This Sunday marks 40 years since the curtain came down on Leeds' ‘Rock Against Racism’ gig series.
Held in 1981, the series followed a year of rioting on Britain's streets and subsequently toured the country to mirror the general public desire for improved racial equality.
The penultimate concert was held in the Chapeltown area of Leeds and continues to be remembered fondly today by residents who were there (and those who've merely heard their tales).
The event saw The Specials headline, debuting their single Ghost Town - now an iconic song and piece of British cultural history.
Reggae bands Misty In Roots and Aswad, Rhoda Dakar, Leeds locals The Mekons, Delta5, Gang of Four and ska bands The Beat and the Selecter joined them on stage as part of the historic Leeds Carnival Against Racism.
Prior to the event, Chapeltown had been the epicentre for the Leeds riots- seeing a series of riots take place in the spring.
Prior to the concert, racially motivated attacks had frequently seen white youths clashing with black and Asian communities - so organisers were keen to flip the script by hosting something positive in the area.
This final Leeds show followed a slew of concerts across the country, all designed to quash a rising tide of nationalism that was being seen in the country during the late 80s.
Through it, the shows supported a wider 'Rock Against Racism' and 'Anti-Nazi League movement' - intended stamp out inequality and divisions by educating Britain's music-loving youth.
Remembering the show, renowned photographer Syd Shelton said: “Before Rock Against Racism, black bands mainly played to black audiences and white mostly white; RAR helped get rid of that."
“It was an amazing day, the weather was good and the audience was a mixture of dreads, mods, rude boys and punks.”
The shows paved the way for greater racial and women's equality, and RAR’s ‘Love Music, Hate Racism,’ mantra still lives on today.
Feature image - Syd Shelton.
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Leeds band Yard Act announce 2026 UK tour including homecoming gig
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.
We are so, so back.
It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.
The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.
After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26 November.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27 March. Sign up here.
Estimated to be worth around £45 million, the Grade II-listed structure renovations won't begin for a little while just yet, but it is set to increase the capacity of the space by more than 50%.
Announced on Tuesday, 24 March, the major refurb will be partly funded by public money and topped up by the private sector and "philanthropic partners".
The UK government and Sheffield City Council will be pumping in approximately £35m, with a further £10m being added through the investment mentioned above.
Soon to allow the theatre to scale up or down in size, the hope is that the new 'in the round' format will enable the Crucible to serve its arts and sporting audiences for decades to come, as well as opening the big Northern stage up to new opportunities.
Due to start in the summer of 2028, it's still unclear as to the exact completion date, but the plans are in support of confirmation that the annual snooker tournament will stay put.
A fresh agreement with the WSC will see them stay in Sheff until at least 2045, with the Crucible's number of seats set to jump from just under 1,000 to 1,480.
It's also said there is an option in the deal to extend the contract until 2050, and as one of the biggest competitive events that comes to the city year in and year out, you would expect them to push hard for the Council and partners to push hard for this, too.
Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)
Dan Walker, Chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust, said in a statement: "The Crucible is a wonderful theatre with a brilliant reputation, and the positive impact of this investment will be seen for years to come.
"As a proud resident of Sheffield, I know the importance of snooker to our city, but this isn’t only good news for Sheffield: this is amazing news for the north of England and the whole of the UK."
If all goes to plan, the overhaul should take around 18 months, with productions being hosted in the Lyceium and the newest room, the Montgomery.
All the while, the Sheffield Theatres will continue to present new work both domestically and around the globe over this period, with more details coming this autumn 2026.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd July 2021 
