90s Britpop icons play gig in Scotswood as they celebrate number 1 album 30 years after debut

Shed Seven on stage at the John Marley Centre
-Credit: (Image: Neil Ferry & Michael McGuire)


It's not every weekend you get a bunch of Britpop icons playing on your doorstep, but that's exactly what happened last weekend, when 90s legends Shed Seven played the John Marley Centre on the outskirts of Newcastle.

It was back in the mid 90s that Shed Seven first made their chart debut, with them enjoying the peak of their success in 96 and 97, with singles like the anthemic Chasing Rainbows, Getting Better, Bully Boy and Going for Gold, which is still their biggest hit to date, after reaching number 8 in the UK top 40.

After nearly a decade in the industry, Shed Seven went their separate ways in 2003, but have since reunited and are now enjoying a real resurgence, landing two number 1 albums in a matter of months this year. The first of those came in January when Matter of Time became the band's first ever chart-topper, and was then followed at the end of last month by Liquid Gold, a collection comprising of re-imagined/re-recorded versions of their songs.

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And it was the success of the latter that brought Shed Seven to the John Marley in Scotswood, with them finding out the album had gone straight in at the top spot as they were preparing for their special Tyneside gig.

The event was masterminded by famous record store Beyond Vinyl’s founder, David McGovern, whose vision is to bring top-tier music acts to the often-overlooked West End of Newcastle; with David also very keen to give more opportunities to local talent, including Bear Park, who got to open up for Shed Seven on the night.

The band played all their hits, inviting some young fans on stage to join in with Chasing Rainbows and, buzzing with how the gig went, frontman Rick Witter commented: "It’s always great to play in such an intimate setting. The energy tonight was unreal, and celebrating our No.1 album with fans in this way was special and quote."