Growing up in York in the eighties surrounded by music and pop culture encouraged future singer songwriter Rick Witter to follow his dream to be in a band. Educated at Huntingdon school , he formed his first band in 1986 influenced by indie bands including The Smiths. The 1980’s was a very bleak time for the working classes and while middle class yuppies basked in a period of refreshing financial optimism, the lower classes revolted against Thatcher’s conservative ideology. Yet by the nineties, the lower middle classes were awakening to a new kind of Britain. In 1990 Rick formed a new band with Joe Johnson on keyboard, Tom Gladwin on bass and Alan Leach on drums and began playing the pubs and clubs around York. By 1993 the band had signed to Polydor and just a year later the band, now operating as Shed 7, released their debut album Change Giver in September 1994.
This coincided with the beginnings of the Britpop sound which had swept the nation into European fascination. Suddenly, white men with guitars were ruling the narrative of music and fans felt the euphoria of the movement. For the bands themselves however, they were mostly unaffected by this classification and never set out to be a part of any revolution. In hindsight Rick acknowledges that being associated with the Britpop scene was definitely beneficial to the trajectory of Shed 7 despite ever consciously classifying themselves with other artists of this era. Britpop was a concept that was created by the fans for the fans and Rick shall be forever grateful for this.
National radio in the 1990’s was something that had the potential to make or break an act. Shows like The Evening Session offered a platform to upcoming bands to perform on national radio, frequently for the very first time. Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq cultivated the show from a graveyard feature on Radio 1 to a vibrant hotbed of exciting musical talent and creativity. The network’s commitment to celebrating geographical communities resulted in Shed 7 performing live from Manchester which was exciting for the boys who had grown up in northern England.
Being in a successful band in the mid nineties almost certainly meant an appearance on the Channel Four entertainment extravaganza TFI Friday. Broadcast live on a Friday evening at 6pm, this was enough to strike the fear of god into the most accomplished performer. Shed Seven take the prestigious title as the first ever band to appear on the pilot of TFI back in 1996 and were invited back many times. In today’s TV landscape where studio based shows are a dying breed, Rick is relieved that TFI Friday has finally returned to the bedrock of the Channel Four Friday night schedule and now more bands are able to experience the magic of Chris Evans’s genial flair for programme-making
Now into his fourth decade of music, Rick Witter shows no signs of slowing down and witnessing his energetic stage presence, it’s difficult not to agree with him. It remains testament to his abilities as a frontman and showman that Shed 7 are still one of the best live acts on the festival circuit. It was a great pleasure to spend time with the great Rick Witter and I really hope that this won’t be my last interaction with one of my musical heroes.
Beyond The Title