Leicester has produced a number of famous musical acts including Engelbert Humperdinck and Showaddywaddy. [1]
Venues
While Leicester has often been neglected as a centre for popular music [citation needed], with the O2 Academy that has been built (opened 2010) in the city, more established acts have been booked to play.
Current venues for music include:
De Montfort Hall, which has a standing capacity of 1602 and seating capacity of 2000
The Musician, Crafton Street West, Leicester, (220 capacity) (opened 2000)
The Donkey, 203 Welford Rd, Leicester (opened 2005)
Firebug, Pocklington's Walk, Leicester
The Shed, Yeoman Street, Leicester.
The SoundHouse, 28 Southampton St, Leicester LE1 1SJ
In March 2018, the Haymarket Theatre reopened pledging it will stage music events.
One of Leicester's main live music venues, The Charlotte, closed in January 2009. It briefly reopened in October 2009 before being closed permanently on 14 March 2010.[2]
1960s
Leicester's main small venue for pop and rock was the Il Rondo on Silver Street. The roll call of bands who played at the Il Rondo runs like a who's Who of early–mid sixties pop and rock. The Yardbirds and The Animals played there before passing into rock history along with less well remembered groups like the Graham Bond Organisation. It also played host to many visiting American blues musicians including Howlin' Wolf, Freddie King, Lowell Fulson, Otis Spann and John Lee Hooker. The Beatles also came to De Montfort Hall.[3]
Colin Hyde (East Midlands Oral History Archive) carried out a range of interviews about growing up in Leicester in the 1950s and 1960s and began to map where all of the venues of the day were.[4] He identified a number of clubs, pubs, and coffee bars like the Chameleon, run by Pete Joseph, the El Casa, or the El Paso – cafes which stayed open after the pubs closed. Among others, people also remembered the Blue Beat club on Conduit Street, run by Alex Barrows who later started the House of Happiness on Campbell Street. Night clubs such as the Burlesque or the Nite Owl became more popular as the 1960s progressed, and they opened up the opportunity to dance all night. [citation needed]
Also emerging during this period was the notable band Family, fronted by Leicester man Roger Chapman which had some success nationally but mixed success internationally until they disbanded in 1973.
The band Prolapse, was formed by a group of Leicester University and Polytechnic students in 1992. The band rose in popularity, and quickly gained a record deal with Cherry Red Records, recorded a number of John Peel sessions for Radio 1, and toured with Sonic Youth, Stereolab and Pulp. 1992 also saw the formation in Leicester of Cornershop, an Anglo-Asian agit pop band, who became most famous for the 1998 Number 1 single "Brimful of Asha". Perfume and Delicatessen both also rose to critical acclaim. Leicester is home of the influential Rave – Drum & Bass Formation Records label and associated 5HQ Record Shop, which was reopened in 2012 as an active recording studio.
2000s
Since 2000 the city has once more seen a notable upsurge in the success of the local music scene. Several Leicester musicians and/or acts have received considerable media attention in their fields since 2003–2004. Kasabian, followed by Pacific Ocean Fire, The Displacements,[6]Kyte,[7]Maybeshewill and Neon Sarcastic[8] have all risen from the city to national attention. The Go! Team were first signed to local label Pickled Egg Records, other Leicester musicians feature in notable national and questionably international bands such as; Fun Lovin' Criminals, Happy Mondays, The Holloways, Envy & Other Sins, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw.
Other Leicester acts enjoying chart success in the Official UK Singles Chart during the 2000s include bassline act H "Two" O eventually reaching number two, and remaining there for three weeks, with their hit single "What's It Gonna Be". Dance music project Stunt eventually reached number nine with their collaborative hit single "Raindrops (Encore Une Fois)" (with Sash!). They have also gone on to collaborate with Europop sensation Basshunter.
2006 saw the closure of The Attik, a venue that for over twenty years had played host to hundreds of bands. The newly refurbished 'The Music Cafe', located on New Parks Street, was the venue for The Bandish Projekt and Stereophonics videos in 2011 and late 2012 respectively.
Leicester born writer and producer Nat Powers has also been active in the music industry, working with Run Dmc, the son of Dr. Dre amongst others.
Leicester grime artists such as Kamakaze and Jafro have gained some popularity within the scene during the mid-2010s.[11][12] In 2015, Kamakaze released a freestyle on JDZ Media, which by 2019 has reached over 3 million views.[13][14] In 2019, Kamakaze performed a football freestyle on the BBC, and featured on the FIFA 20 Volta soundtrack alongside Leicester producer Massappeals.[15][16] Kamakaze's song "Kam Dog" also featured on the gameplay trailer for FIFA 20 Volta.[17]
