for Orchard Square this Christmas... The place to meet, eat, drink, shop and relax in the heart of Sheffield city centre. 41 Orchard Square, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2FB
FOOD AND DRINK
BEER REVERE BY JULES GRAY
Deck the boughs with beers and holly, fa-la-la-la-la, beer-la-la-laaaa. Or I think that’s how the festive classic tune goes! Nothing says Christmas more than a big, beautiful bottle of beer to share round the table (or noble fir tree) with friends and family. Whether it’s alongside your mince pie, turkey roast or that game of charades. A bottle of luscious festive beer can really add to the occasion: think dark wintry stouts, decadent Belgian beers and festive fruity sours for starters. There’s always room for those ‘fridge favourites’ too, like your stash of go-to pale ale, IPA or lager such as Abbeydale’s Heathen, Saint Mars’ Clamp or Rothaus’ Pils. With all that in mind, we invited Emma, Joe and Dan from the Exposed team to Hop Hideout to road test some UK-brewed Christmas beers and give their verdict for your shopping consideration this season. Saint Mars of the Desert: Mice (6.3%, Sheffield) Part 1 of ‘The Battle of Frogs & Mice’ series, this is a Belgian golden ale aka “Flanders Bitter” in the words of the brewery. With clove like and bubblegum notes adding to its complexity. The beer is a tribute to the pioneering Belgian brewers of the 1980s. Strong and bitter, hopped with Whitbread Goldings and Nugget.
Saint Mars of the Desert: Frogs (8.0%, Sheffield) - Dan’s favourite Part 2 of ‘The Battle of Frogs & Mice’ series. A gorgeous red hued beer, Belgian quadruple like, with a honey meets treacle aroma and stunning viscosity. Like a boozy mince pie. Great with a cheese board, pair with a gentle and creamy blue cheese or substitute this instead of your after-dinner glass of port. Brew York: Fairytale of Brew York (4.9%, York) - Emma’s favourite A gingerbread milk stout with lashings of cinnamon and vanilla. Hints of toasted marshmallow meld with roasted caramel; well-balanced kicks from the spicing with an inviting deep rich mahogany colour. Overtone: Spice Jam (7.0%, Glasgow) Joe’s favourite Spiced winter dessert sour with juicy plums, sweet blackberries, and sour raspberries. In addition to lashings of cinnamon and vanilla. This sour has a big hitting tanginess with bags of fruitiness and an immediate mouth-watering puckering sensation. The creamy body adds to the ‘jamminess’ of the beer, alongside its vibrant deep red and purple tinged colour. Try this beer paired with a festive brunch pancake stack, using the sour beer as an alternative to orange juice for a decidedly red fruity mimosa.
Anspach & Hobday: Pffefernusse Stout (6.0%, London) Based on the German biscuit of the same name, this stout unifies rich, malty dark notes balanced with Christmas spicing and a big roasted punch. Ginger dominates alongside the biscuity malt and hint of nutmeg. Unity Brewing Co: Hug It Out (5.8%, Southampton) Luscious stout with cacao, hazelnut and vanilla inspired by a certain celebratory purple confection, hint hint. An inviting nutty aroma leads into a chocolatey smooth taste. Stick a classic Christmas film on the tellybox, grab a big bucket of Quality Street and a can of this beer to round off your Boxing Day. WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 59
Want to win at Christmas gift-buying while keeping it Sheff? Here are a couple of top shouts… CRANK IT UP Created by Sheffield’s Official Music Box Company (‘official’ because the songwriters receive the credits), these charming hand-cranked music boxes knock out twinkling renditions of a range of classic hits from the likes of local legend Richard Hawley, The Charlatans, Doves, Frank Wilson and Soft cell. It’s the perfect musical stockingfiller! £15.95 theofficialmusicboxcompany. com
OH, HOPPY DAYS Produced by yours truly in partnership with our sister company Meze Publishing, the Sheffield Beer and Spirits Bible provides a handy little guide to the Steel City’s thriving beer and spirits scene. It’s a celebration of the many wonderful pubs, bars, shops, breweries and distilleries that unite to make the city one of the UK’s most exciting destinations for connoisseurs of real ale, craft beer and (increasingly so) gin! £10 mezepublishing.co.uk
RENEW YOUR GIN
IT’S A WRAP MEMBERSHIP You’ve probably heard of Locksley Distilling Co via their insanely popular Sir Robin of Locksley gin. While it is undoubtedly a belter, that isn’t the only tasty concoction they’ve got in their locker and their four-bottle gin gift set contains their flagship sup alongside gins infused with raspberry and cardamom, an exotic Morocello Blood Orange Citrus Liqueur and a Navy Strength Very Special Old Tom for the true connoisseurs. £54.99 locksleydistilling.com
THE SWEET STUFF What’s Christmas without choc? Nowt chuffin’ much, that’s what. If you truly love and respect the person you’re buying confectionery for this year, you’ll step away from those battered old selection boxes and up your game considerably with a full range tasting selection from
Sheffield cocoa bean pioneers Bullion Chocolate. £30 bullionchocolate.com
A NIGHT AT THE THEATRE Give the gift of culture to a loved one this year. Sheffield Theatres provide gift vouchers at a range of prices offering access to the largest theatre complex outside of London for 24 months. Next year is already beginning to shape up nicely with the usual mix of comedies, musicals, thrillers and hard-hitting dramas heading to the venue’s three stages, not to mention a return of old faves Standing at the Sky’s Edge and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
DISCOVER OUR HERITAGE A must-have for any pub aficionado or local history buff, Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs was put together by the city’s CAMRA branch and charts the history and evolution of the city’s rich tapestry of public houses. This well-researched publication showcases our most beautiful public houses, celebrating their longstanding charm and intriguing architectural features. £5.99 Stockists listed at sheffield. camra.org.uk
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PARK HILL
Park Hill:
A New Story
Phase 2 of the redevelopment of Park Hill is nearing completion .... Phase 2 of the redevelopment of Park Hill is nearing completion and joint venture partners Urban Splash and Places for People are looking forward to welcoming new residents. The new show home will be available to see in the coming weeks. Those who have bought or who are looking to buy will have the opportunity to see the layout and pick up some tips from the interior styling with furniture and accessories provided by Nest. Nearly all the 195 homes have been sold with just 10 of the 1-bed and 2-bed apartments left. From the end of the year through to next March the population of Park Hill will increase to nearly 2,000 people. Some of those who have bought are those who are currently renting in Phase 1, so have experience of living at Park Hill and of being part of the community there. Guy Ackernley on behalf of the joint-venture responsible for the residential arm of Urban Splash told us: “Park Hill is coming of age, and we are really proud of how the community has evolved. Park Hill is a significant project for us and carries with it a huge responsibility to the people of Sheffield. Our redevelopment of this world-renowned Grade ll brutalist structure has endeavoured to provide contemporary and sustainable homes that respect the original design and are accessible to everyone. Our collaboration and support of from 62 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
our partners, particularly Sheffield City Council, has been essential to its success.” “It will be good to see all our new residents moving into Phase 2 settle in. We will liaise closely with them and support events and activities that encourage all generations to mix. 60 years on and Park Hill is once again a desirable place to live.” It’s more than just a home Park Hill is now very much part of the Sheffield cultural scene as well as having an active resident community. In recent years it’s been the inspiration of an award-winning musical called Standing at the Sky’s Edge, written by Chris Bush, with music by Sheffield music royalty Richard Hawley. It was developed and produced by Sheffield Theatres and first performed in their Crucible Theatre in 2018 to 5-star reviews. The site has also hosted an outdoor film night, urban cycling competitions, student colour runs, bike repair sessions, parkour events, plus numerous film, TV and photography shoots. The latter includes being the storyline for the series that introduced the first female Dr Who, with location shoots that included filming on-site with the cast at Park Hill alongside the Tardis! Thousands of visitors have visited to see exhibitions run by S1 Artspace, including the critically acclaimed Love Among the Ruins: A Romance of the Near Future that presented the work of two
social documentary photographers Roger Mayne (1929 – 2014) and Bill Stephenson (b. 1955), who documented the first residents of Park Hill from 1961-65 and the last remaining residents of Park Hill’s sister building Hyde Park in 1988. The Brutalist Playground by Turner Prize winning architecture collective Assemble and artist Simon Terrill was another great success, originally commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and reimagined for the Park Hill featuring a brand new commission based on Park Hill’s original playgrounds. Another hugely popular event was Kid Acne’s 2019 Have A Word exhibition, the artist’s first solo show in five years. However, these are just a few highlights amongst the many regular resident events and parties, art exhibitions, public tours and charity initiatives taking place at Park Hill each year. What’s it like to live at Park Hill? David Watkins has been a resident since 2015. “If you’re in the city centre and look up the hill to Park Hill it looks absolutely stunningly beautiful with all the colours. It looks like something out of a painting. It’s not all posh flats and you don’t have to be rich to live in them. I really do think that our community vibrantly represents Sheffield and it’s that mix of people that we are most proud of.” Downsizers John and Sue Stanworth moved to Park Hill in 2015. “We didn’t choose the area. We chose Park Hill. We are interested in the architecture and the social history of the building. We wanted to be part of its new start. We love the glass, the views, the light, and being able to walk into the city centre. It’s great the way public transport radiates out from our doorstep. Here we are near our children and grandchildren and there’s a friendly atmosphere in the building, especially in the lifts!” Jonathan Kaplan currently rents in completed Phase 1 of Park Hill and is buying in Phase 2. “I had been renting and have therefore tried and tested Park Hill and experienced living here pre COVID and through the various lockdowns. I always pictured my first property purchase to be a house, but Park Hill ticks all the boxes and these homes feel more substantial and better designed. The location is ideal as I don’t have a car and rely on public transport. I believe I have the best of both worlds – the city, surrounding trees and hills and then that big sky.” Hannah Falconer is buying in Phase 2. “Like many people growing up in Sheffield, Park Hill has always been part of the familiar landscape. I never really thought about the potential of living there until I ended up visiting not long after Phase 1 was completed. I loved how the new design worked with the old and instead of working against it, it made it something new! I was also attracted to how focused Urban Splash were on building the community back to how it would have been originally, and with the inclusion of local businesses, shops and art space and I’m excited to see how the area continues to develop.” WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 63
SKY’S THE
LIMIT
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SKY HOUSE
Founder of South Yorkshire housebuilders ‘Sky House’ David Cross talks to Matt Holmes about reinventing the traditional backto-back house, and how to make it work in an environmentally conscious 21st century. When I sat down for a chat with David, who has a career spanning over 20 years in the city, my aim was to dig deeper into his mission of creating high-density houses within urban areas via his company Sky House Co and to find out who they are, what they stand for and what they have achieved so far. “I grew up in a terrace house in Birdwell in Barnsley,” David tells me. “I loved living in that house. We had a piece of land we would play on called ‘The Triangle’ where we would climb trees, and we played squash against a house wall in the launderette car park. There were lanes behind the houses for the carts to drop off coal in the olden days, and they were all carfree zones. I have really fond memories of living in a terraced house.” You can hear from the way David speaks about his childhood growing up in Birdwell that he believes in the romanticism of living in a close-knit community. So, inspired by his own experiences and by the housing that used to be seen throughout the city, he wanted to reinvent the back-to-back house and remove the stigma attached to them. At one stage the name “Backback” was being toyed with for the project, but it didn’t evoke the same grandeur that “Sky House” does, which itself comes from the large floor to ceiling windows featured within the houses, bathing rooms in natural light. It hasn’t been an easy journey, however. The idea of Sky House was born during the 2008 recession with the vision of creating
quality, gentle urban density. It took five years to buy the land for Sky House’s first development in Waverley before any diggers were even in the ground, and then disaster struck. David jokingly recites, “One of my friends has always said overnight successes usually take ten years.” “We make no excuses that our first project at Waverley was difficult because the builder went into administration halfway through the project. We had to pick up the pieces and finish the project, causing delays. We learned a lot from that, which is when we decided to bring everything in-house.” Not long after the builders went into administration COVID-19 hit, and we all know the impact that had on businesses across the globe. However, it gave David and the Sky House Co team a lot of thinking time. Who did they want to be and where did they want to go? I asked David if it gave him chance to consider his approach. He said: “I’m not the kind of person who believes in serendipity, things happen sometimes. We agreed as a board we wanted to be a house builder rather than a developer.” “Bring everything in-house, control the process, the inputs, the outputs, and if it wasn’t for COVID we probably never would have done that.” Now they have their own in-house construction team, customer service and sales team and two architects within the business. > WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 65
WHAT WE’RE ALL ABOUT From pool to darts and snooker, we’re all about bringing a fun experience through great gaming, beer & food as well as a brilliant atmosphere. Check out our Christmas buffet menu starting at £15pp, plus we also offer a kids menu and a range of small plates, burgers, pizzas, mains and sides. Coming soon... look out for Peaks Diner on Deliveroo as well as crazy golf.
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Events, group bookings and Xmas parties welcome no matter how large. Live entertainment with food and drink on our terrace from 12am till late on Sunday 12th December (Sharrow vale Market day).
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SKY HOUSE
> From the inception when it was just David and his partners Philip Prince and Ian Bower, they are now a 25-strong team with their own offices that when you come in you find jigsaws for your kids, or independent bio-wines from Starmore Boss and beers from local independent breweries for the adults. Of course, Sky House wouldn’t exist without David. So where did his journey as architect and housebuilder begin? “I always wanted to be an architect from being a little boy,” he said. “My dad used to have a haulage business and I would sit in his cab driving up and down the country pointing at houses, and somehow along that journey I became fascinated with them.” He became a residential architect working in various agencies in South and West Yorkshire when just two years after qualifying he knew he wanted to do it his way and set up his own practice in 2003. However, there was still frustration with clients, and he was never interested in the signature showy architecture of luxury housing. His passion has always been with the idea of macro housing and how it can solve real housing problems, creating ‘Grand Designs’ style architecture for the average working person. His vision has certainly become reality when he took the step to give Sky House Co his full attention. The figures make for impressive reading. With 44 homes completed at their first Waverley site, a further 44 on their second, seven at Fox Valley due to be finished early in the new year, planning going in for 106 houses at Waverley Central and there is a further 40 at Oughtibridge Mill. The latter includes the exciting conversion of the old mill into a foodhall to be operated by the Milestone Group, the geniuses behind Kelham Island’s Cutlery Works. In the city centre, they are building Sky House Devonshire Quarter, which is what Sky House was always intended to do, bringing different types of housing into the city centre. David tells me how they allow residents to echo the words of the famous Mars slogan: “Work, rest, play”, all without being car dependent. This leads us onto the all-important green credentials of Sky House. It’s easy to throw words around that give the impression of being an environmentally conscious business, but Sky House can back them up with solid evidence. All projects under construction and in the future are to be carbon neutral down to the materials that are used, the fuel and the labour which is all done to offset their carbon footprint. Ahead of 2025 regulation changes, they are working on zero gas solutions, air source heat pumps and heat recovery, solar panels, sustainable urban drainage, and electric vehicle charging. In line with their corporate social responsibility, David tells me how Sky House uses local materials where possible, not only supporting their eco goals but supporting local businesses too. The materials themselves are quality and robust and Sky House has achieved BOPAS accreditation, the self-governing industry body for modular builds. He says that when it comes to durability, houses should be able to age as well as a traditional Victo-
rian terrace would. He says how they should pass the ‘scooter test’, recalling how his son would ‘bomb’ around the garden, and if it were to dent the cladding on the outside and it was discontinued or discoloured etc. then it doesn’t pass the test. He is emphatic in how he speaks about the people that make up Sky House from staff to partners, and how without them the business simply wouldn’t be where it is right now. He mentions Duncan ArmstrongPayne from Harworth Group who sold the land for Waverley 1, 2 and the soon to be Waverley Central. David mentions his former practice CODA as Sky House’s ‘favourite architects’, and their fantastic structural engineers Eastwood and Partners. He says that their chosen estate agents Redbrik have been great, and a shout out to Skratch Design and DED for all branding and web content. The hard work of all involved is paying off in terms of recognition too, with awards and nominations rolling in. Sky House Co received nominations for Waverley Phase 1 in the Yorkshire Residential Property Awards and in the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence. Oughtibridge Mill went the whole way and won Deal of the Year alongside partners David Wilson Homes, Barratt Homes and CEG at the Yorkshire Residential Property Awards as well as winning Residential Development of the Year (fewer than 50 homes) at the Insider Property Industry
Awards Yorkshire. David tells me how everything they do within the business is with an awardwinning mentality: “We want to win awards for everything we do, it’s the mindset of being brilliant at what we do. I say it to the team all the time, is it award-winning brickwork? Is it an award-winning roof? Is it award-winning customer service?” Over the last 12 months, they have invested heavily in integrating technology to help run the business, making the process techdriven from day one. There is an online customer service portal where buyers can report defects and issues, syncing with their CRM system and they use construction management software where teams can upload health and safety issues, progress photos and upload contracts. When David began his career in 1999, it was a turning point in the residential revolution for the North as people returned to living in cities. He likes to think Sky House is a continuation of that revolution: “We think we are revolutionising the mass housebuilder market. We’ve carved a place in the volume housebuilding sector by being a niche housebuilder, and that’s kind of our mantra.” Sky House has gone from a start-up to a £35million per annum business, and from 2022 they look to grow to deliver 150-200 homes per year. Take a look for yourself at sky-house.co WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 67
NIGHTLIFE / TOP PICKS
TUESDAY CLUB – EATS EVERYTHING HOPE WORKS X STEEL SELEKTIONS CHRISTMAS PARTY
Hope Works // 18 Dec // £9 Hope Works and Steel Selektions have combined to serve up a Christmas bash to Sheffield that will absolutely shake your baubles off. Filling the warehouse’s stocking will be D&B pioneer LTJ Bukem, bringing a wide selection of jazzy, atmospheric beats to the table and combining with MC Ruthless for 90 mins of jungle bliss. As the night goes on, the king of dubby, frantic drum and bass Digital steps up to the decks for a 2-hour barrage of mad energy, blood-curdling synths and rolling 808s. Throw in a stellar lineup on support ft Charla Green, the Steel Selektions crew and Raze Soundsystem powering the whole night, this is the ultimate way to see out the autumn season. hope-works.co.uk
Foundry // 7 Dec // £11.25 Few producers in the history of dance music have made such a rapid and farreaching impact on the electronic music scene as Eats Everything aka Daniel Pearce. The globetrotting DJ, accomplished producer, prolific remixer, label owner, radio host and mastermind behind a collection of popular party brands will channel his broad musical palette into a guaranteed classic TTC instalment. foundrysu.com
NO BORDERS REFUGEE FUNDRAISER TUESDAY CLUB - MUNGO’S HI-FI Foundry // 14 Dec // £11.25 Pioneering modern reggae and dub outfit Mungo’s bring their big sound and seismic productions to shake the very foundations of The Foundry. Also performing are versatile MC/artist Parly B (AKA The Yorkshire Raggamuffin), TTC royalty and turntable legend Andy H, plus Sheffield’s big green dub machine Sinai Sound System. foundrysu.com
HAAI (EXTENDED SET) X LSDXOXO
Hope Works // 10 Dec // £9 A banging line-up once again down at the Hope Works Warehouse, as the innovative DJ, producer and singer HAAi makes her debut headline appearance with a special extended set. Joining will be Philly-born LSDXOXO who has become known on the underground for energetic DJ sets, manipulating mainstreams sounds by craftily layering pop tracks and vocal samples between Baltimore club, ghetto house, hardcore, electro and techno. hope-works.co.uk
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Sidney & Matilda // 4 Dec // £5 Come down for a night of groovy tunes showcasing some of Sheffield’s finest selectors in aid of Refugee Support Europe. A hugely talented lineup will be taking to the decks throughout the eve: Daebal will be keeping the crowds warm with a variety of funky electro tunes, Apricot Ballroom resident Hames will be slinging wonky cuts alongside heads-down groovers, Westfall is a sonic nomad specialising in bass and percussion, Mango Smiley brining an eclectic mix of disco, house and techno, while Slice will be spinning some heavy dubstep ridding B2B with J-LOW Mango Smiley. sidneyandmatilda.com
ALSO DON’T MISS! 3 Dec: Barang! pres Flora Yin Wong (DJ set) @ Gut Level 4 Dec: Dig Deep Radio @ Bal Fashions 17 Dec: Plot 22 Mad Friday Rave w/ Andy H, Kyla C B2B FiveFive, Laze, Annie Motion + more 17 Dec: Tekkers - Big Ang, Ben Suff, Donk, Palize + more @ Hope Works 31 Dec: The Leadmill Big NYE Bash
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MUSIC / TOP PICKS
JOE CARNALL JNR & FRIENDS XI INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP
IMAGE: CAROLINA FARUOLO
Leadmill // 21 Dec // £12.50 Flying the flag for eccentric electronic music in Sheffield are ITOP, who’ll be providing an enjoyable lesson in synth-laden disco-pop boogies when they arrive at The Leadmill this month. Joining the band will be a hugely impressive roster of local talent including Sheffield-based post-punk band Sister Wives, pyjama jazz pioneer Rosey PM, art-pop quartet Potpourri and a very special guest DJ set from Maxine Peake. leadmill.co.uk
LOATHE
Foundry // 12 Dec // £15.40 Touted as the future of British metal, this innovative metalcore act from Liverpool bring their pummelling live performance to the Steel City. Expect an onslaught of huge guitar riffs mixed with ambient electronics and a large dollop of 90s alt-rock – a heady mix making for a hugely atmospheric live experience. foundry.seetickets.com
O2 Academy // 23 Dec // £23.75 Milburn frontman Joe Carnall JNR returns to O2 Academy Sheffield for his now legendary Christmas show. Making this one festive banger no. 11, expect another filled with nostalgic tunes, appearances from a few well-known pals, some singalong covers and dare we say, a cheeky festive ditty or two. academymusicgroup.com
ZUZU
Leadmill // 14 Dec // £10 Scouse indie/grunge-pop star Zuzu brings her full-throttle live show to the Steel City his month. Having stunned crowds opening for Blossoms at the U.K.’s first Covid pilot event at Sefton Park and with her debut album Queensway Tunnel receiving plenty of critical acclaim, the artist’s stock is rising as she heads out on her biggest headline tour to date. leadmill.co.uk
BLACKWATERS
Network // 4 Dec // £11.25 Up-and-coming rockers BlackWaters play their adopted hometown of Sheffield with a gig a the recently opened Network (formerly known as Plug) to promote their recently released debut album ‘Something Good In Lost Time’. Support comes from local talent in Femur, Black Mamba Fever and Nervous Pills. Skiddle.com
PICTURE: ELLY LUCAS
LAUREN HOUSLEY
Yellow Arch Studios // 10 Dec // £12 *Images Quietly and without any fanfare, South Yorkshire lass Lauren Housley has created her own niche as one of the UK’s finest singersongwriters. She blends catchy hooks with a soulful, uplifting voice, creating music that boasts elegantly crafted, melodic, intelligent song writing, with echoes of the pop and soul classics of the 1960s, Carole King, Carly Simon and Eva Cassidy. Fatsoma.com
BEACH RIOT
Record Junkee // 7 Dec // £6 After recently adding BBC Radio One’s Jack Saunders and BBC 6music’s Tom Robinson to their growing list of supporters, Brighton fuzz-pop quartet BEACH RIOT are out on tour in support of their Subatomic Party Cool album release. Ones to watch, so catch them while the tickets are reasonably priced at Record Junkee. Fatsoma.com WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 71
KATE RUSBY
Ahead of her traditional festive shindig, the South Yorkshire songstress takes us through her life in music... THE FIRST RECORD I BOUGHT I remember it well: I was 12 and it was Bon Jovi’s 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit. I bought it from a tiny record shop in Barnsley called Casa Disco. I used to get my pocket money on a Saturday after doing my jobs in the house, then I would catch the bus into town (back then for under-16s it was 2p to travel anywhere in South Yorkshire), and I would go straight to Casa Disco to put some more money down on the album. After a few weeks I walked out of there proud as punch with my well-earned cassette! THE FIRST SONG I PERFORMED ‘Our Cat’s No Hair On’, while stood on a table with my older sister Emma at The Keel in Barnsley. I must have been 3, Emma was 4/5. My folks were at a music session, and we decided to do a song, so were plonked on the table and off we went. A hat went round and we got about 50p in coppers. It felt like so much money, so we bought our own pop and crisps! A SONG I WISH I’D WROTE ‘Love At The Five And Dime’ by Nanci Griffith. I’ve been a Nanci fan since I was young. On my trips into town on the bus I would also call at the library, as it used to have a brilliant music section up on the third floor. I would spend ages in there and borrowed cassettes of all sorts of music. I came across Nanci Griffith and adored the way she sung, like her life depended on it, and all the lovely stories she told in her music, not dissimilar from the folk songs I’d grown up with. ‘Love at The Five And Dime’ is such a gorgeous song of young love, it’s like a mini movie. Again, just like so many folk songs I know, you get invested in the characters and feel the need to follow them to the end. She sets the song up 72 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
with a little guitar ‘bing’, and when you saw her live she would explain it was the ‘bing’ of the lift in the store… just so beautiful. I FIRST FELL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC When I was a baby! I can’t remember a time in my life without it. The old folk songs were our bedtime stories, and my folks were constantly teaching us songs in the car on journeys. Now older and a parent myself, I realised it was a great way of keeping us kids quiet in the back of the car! A SONG I CAN’T GET OUT OF MY HEAD My own song, ‘We Will Sing’. We are currently finishing off an album to celebrate 30 years of gigging. We did an album at 10, called 10, then one at 20, and now all of a sudden it’s 30! This one is called 30: Happy Returns. Each of them has been a look back at songs I have written/sung over the years, and we re-record them in a completely different way. A lot of them have guest singers, I can’t mention any of them just yet, but I’m so excited about this album! We’ve been working on “We Will Sing” with the
guest and I can’t wait for people to hear it, that’s why it’s going around my head night and day! A RECORD WHICH REMINDS ME OF A SPECIFIC TIME AND PLACE ‘Don’t Go’ by Hothouse Flowers. I was 14 when it was released, I absolutely loved the energy in it! My bestest big cousin took me and my friend to see them play at Leeds Uni, it was the first gig of that kind that I’d been to. It was just unbelievable; I still get goosebumps now thinking of the moment they played that song. I have met them at a few festivals in the last few years – they are still amazing and such lovely chaps!. MUSIC ALLOWS ME TO... ‘Stay out of mischief, relax, cheer up, cry, be elated, be transported, put food on the table, feel heartbreak when I need to, have our own record company which employs my whole family, dance, escape, sing, exercise. I get to meet and hear so many brilliant musicians and singers, travel the world, have an unbreakable bond with my family… the list goes on. I’m really quite a lucky girl!
‘Kate Rusby at Christmas’, the singer’s annual festive celebration featuring traditional Yorkshire carols backed by a brass quintet, heads to Sheffield City Hall on Wednesday 15th December. Tickets and more info at sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
2021
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Last Night in Soho Words: Cal Reid Certain periods of the 20th century, particularly in Britain and America, are remembered fondly through the glamorous lens of popular culture. Like Hollywood of the 30s and 50s, the 1960s, particularly in London, is associated with the explosion of radical fashion, movies and musicians. Like classic Hollywood, the glamour and long-lasting influence of that period’s popular culture overshadows the sordidness and heinous injustices perpetrated against thousands of vulnerable people. It’s through this lens that Edgar Wright explores the sleaze of 1960s Soho. Last Night in Soho also acts as a tell-all educational critique of how we view thin slithers of time, however innocently. Thomasin McKenzie is Eloise, a naïve fashion student who’s long dreamt of coming to London. From the opening minutes we see Eloise has a romanticised vision of that era, her bedroom walls covered with pinups of Twiggy Lawson and Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Immediately, London life and contemporary student life are not what she imagines it to be, and Eloise moves out of her accommodation and into a spare room advertised by Avengers and Bond star Diana Rigg in her final role. The room itself acts as a supernatural doorway into the 1960s, specifically 1965-66 judging by the film posters on display. Eloise finds herself following young aspiring singer Sandy as she performs for Matt Smith’s slick but noticeably odious nightclub owner. Much like her experience of modern-day London, the insidious reality of the entertainment industry in the 60s quickly comes to the surface to shatter Eloise’s vision of the past. 74 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
The film works best when it sticks with these themes, simultaneously dissecting modern student life and contemporary visions of the Swinging 60s. For the first two thirds of the film, the horror elements are utilised effectively to show Eloise’s declining mental state. Wright casts the film intelligently with 60s actors like Rita Tushingham and Terrance Stamp, both well-known for their kitchen sink dramas like A Taste of Honey and Poor Cow. The final third, however, is disappointing. It appears that another director with a different objective stepped in and features an unnecessary last-minute twist, which not only contradicts a prior narrative development but starts to undo or ignore the themes featured so prominently before. 3/5
FILM
Eternals Let’s get the good stuff out of the way first. The diverse casting sets a fine example to future franchise films, especially in the superhero genre, and feels appropriate given the characters’ origins. The soundtrack has one or two good tracks, particularly the heroes’ main theme. Neither of these points are enough to make up for the uninspired, convoluted, derivative, illogical, boring mess of a film that is Eternals. The diverse casting is somewhat undermined by the fact we are presented with ten heroes to follow, none of whom are given enough individual screen time to develop their characters beyond the most basic of distinctions. This is a shame because there are some good performers in here hampered by a pedestrian script. I feel sad for the likes of Richard Madden and Brian Tyree Henry. There are also, however, performers who frankly are not up to scratch. Gemma Chan’s Sersi is their leader, despite having very little emotional range and wielding by far the most useless superpower. Chan’s performance wavers between bored and confused. I don’t mean her character is confused; I mean that Chan herself looks as though she hasn’t the slightest clue what’s she’s talking about. Which isn’t a surprise because the plot of this film is riddled with inconsistencies. Not only that, but the Eternals’ origins also raise many questions about previous events in the MCU. Jack Kirby’s work, much like his New Gods, can exist without being involved in the rest
of the DC or Marvel Universes, and this certainly needed to exist away from the events of the Avengers films. It doesn’t help that a lot of namedropping takes place, reminding you of characters you’d much rather be watching. The events in Eternals are just a stone’s throw away from being as cataclysmic as those in Infinity War and Endgame, but there are no consequences in this film that equate to the events taking place. Much like the lack of character development, it’s another reason not to care about anything that is happening to anyone at any point. The bloated, 157-minute plodder is filled with complex exposition dumps and flashbacks that slow the pace of the thing down to the speed of an asthmatic snail. The costumes and weightless CGI effects look like remastered leftovers from Gods of Egypt. The greatest sin is that it’s exactly what a sci-fi superhero epic shouldn’t be: insurmountably boring and unengaging. Diverse casting and characterisation are undeniably positive aspects of a film, but it’s never enough to justify over two hours of utter tosh. So far, it’s the poorest film from the MCU – without question. 1.5/5
Dune If Eternals fails at every turn to provide entertainment in a sci-fi adventure epic, the same cannot said of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel. After a never filmed but extensively planned version by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dune was infamously brought to the screen by David Lynch in 1984. Lynch’s film was chopped up into an incomprehensible mess in the editing room. Although it’s since developed a cult following, fans of the novel have been waiting eagerly for a satisfying big-screen adaptation. A risky venture given the dense, feudal intergalactic politics of the novel could easily become incomprehensible and offputting to the average viewer, even if it does satisfy those familiar with Herbert’s world. Dune may well be the blockbuster triumph of the year. Not only does it accomplish the incredible feat of making its lore accessible to a wide audience, it also succeeds in being an exciting visual experience and a unique depiction of the distant future modelled on the feudal societies of Medieval Europe. Although not a great deal happens in terms of action, there’s never a dull second courtesy of the stunning visuals and the magnificent cast, including Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, and of course, Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. Villeneuve makes Arrakis more than a setting: it is an omniscient, malevolent being with many hidden dangers that could consume the outworlders at any moment, not least of which are the humongous sandworms. Charged with taking over the harvesting of the desperately sought-after Spice Melange, located on the desert planet of Arrakis, the powerful House Atreides travels to the hostile planet to maintain order on behalf on the unseen Emperor. This sets the stage for intergalactic conflict between the Atreides family and their rivals, the savage House Harkonnen. Meanwhile, young Paul, played by Chalamet, begins having eerie visions of his future on Arrakis, and his destiny of leading the native people of Arrakis, the Fremen, in a bloody jihad. It’s a relief to know Warner Bros. have given a sequel the green light. Villeneuve’s first part of the novel leaves the viewer desperate for more and ends at the perfect transition point for the character of Paul. Dune is thoroughly deserving of the high praise, a true sci-fi masterpiece. 5/5 WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 75
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FRI.26.NOV 25 Years of Drum & Bass Arena
DILLINJA RANDALL BRYAN GEE
Kyrist, Dj Storm Displace, MC’s TBA ————————————————
SAT.27.NOV Hope Works 9th Birthday
PALMS TRAX BRADLEY ZERO Diessa, Lo Shea Lunar, Melly D Rumbi Tauro (Live) Skari & Zeki ————————————————
FRI.10.DEC Hope Works presents
HAAI X LSDXOXO
+ more TBA ————————————————
FRI.17.DEC Tekkers
BIG ANG BEN SUFF DONK JUNGLIST ALLIANCE
SAT.18.DEC HW x Steel Selektions Christmas Party
LTJ BUKEM & DIGITAL Charla Green Mc Ruthless + Residents
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FRI.31.DEC Hope Works Presents
NEW YEARS EVE
All styles, all in! Goodbye 2021! Tix — £5 / £10 / £20 otd
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SAT.01.JAN Club Glow
NEW YEARS DAY
Tix — £5 / £10 / MOTD
ADDISON GROOVE SHADOW CHILD [92-94 SET] ALEX.AUBYN AMBIENT BABESTATION MELTDOWN BORAI CHARLA GREEN DENHAM AUDIO B2B DJ COSWORTH LOCAL GROUP (LMajor & Corporeal Face)
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COMEDY
Bailey’s Comet ABBA, birdsong and history lessons in Ragtime: Exposed’s Dale Maplethorpe delves into the wonderfully weird world of beloved comedian Bill Bailey. Pictures: Andy Hollingworth “I’ve got this terrible cold actually,” Bill Bailey’s voice crackles down the other end of the phone as we say hello before chatting about his new tour. En Route to Normal comes to Sheffield Arena on January 9th and even before we dig deep into what ‘normal’ means anymore, Bill is discussing the hilarious nature that surrounds our newfound paranoia at the slightest sniffle. “It’s one of those,” he says, “I keep thinking, is it the lurgy? Is it the dreaded lurgy? But no. It’s just a flipping cold.” Comedian, musician, dancer and (supposed) soothsayer Bill Bailey will be taking to the road as of 12th December, putting an end to his forced touring hiatus by kicking off a run of shows that start in Plymouth and carry on all the way through to early 2022. “It’s unprecedented,” he comments when asked about how he feels getting back to what he knows best after such an elongated time away. “I’ve never, certainly not in the years that I’ve been touring, been in a situation like this before where I’ve not done shows for so long… it’s quite daunting, really, as a prospect.” Such a long time away from touring is sure to make getting back out there again feel strange; however, not only that, but it has also given Bailey a newfound respect for just how important live entertainment is. “I’ve done one or two little warm up shows,” he reflects on gigging post-lockdown, “but even those have taken up a greater significance. In normal times, outside of a pandemic, it would have been just another warm-up show in a programme of events that would have happened at this art centre, but me going back there, the whole place was abuzz with excitement. This is the first show that they’ve seen in 18 months, so it takes on greater significance.” As someone who has crammed as many live shows in as possible in recent months, revelling in the aforementioned post-pandemic buzz, this is something it’s easy to identify with. Gigs at the minute seem to come with another layer of excitement because of how long we had to go without them. As a crowd member it’s a feeling you can simply embrace; however, it begs the question, as an entertainer how do you cope? In other words, is it harder to remain grounded and perform a routine when you’re just awash with emotion and enjoying being back? “I was a bit giddy,” Bailey answers. “I asked the crowd if this was their first show back and everyone said yes. I said perhaps it should be something a bit more memorable than this. Perhaps it should be ABBA reforming and doing a gig under the pyramids. Then the week after I said that ABBA said they
were going to reform. I thought I might have been gifted the power of foresight.” Bailey’s new ability to see into the future doesn’t start and end with ABBA reunions either. His new tour entitled En Route To Normal may sound like a reasonably apt name given it is being performed in a post-pandemic Britain; however, curiously, the title and original idea for the show was thought up back when the coronavirus was simply an imaginative name for a hangover. “I do feel slightly guilty,” he muses. “Maybe it was me that caused it?” Which begs the question: what was the original inspiration behind the show? “The title came up because of the strange situation we found ourselves in even before there was a pandemic. Now that there has been a pandemic, we are on this march back to whatever we thought normal was and it does seem to be going on and on and on. It is an indication as to how strange things were even before we had heard of Covid-19.” The show sounds like it could be bittersweet. Bailey reflects on times throughout human history when we have gone through similar periods of turmoil and come out on the other side. Sure, that could be seen by some as empowering, but at the same time, covid itself was bad news enough, let alone looking back on other periods throughout history that mirror it. “It was initially hard because we were bombarded with information all the time and it became the case that every day we were gripped by the news: what was going to happen, statistics and numbers were being thrown at us all the time.” But how similar could these previous instances really be? “You are almost struck by the eerie similarity to our situation. It’s almost as if these photographs and headlines could have been written today. In the so-called Spanish flu in 1918 there were photographs of people all wearing masks, all in the gear of the day but wearing masks and then someone has a sign that says, ‘wear a mask, protect your neighbours.’” So, one similarity then… “Then the black death came down via the silk route and entered Europe through Italy. Again, it’s this similarity that covid was particularly bad in Italy before it came here and a lot of Italians were saying, ‘you need to take precautions’ and we were just a bit blasé about it. But exactly the same thing happened in 1346.” Do we ever learn? “You do think, oh, nothing changes, and that was slightly depressing in a way, but then a lot of good came out of it,
Tickets for Bill Bailey’s En Route to Normal Tour at the Utilita Arena Sheffield on 9th Jan. Tickets available at ticketmaster.co.uk.
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COMEDY like the renaissance, which led to a lot of empowerment and improvement in people’s life. That’s what I took from it. There are certain things that, despite the tragic nature of it and the terrible loss of life, if we look beyond, there are positives in the way that our lives can be changed for the better.” Bill stays true to this ideology as his new show highlights some of the positives that have come from lockdown. One aspect is the return of nature as he composes new music through birdsong. “A lot of birdsong normally masked by a lot of noise was now audible; it occurred to me that this is the soundtrack of a pre-industrial age. So, if you look at composers, it occurred to me that this is what they would be listening to in their moment of revery. Rather than sitting there and trying to sort of zone out all the sounds of the modern world, you can have a bit of peace and quiet.” This is true. In fact, one of the pioneers of experimental noise music, Luigi Russolo, initially pins the whole development of said genre down to the way our hearing changed as a result of the industrial revolution. He commented on this in his manifesto, The Art of Noises, when he wrote, ‘music originally sought purity, limpidity and sweetness of sound,’ before continuing, ‘musical evolution is paralleled by the multiplication of machines…. The machine today has created such a variety and rivalry of noises that pure sound, in its exiguity and monotony, no longer arouses any feeling.’ “Exactly,” says Bailey before adding more to the history and development of music, which surprisingly is also loosely linked to another pandemic: “When I was learning piano, I learned a lot of Jazz and played a lot of Ragtime. Ragtime piano is the sort of forerunner to Jazz, and I was trying to nail down what the birth of it was. Turns out it happened around the time of the 1918 pandemic and grew out of the red-light district in New Orleans… it was seen as a terrible disease. If you read all the New York Times editorials, they all talk about it like ‘this is moral corruption of our age, and we need to hope it’s just a passing phase before it infects everyone like leprosy’. It’s really just vicious and violent language, like it’s this terrible disease and then the irony was that there was this terrible disease actually happening, but Jazz got linked into the same category.” There was an interesting period in comedy throughout (and following) the pandemic, during which there was naturally the inkling to only talk about covid and lockdown with routines made up of casual observations concerning the absurdity of the two. What Bailey is doing with his new show is not only highlighting the same absurdity but comparing that to similar times in human history: on one hand he’s instilling a sense of futility as events continue to repeat themselves, whilst on the other sparking feelings of hope by discussing the good that can come from the bad. For a truly unique take on the pandemic and both the positives and negatives to come from it, En Route To Normal is the show for you. Catch Bill in Sheffield when he stops by next month. Tickets for Bill Bailey’s En Route to Normal Tour at the Utilita Arena Sheffield on Sunday 9th January are on sale now, available online now.
TOP PICKS MARK WATSON Leadmill // 2 Dec // £20 Spiritual enquiry meets highoctane observational comedy as the ‘Taskmaster’ survivor, multiaward-winner and “No More Jockeys” cult leader attempts to cram a couple of years of pathological overthinking into an evening of stand-up. Maybe we’ll even solve the huge problem. Doubt it, though. Leadmill.co.uk
“
THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT, DESPITE THE TRAGIC NATURE OF IT AND THE TERRIBLE LOSS OF LIFE, IF WE LOOK BEYOND, THERE ARE POSITIVES IN THE WAY THAT OUR LIVES CAN BE CHANGED FOR THE BETTER.”
KATHERINE RYAN City Hall // 10 Dec // £26.45 £30.65 Having previously denounced partnership, Katherine has since married her first love, accidentally. Creator and Star of Netflix smash hit The Duchess (along with two global Netflix comedy specials: In Trouble and Glitter Room) Katherine Ryan makes a hugely welcome return to the stage with her brand-new live show, Missus. sheffieldcityhall.co.uk MO MILLIGAN City Hall // 11 Dec // £21.80 Fresh from his smash hit global Netflix release, BAFTA nomination and No. 1 trending entertainment show, Mo Gilligan is back with a brand-new world tour for his latest show There’s Mo To Life. Expect a jam-packed high-energy show like no other from one of the freshest comics on the scene. sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
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LGBT+
LGBT+ LISTINGS
SASH-SLEIGH AWAY!
It’s December, the festive season is finally upon us, and kicking off the celebrations we have Sheffield’s own drag cabaret troupe The Funky Beavers with their show It’s Christmas B*tches! at Spirit of Sheffield (Fri 3 Dec). Drag DJ Anna Kissed also makes two festive appearances at Spirit this month for Spirit Xmas Party (Fri 17 Dec) and their New Year Spectacular (Fri 31 Dec) to let you know that glitter is for life not just for Christmas. DJ Gail will be back behind the decks for LIPS (Sat 4 Dec), LGBT Sheffield’s Disco for Womxn and Nonbinary people. Over to sport now and Rainbow Blades, Sheffield United’s Official LGBT+ supporters club, will be back for their pre-match socials for the Queens Park Rangers (Mon 13 Dec) and Hull City (Wed 29 Dec) games. If you prefer your balls a different shape (take your minds out of the gutter!), then head over to Sheffield Tigers Rugby Club where the city’s LGBT+ inclusive rugby team, Sheffield Vulcans, will be taking on Manchester’s Village Spartans (Sat 4 Dec). The season of drag continues at Revolution with a bottomless festive drag show brunch (Sat 11 Dec) hosted by Cherry Pops. That night we have Drag Queens in Winter Wonderland at Malin Bridge Inn (Sat 11 Dec) with performances from Miss Tish Ewe, Gayle Force, Electric Blue and your host DJ Benji. The latest group of RuPaul’s queens sashay their way to Sheffield for Shantay You Sleigh Xmas Xtravaganza at City Hall (Fri 17 Dec), hosted by the dynamic drag
duo The Vivienne and Baga Chipz, with performances from Latrice Royale, Vanity Milan, Scarlett Harlett, Scarlett Envy, Olivia Lux, Priyanka and Gia Metric. Over at Showroom we have the Queer East Film Festival (3/7/8 Dec) showcasing rarely seen queer cinema from East and Southeast Asia. The season will show films that people might not otherwise get a chance to see and hopes to provide a platform for under-represented Asian and diasporic communities to share their history, stories and what it means to be Asian and queer today. Films include Hush!, a landmark Japanese LGBTQ+ film exploring debates around same-sex families and parenthood; Dear Tenant, a young man looking after his deceased partner’s mother and son becoming entangled in a legal battle; and Moonlit Winter, a story of mother and daughter who reconnect when seeking out the sender of a mysterious love letter. In live music news, The Bowie Contingent return to West Street Live (Sat 11 Dec) for the first time since 2016 with their tribute to the music of David Bowie, and don your black tie as Grace Petrie is back for a fabulous Christmas show with her unique takes on life, love and politics at The Leadmill (Wed 22 Dec). And last but by no means least, the friendliest rave in the land, Barang, is back and teaming up with DINA to bring the amazing Flora Yin Wong to queer-led DIY club Gut Level (Fri 3 Dec). That’s your lot for this month – keep an eye on facebook.com/sheffieldlgbtevents for fresh event updates and announcements! events and news.
SPIRIT OF SHEFFIELD FRI 3 DEC: Funky Beavers present It’s Christmas B*tches! SAT 4 DEC: Lips 13/29 DEC: Rainbow Blades Pre-Match Social FRI 17 DEC: Spirit of Xmas FRI 31 DEC: New Year at Spirit facebook.com/spiritofsheffield 3/7/8 DEC: Queer East Film Festival, Showroom Cinema showroomworkstation.org.uk FRI 3 DEC: Barang! & DINA pres. Flora Yin Wong (DJ Set) Gut Level gutlevel.co.uk SAT 4 DEC: Sheffield Vulcans vs Village Spartans, Sheffield Tigers RUFC. sheffieldvulcans.com SAT 11 DEC: Festive Drag Bottomless Brunch, Revolution Sheffield revolution-bars.co.uk/bar/sheffield SAT 11 DEC: Drag Queens In Winter Wonderland, Malin Bridge Inn. malinbridgeinn.co.uk SAT 11 DEC: The Bowie Contingent West Street Live facebook.com/TheBowieContingent FRI 17 DEC: Shantay You Sleigh: Xmas Xtravaganza, City Hall sheffieldcityhall.co.uk WED 22 DEC: Grace Petrie, Leadmill. leadmill.co.uk
Until next time, love, rainbows and a very merry Christmas... WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 83
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THE BEGINNING 30 NOVEMBER – 5 DECEMBER
An incredible light and sound spectacular for the whole family to enjoy.
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The Magic of Christmas starts at Sheffield Cathedral After a sensational debut in 2019 with The Angels are Coming, the cathedral’s Christmas light spectacular returns with The Beginning. Starting on 30 November, and running through to 5 December, The Beginning will captivate visitors through awe inspiring illuminations projected across the exterior facade of the Cathedral. Inside you will be entranced by an immersive multi-sensory experience with music and lights inspired by the cathedral’s stained-glass windows and more than 30 beautifully decorated Christmas trees. Tickets for The Beginning are on sale NOW from www.sheffield-cathedral.org or in person from the Cathedral Gift Shop. Adults: £7.50 Children aged 3-15 (under 3s free): £6 Carers: £3 (contact Sheffield Cathedral to purchase)
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CULTURE / TOP PICKS
THE PIXIE AND THE PUDDING
Studio Theatre // 11 Dec - 2 Jan // £11-£13 This brand new musical brings a tale from Scandinavian folklore to life with puppetry, original music and a sprinkling of pixie magic. Aimed at ages 4-11, this magical, musical family show explores ideas of tradition, rural life verses city life, friendship and being kind. sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
THE STAR BAZAAR’S CHRISTMAS DOUBLE DINGDONG
Theatre Deli // 17-18 Dec // £20-£24 Can you hear fairy bells chime as you open the door and enter The Star Bazaar? A magical emporium of delights awaits you. The Star Bazaar burlesque show is a comedy cabaret show like no other, not just a vaudeville variety show, but an immersive theatrical experience, set in an imaginary magical shop. ticketsource.co.uk/thestarbazaar
PRECISION AS A STATE OF MIND Graves Gallery // Until 15 Jan // Free The first new exhibition in the Graves Gallery following its six-month programme of refurbishment and redisplay celebrates the work of the acclaimed sculptor Mark Firth. Mind includes 83 new and recent works, including Ten Cubes for Sheffield, a new series made exclusively for the exhibition. The works on display, meticulously crafted in aluminium, showcase Firth’s continual preoccupation with geometry and his exploration of the meeting point between art and engineering. museums-sheffield.org.uk
BEYOND BLOOMSBURY – LIFE, LOVE AND LEGACY
Millennium Gallery // Until 13 Feb // Free The extraordinary writers, artists and thinkers of the Bloomsbury Group had a profound effect on British art and literature. This major new exhibition, in partnership with York Museums Trust and the National Portrait Gallery, chronicles the lives, loves and work of the group during the first half of the 20th century. As well as celebrating the group’s key figures, including writer and feminist pioneer Virginia Woolf and her sister, painter Vanessa Bell, the displays shine a spotlight on their often overlooked peers and reflect on the group’s place in queer art history. museums-sheffield.org.uk WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 87
CULTURE / TOP PICKS
SLEEPING BEAUTY
THERE IS NO
PLANET B
Lyceum Theatre // 3 Dec - 3 Jan // £15 The annual Sheffield Theatres panto returns with a fun-filled stage adaptation of Disney classic Sleeping Beauty featuring lavish sets and plenty of jokes for the whole family to enjoy. Sponsored this year by our pals at City Grab, the cast will feature comedy great Janine Duvitski (Benidorm), legendary Dame, Damian Williams, alongside actor, presenter and comic Ben Thornton (Cinderella), Lucas Rush (Damian’s Pop-Up Panto!,Rock of Ages), Hannah Everest (Gypsy) and Dominic Sibanda (Hairspray). sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
THERE IS NO PLANET B
Theatre Deli // 1-3 December // £12-£14 A father-daughter relationship in a post-industrial town facing evacuation due to climate catastrophe. Hassun El-Zafar, director of My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Theatre Deli, 2018) and Children of War (Sheffield Theatres, 2020) brings to life a new experimental theatre piece exploring relationships in a world facing a climate crisis. theatredeli.co.uk
SHE LOVES ME
Crucible Theatre // 11 Dec - 15 Jan // £15-£40 Based on the story that inspired famous rom-com You’ve Got Mail, a glorious comedy musical comes to the Crucible. Amalia and Georg work together in a parfumerie in a picturesque Hungarian town. They are constantly clashing, but they do have one thing in common: they’ve both answered a lonely hearts advert and now live for the letters they exchange, unaware of the identity of their true loves. sheffieldtheatres.co.uk 88 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
University of Sheffield Drama Studio // 19 Dec // £6-£13 Watch with delight as the atmosphere of Victorian London is brought to life and the ghosts of Christmas return from the dead – all accompanied by a live violin score. After the phenomenal success of national tours of Shivers and Upon the Stair, The Book of Darkness & Light return with a pleasingly haunting adaptation of this most famous festive ghost story. performancevenues.group.shef.ac.uk
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CULTURE / ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
FAUNAGRAPHIC For this month’s focus on a local creative, Liane Sutherland speaks to Sheffield-based street artist and mural painter Faunagraphic. When did you start making art? I’ve been doing art for quite a long time. I’ve always been drawing since I was a kid and I come from quite a creative background. I was influenced by my mum, who has a very creative mind, and my surroundings – I grew up in the countryside so spent a lot of time out on walks. I’ve always drawn, it’s always been my favourite thing to do. How did your practice develop after moving to Sheffield? When I got to Sheffield I was studying Graphic Design and started spray painting when I was 19. When I was trying to get through my degree, I was thinking I was going to be a designer and work in a studio, but they were sacking graphic designers at the time because of the recession. I’d just started spray painting anyway; I had an idea of what I wanted to do after seeing some designers that integrated their Photoshop work and the digital stuff they were doing but also were graffitists. To me, that was the perfect fit for what I want to do: I love the idea of large-scale painting and taking art off the computer. As soon as I started spray painting I needed walls to paint on. It was good because Sheffield had a lot of abandoned buildings and it was easy to get into them. We’d go into these buildings and factories and just started getting into the art form more. Your work is clearly inspired by nature and wildlife settings. Has that always been a prominent theme? I’ve always been inspired by nature; it’s always been enough for me. I’ve dabbled in sci-fi stuff. I’m into gaming and things. I do have lots of inspirations and would like to explore different themes, but from the beginning, I knew that to integrate my work with my planned job in graphic design, I needed to stick to something I loved the most. If I wanted to brand myself or branch out into products, I knew that I needed one thing. So yeah, I’ve always stuck to nature and within that you can go in any direction. Are you quite connected to the other graffiti artists in Sheffield? Yeah, as soon as I started spray painting I began meeting people. My ex-partner Chris Butcher [Rocket01] knew a lot of people but we also made new friends. It’s a very small but nice and friendly community of artists. 90 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Are there any artists who particularly influence you and your work? In Sheffield everyone is so different and doing different styles. That’s what’s nice about it, I suppose. I used to like a lot of the American artists like Tara McPherson and some German artists. But more in the way that they were covering different areas with their art and the way they’ve established themselves – their process, basically. Since I’ve been painting, there are a lot more people I’ve noticed and picked up on because of social media. There are plenty of good artists out there for inspiration. What’s the process when you approach a mural piece? It depends. I’ve had different ways of doing it. With a very big wall piece I prefer to have it all pre-designed. I do a lot of stuff on my iPad, as it’s easier to adjust things and I can work faster. I used to use the sketchbook a lot to come up with initial sketches and find reference imagery, but it’s all merged onto the iPad now. You mentioned about branching out into products. Is this something we’ll be seeing more of with your work? I always liked to paint murals and now I can pick which ones I want to do. I still very much embrace the love for the murals. But I can imagine in ten years’ time I won’t want to be trekking around too much for mural projects. I am very interested in sustainable products and expanding my brand. I’m not trying to monopolise; I’m trying to do things gradually in a way I’ll enjoy. I can do business to an extent, but I’m more of a creative, more of a daydreamer, and I like doing things that make people happy. That for me is a better route. Even if I end up doing very well with the whole product thing, as long as it doesn’t take me away from who I really am, that’s fine.
faunagraphic.com // @faunagraphic // facebook. com/faunagraphic1 WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 91
THROUGH THE LENS
Through The Lens For this month’s feaure on a local snapper, we spoke to Shane Rounce, a creative jack of all trades and talented photographer, illustrator, designer and developer.
How did you first get into photography? As a kid, I used to paint Warhammer figures and then set them up in different battle poses. Back then, I had to wait for the film to process to see what they would look like and really had no idea what I was doing. All throughout school I had a constant interest in any type of camera or computer equipment. I took photos of gamingrelated things for a review website I developed as a teenager, as well as using video cameras whenever possible for schoolwork (Media Studies, videos and such). Toward the end of school, I got really into parkour (around 2005), and with that came the need to learn how to properly compose a scene and edit my work. Along with training for parkour and creating videos, I developed a keen sense for architecture, as well as a slightly different perspective on things from how the majority of people see them. We often explored out of bounds areas: Sheffield centre rooftops, back alleys and so on. Most of my time spent learning to use my first proper cameras was in these environments. So, I guess my introduction to photography spanned a 12-year timeframe. I was eased into it over time, more than making any conscious choice to do so. How would you describe your style today? These days I tend to focus on doing two things when I shoot. First of all, I look for strong leading lines in the composition of my image, whether that’s something as simple as a street sign or a landscape horizon – I focus on those lines to help balance the image. Secondly, I spend far too much time indoors, so when I am out shooting, I like to capture the moments and places that really inspire me: places full of colour, graffiti, hidden 92 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
spots and angles most people don’t see or take the time to appreciate. I’m not sure if I could say I have any particular style; I’m always experimenting with different things and it all depends on my mood at the time of shooting and/or editing. If I was to be labelled for what I’m known for in terms of view count, that’s probably something along the lines of “event” or “landscape” photographer, but those don’t really sit right with me. What motivates you creatively? I just like making nice things. I do follow a lot of other creative people: streamers, YouTubers and so
on. Seeing them have fun in what they’re doing always motivates me; so I guess I do it because I enjoy it? If you could photograph one event or subject, what or who would it be? An ambitious one would be to attend and shoot Burning Man. I just think it’d be good fun with all the lights and colourful people around. For the most part, I’d like to visit more cities and nice landscapes to keep on honing my skills. I might have been at this for a couple of decades, but I still have plenty of room for improvement. What sort of picture tends to catch your eye? Anything with strong leading lines and sharp details. I generally tend to find looking at black and white photos of brutalist architecture quite relaxing, but I’m also a fan of nice authentic (not overly Photoshopped) landscape shots, and irregular photos of regular people caught in seemingly mundane moments. >
WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 93
THROUGH THE LENS
“
THESE DAYS I TEND TO FOCUS ON DOING TWO THINGS WHEN I SHOOT. FIRST I LOOK FOR STRONG LEADING LINES IN THE COMPOSITION OF MY IMAGE... SECONDLY, I LIKE TO CAPTURE THE MOMENTS AND PLACES THAT REALLY INSPIRE ME:...
94 | WWW.EXPOSEDMAGAZINE.CO.UK
> Not enough of that is captured: a lot of photos are posed or faked these days. I like “real” yet surreal photos. If it makes me think, it’s good. Do you have a favourite image/shoot to date? My favourite image is probably one of my mostviewed shots on Unsplash (where I’m almost at 140 million views), and that’s the one with a bunch of my friends’ hands on the money tree down Padley Gorge in the Peak District. Everyone was just leaning on the tree chatting and I was like “yo, stay still”; a couple of quick snaps later and I had a photo that a lot of people now use for a variety of purposes across the globe. When it’s an unplanned, happy snap like that and it ends up successful years later, it’s hard not to love it. Most of my favourites have come about that way. More often than not, I’ll prefer to adopt a fly on the wall approach to shooting as I believe those images always have more of a genuine look to them and, in some daft way, I think people can sense that about a photo. What advice would you give budding photographers? Keep shooting. Always have some form of camera handy, even if that’s just your phone. Be critical of your own work and don’t react negatively to others who are being critical, the best feedback is sometimes the stuff you hate to hear. Don’t be afraid to reshoot the same (or similar) subject over and over – repetition is key for improvement. Upload your work and show consistent improvements and change via your social media and keep a catalogue of your images available for people to browse online. redbubble.com/people/shanerounce behance.net/ShaneRounce shanerounce.com // @srounce
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6
189 CITY ROAD, S2 5HF
£126PW 4 ALL BILLS INC BEDROOMS PA D 15 PAD
13
74 HUNTER HILL ROAD, S11 8UE
£128PW 4 ALL BILLS INC BEDROOMS
P**S UP IN A BREWERY? BOOK YOUR PARTY NOW PRIVATE HIRE PERFECT SETTING PACKAGES AVAILABLE WWW.HEISTBREWCO.COM
107 NEEPSEND LANE, SHEFFIELD, S3 8AT