Fab five unsung musical cities in Britain

The birthplace of so many revered bands and solo artists, Britain is a brilliant destination for music fans. You can enjoy toe-tapping, hip-swaying, head-banging tunes in cities across this island, yet while the likes of London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow tend to hog the spotlight, others also strike a chord.

BIRMINGHAM

It’s perhaps no surprise that an industrial metropolis, once known as the “Workshop of the World” and the “City of a Thousand Trades”, spawned heavy metal. The noise spilling out of factories and warehouses provided inspiration for seminal bands of the genre like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, founded here in “Brum” in the late 1960s.

Priest are still going strong — they’re currently on a global tour to promote their latest album — while Sabbath performed farewell shows in their home city in 2017 before frontman Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi reunited to perform at the closing ceremony of the city’s 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The duo, plus Geezer Butler (bassist) and Bill Ward (drums), are commemorated in the “Sabbath Bench” on the “Sabbath Bridge” at Broad Street, overlooking one of the city’s canals.

The quartet’s faces are also painted on a wall mural near the coach station in Digbeth, a gritty-hip inner-city district boasting some of the West Midlands’ best live-music venues.

They include the O2 Institute, set in a former Edwardian congregational church (where Pink Floyd and The Cure have played), and The Rainbow, a restored 250-year-old pub that counts Birmingham reggae-pop masters UB40 and alternative rockers Ocean Colour Scene among past performers.

Another much-loved Brum band is Dexys Midnight Runners and they graced this year’s Moseley Folk & Arts Festival, which brings good vibes and vibrations to a park in Birmingham’s southern suburbs. Next year’s festival is slated for August 29-31, 2025.

BRISTOL

In the 1990s, when Britpop and rock dominated the UK music charts, another scene was brewing. The so-called “Bristol Sound”, also dubbed “trip-hop” by music journalists, reverberated around the bars and clubs of this cosmopolitan port city in England’s West Country.

Fusing a tapestry of sounds, from ambient electronica to pounding drum and bass, the likes of Massive Attack, Roni Size and Tricky put Bristol on the musical map, along with Portishead, who are named after the town nearby.

Inextricably linked with the Bristol scene was the local street artist Banksy, who produced several music album covers and artworks (he’s the subject of themed walking tours around Bristol). Discover how the city’s music, art and culture intertwine at the excellent M Shed museum on the harbourfront and enjoy soul-stirring live tunes and DJ beats in venues across Bristol.

Check the listings at The Bell pub in the bohemian Stokes Croft neighbourhood, The Fleece, a former sheep trading market in the Redcliffe district, and the O2 Academy, where Bristol post-punk band Idles recently put on a typically raucous show.

Musical gatherings also pop up outside during the Bristolian summer. This year Massive Attack staged an eco-friendly festival, fuelled by renewable energy, on Clifton Down, a lofty green space near the city’s famous suspension bridge.

SHEFFIELD

Usually associated with steel and snooker, this South Yorkshire city has a rich but often-overlooked musical heritage. Joe Cocker, The Human League, Def Leppard and Pulp were all born and learned the ropes in Sheffield.

No relation to Joe, Jarvis Cocker, the Pulp singer, is depicted in a mural looking down over the beer garden of The Fat Cat, one of the watering holes of Kelham Island, a trendy industrial district where another local band, the Arctic Monkeys, used to record and rehearse.

The city’s longest-running live music venue, The Leadmill, occupies a former flour mill near Sheffield’s train station.

A regular performer there down the years is local singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, who played with Pulp, and pays homage to the people of Sheffield in his new album, “In This City They Call You Love”. Sheffield’s biggest outdoor summer festival is Tramlines, held over a weekend in late July, close to Hillsborough Park (near the stadium of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club).

Snow Patrol, Kasabian and Paulo Nutini have had audiences bouncing in recent years.

LEEDS

Over in West Yorkshire, meanwhile, Leeds causes a sonic storm when it hosts one of the country’s largest festivals each August (Blur, Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the Leeds Festival’s previous headliners).

The city can also boast an eclectic array of bands, including Kaiser Chiefs, The Sisters of Mercy, Soft Cell, Gang of Four, The Pigeon Detectives and The Wedding Present.

Leeds’ most-hyped current band is post-punk disco-pop artist Yard Act.

They have played several times at the Brudenell Social Club, an old working man’s club in the Hyde Park area of the city, where Spice Girl Mel B grew up.

It’s popular on the touring circuit with bands large, medium and up-and-coming, although most big names play at the O2 Academy or the First Direct Arena, which Elton John opened with a concert in 2013.

CARDIFF

Wales’ capital has produced some of the most distinctive voices of any British city, including Shirley Bassey, soprano Charlotte Church and Cerys Matthews of Catatonia.

Cardiff also birthed Ivor Novello, one of the most popular British entertainers of the early 20th century, after whom the Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting and composing are named.

Also home to Shakin’ Stevens, Super Furry Animals, Underworld and James and the Cold Gun, Cardiff is spoilt for places to enjoy live music.

The biggest gigs take place at the Principality Stadium, where Welsh icons Stereophonics and Tom Jones have performed in recent years (and where Oasis will kick-off their reunion tour next year).

Arguably the most beautiful venue is Cardiff Castle, which stages outdoor summer concerts on its leafy grounds. Among the crowd-pullers in 2024 were Swedish DJ Eric Prydz, Crowded House and another legendary Welsh band, Manic Street Preachers.

fact file

- For more information on visiting Britain, see visitbritain.com