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Celebrating the Sheffield Sound

David Boles

The other day I watched an incredible documentary, Made in Sheffield, that brought back many of the musical memes and memories of my reckoning youth. What I call “The Sheffield Sound” was a movement in the UK in the ’70’s and ’80’s that changed the music world with the introduction of “synthetic sounds.”

Synthesizers were given priority over the standard musical drive of a lead guitar. David Bowie said the music coming out of Sheffield was “the future of music.” Was David Bowie right? Or did the Sheffield Sound implode in vanished wishes and bitter competition? “The Human League” was the lead “sound” coming out of Sheffield, and of the two versions of the band, one didn’t make any money:

While the second version of The Human League made it big with hits like Human, Fascination and Don’t You Want Me:

The original brainpower behind The Human League splintered away to create the band Heaven 17 and more hits like Play to Win and I’m Your Money rocketed up the charts showing others that the Sheffield Sound was robust, inspired and worthwhile:

One of the biggest bands to sieve out of the Sheffield depression was the band ABC. ABC’s mega-hits include The Look of Love, Poison Arrow and Be Near Me:

We can’t forget Cabaret Voltaire and their wild sounds from Red Mecca:

Is the Sheffield Sound still sound today?

Or has its influence died out in the return to metal backbeats and the Telecaster lead?
If we turn to current bands like Muse and their inspired Knights of Cydonia — some of the unwitting call Muse and that incredible song a tribute to the band Queen — I argue Knights of Cydonia is actually a clever hailing trackback to the vainglorious days of The Celebrated Sheffield Sound.
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