Shed Seven performing their Instant Pleasure Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Friday 8th December 2017.

Review by Kevin Cooper

Touring to promote Instant Pleasure, their first album in sixteen years, Shed Seven cannot believe that they are still as popular today as they were when they started out in the early 90s. But if they needed any reassurances, it was a packed Rock City crowd who turned out on a freezing cold Friday night to do just that.

Opening the proceedings were Cast, fronted by John Power who packed in all of their hits including Walk Away and Guiding Star. They provided a full band performance with great guitar solos which complemented Power’s vocals as they warmed the crowd up nicely.

Getting the show going with a blast, Shed Seven kicked off with new album opener Room In My House which segued into 1994 single Speakeasy. From the new album there was the swinging People Will Talk, the anthemic lament to growing old that is It’s Not Easy and the bittersweet Better Days, perhaps the band’s finest single for nearly 20 years, which all fitted in seamlessly and demonstrated how Shed Seven have adapted their sound.

High points of the set list included the single that never was, High Hopes and blistering versions of Bully Boy, Going For Gold and the brilliant as ever Devil In Her Shoes which showed Witter in fine vocal form. Their version of She Left Me On A Friday saw him leave the stage to the band who launched into an intense instrumental version of Stone Roses, I Am The Resurrection, complete with flashing stage lights which threatened to turn Rock City into a full blown rave.

Finishing their set with their massive sing along, Chasing Rainbows, you always know what you are going to get with this band and that’s a rocking good night that left this crowd making their way home all warm and toasty.

Shed Seven performing at Rock City on Thursday 18^th December 2015

Review by Kevin Cooper

Probably the greatest export ever to leave the city of York, Brit pop sensations Shed Seven entertained a packed Rock City crowd last night with their magnificent hits and forgotten album tracks.

From the moment support band Inspiral Carpets came on, the crowd were certainly up for it. With Stephen Holt’s distinctive vocals over the familiar and brilliant Inspiral’s tunes, it was a joy to behold.

Warmed up nicely, the stage was handed over to Shed Seven. Unlike the rest of us 50 year olds in the audience, energetic frontman, Rick Witter, appears to have been cryogenically preserved because he is still stick thin, snake hipped, full of attitude and still has a great voice.

Opening with the riotous She Left Me On Friday, the band were in top form and had plenty of great songs in their locker, including Casino Girl, Long Time Dead, and Disco Down. Who would have thought that their 1994 hit, Speakeasy, unceremoniously used as a mobile phone advert would still sound as fresh as we approach 2016, but it did.

With literally everyone in the room belting the words of their songs right back at them, they treated us to the glorious Ocean Pie, whilst Going For Gold was a majestic chest beating anthem.

The whole evening had just been one mass sing a long, with Witter’s banter with the crowd being indicative of just how much Shed Seven are enjoying themselves right now. Finishing the main set with Parallel Lines, the crowd demanded more. They returned to deliver a rousing encore of Missing Out and Getting Better. With Chasing Rainbows suitably ending the gig, the whole evening had been one of those that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up with glee.

Witter has said that he is always surprised that they are still managing to sell out venues around the UK. But on this showing it was not hard to see why.