Sheffield, Yorkshire has been the home of several well known bands and musicians, with an unusually large number of synthpop and other electronic outfits hailing from there. These include the Human League, Heaven 17, the Thompson Twins, Wavestar and the more industrially inclined Cabaret Voltaire. This electronic tradition has continued: techno label Warp Records was a central pillar of the Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass scene of the early 1990s, and has gone on to become one of Britain's oldest and best-loved dance music labels. In the 1990s Moloko and Autechre, one of the leading lights of so-called electronic listening music, were also based in Sheffield. The city is also home to Gatecrasher, one of the most popular nightclubs in the north of England (although the club is currently closed after a fire in 2007). Sheffield also plays host to Made in Sheffield home to many successful local bands.
Sheffield has also seen the birth of Pulp, Babybird, Speedy, Def Leppard, Joe Cocker, The Longpigs, and the free improvisers Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley. 1998 Mercury Music Prize award winners Gomez are also connected to Sheffield as some of the founding members went to Sheffield Hallam University together. The immensely successful Arctic Monkeys are currently Sheffield's biggest musical export, and have helped lead the way for chart hits for fellow Sheffield bands Milburn, Reverend and the Makers, Little Man Tate and The Long Blondes. Other successful Sheffield bands include math rock band 65daysofstatic, glam-punk band Pink Grease, and quirky songsmith Stoney. Sheffield was home to the world renowned Lindsay string quartet, who retired from the stage in June 2005.
The city is home to one of England's larger indiepop communities. Bands such as Velodrome 2000 helped to create an indiepop scene during the late 1990s, which has since found a focal point in the Offbeat clubnight at the University of Sheffield. More recent local indiepop acts include Slow Down Tallahassee, The Parallelograms, Monkey Swallows the Universe and Pete Green. DIY non-profit-making promoters such as DaisyDaisyDoes and Sparklemotion are responsible for bringing UK and international indiepop acts to play live in Sheffield. Andrew Macdonald CEO and founder of primary brit independent labels Go Disc and Indipendiente is also from Sheffield.
Sheffield also has a small urban music scene. This consists of R'n'B, UK Hiphop, Grime and Speed Garage. It is home to artists such as Hoodz Underground, The Ruby Kid, The Red Eye Knights and Constant Creation, it is part of the Yorkshire Hip Hop scene. The Speed Garage scene has surfaced in Sheffield with a unique modern sound compared to older speed garage. Born from the nightclub Niche, the music has various other terms such as Bassline House or Niche itself, but was born in Sheffield and has now spread out to other cities in the United Kingdom. It varies differently from other cities Soulful Vocal UK Garage, and the beats are not two step.
The city's ties with music were acknowledged in 1999, when the National Centre for Popular Music, a museum dedicated to the subject of popular music was opened. It was not as successful as was hoped, however, and later evolved to become a live music venue, then in February 2005 the unusual steel-covered building would become the students' union for Sheffield Hallam University.
The three main music venues are the Sheffield Arena, the City Hall and Leadmill and Carling Academy for smaller acts. Other live music venues in the city include the Corporation, the Boardwalk, the University of Sheffield, The Plug, and the Studio Theatre at the Crucible Theatre. Smaller venues supporting the local scene include The Frog and Parrot, Under The Boardwalk, The Grapes, D 'n' R and The Cricketers, The Harley, The Howard, and the now demolished Classic Rock Bar.
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