Shed Seven singer Rick Witter says the emotional connection with fans will ensure they never take the success of their comeback for granted.
Britpop legends Shed Seven have enjoyed a phenomenal 2024 with two number one albums and sell-out tours.
All the tickets for their headline show at the Music Hall in Aberdeen on Thursday, November 21 were quickly snapped up.
As they play the Granite City as part of a 30th anniversary tour the irony is not lost on the singer that this is one of the most successful years in the band’s long career.
Now 51-years-old Rick admits the emotional connection of their songs with fans did not register with the band during the Britpop era.
They do now as songs written in the nineties, such as Chasing Rainbows, continue to resonate with fans old…and new.
To the extent that Rick is bombarded with photos of rainbows by fans.
Rick said: “When we walk out onto stages and perform songs like Disco Down, Bully Boy, Dolphin and On Standby the whole room sings them back at us.
“They sing it like they are having the best night of their lives.
“When we came back that was a bit of a shock because we hadn’t understood that those songs had connected with people.
“That the songs meant so much to them.
“We just presumed the records were bought, forgotten about and they moved on to another band. But they didn’t.
“I’m 51 now and being older I acknowledge what is happening to us and appreciate it.
“Because in the nineties we didn’t as we were just young kids getting drunk all the time and expecting it to come to us.
“And then when it stopped it was hold on a minute, where’s that gone?”
‘Then Britpop fell out of favour’
Formed in York in 1990 the band released debut album Change Giver in 1994.
They would go on to release a further three albums before splitting in 2003 after the Britpop era fueled by Oasis, Blur and Pulp burst.
Reforming in 2007 they stormed back into the top 10 with acclaimed album Instant Pleasures.
Against the odds Shed Seven racked up two number one albums this year with A Matter of Time and orchestrated collection Liquid Gold.
They are only the 20th act ever to have achieved this feat alongside giants such as The Beatles, The Jam and Queen.
Rick said: “We had been through the nineties then Britpop fell out of favour.
“Lots of new acts came in at the beginning of the noughties and we went quiet for a few years.
“However, we really missed playing live.
“So we tested the waters when we came back in 2007 by putting two or three gigs on sale to see if there was any interest.
“They sold out immediately.
“We had to add other dates and upgrade venues to get everyone in.
“We were scratching our heads thinking ‘what’s going on here? because in the downtime we weren’t really being discussed.
“It was like we had never existed.”
Feeling the love of Aberdeen fans
The first gig of Shed Seven’s comeback British tour was a triumphant show at the Music Hall in Aberdeen on November 27, 2007.
Now almost 17 years to the day they will return to the venue.
Rick said: “Whenever we come up to Aberdeen we really feel the love.
“It is amazing every time, with a brilliant atmosphere.
“The Music Hall is a great venue, I love those old school buildings.”
‘All the pain and injustice is gone’
Shed Seven may be celebrating their 30th anniversary on this tour but they are not mired in the past.
They continue to write affecting, vibrant new material.
Track Starlings, from recent album A Matter of Time, is already a fans’ favourite with the same emotional resonance as Chasing Rainbows.
Starlings is a melancholic, but ultimately uplifting, love letter to a departed partner.
Rick said: “People have already said to me that Starlings is going to be their funeral song.
“What a lovey thing
“You can only write a song like Starlings when you’ve a bit of life experience.
“I couldn’t have written that when I was 20.
“I had a thought about being with someone all your life and they go.
“And you spend a few months waiting to go as well so you can just be with them again, because that is all you want.
“You hear stories of people who have been married for 60 or 70 years.
“One of them dies and within months the other one has gone because they have almost given up.
“I mirrored that sentiment with a murmuration of starlings, as they flutter away together and all the pain and injustice are gone.
“And they are just going to live out the rest of their souls in a a happy place together.
“Over the years you wouldn’t believe the amount of people that have sent pictures of rainbows to me, because of Chasing Rainbows.
“People will literally pull into a a layby in their car if they see a rainbow, take a picture of it and tweet me.
“Maybe when they see murmurations of starlings they might start doing the same.”
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