2011 was another highly successful year for the Leadmill.  We started off the year by winning the Exposed Award for the Best Live Venue in Sheffield and then ended the year by winning the Live UK Music award for Best Venue Teamwork (Major Club).  In between the two awards we had a whole host of amazing gigs and as the year draws to a close it’s time to look back and recap some of the highlights.

The year kicked off in style with a sell out show for Chapel Club on our Steel Stage.  A couple of weeks later we hosted the Naked and Famous on the Steel Stage.  They would go on to play to thousands across the summer at the festivals before returning to our main stage in November.  February also saw a massive sell out show for Midnight Beast and the first visit of the year by Miles Kane for a sold out Steel Stage show which saw ¾ of the Arctic Monkeys in attendance. 

Mr Scruff made his first of two appearances at the Leadmill in 2011 with a 5 hours DJ set in February on the same night we won the Exposed Award.  March saw the Wombats play a sold out show which had the crowd singing along to every song.  In April we had ex-Libertine Carl Barat and The View play on consecutive days.  April also saw the first visit of the year of Viva Brother (known then as just Brother) for what was one of the most mental Steel Stage shows in Leadmill history.  April ended with a show by James frontman Tim Booth.

May started with a bang with sold out shows from Noah and the Whale, and Warpaint.  The month ended with Steel Stage shows by Funeral Party (supported by Tribes) and Jamie Woon.  June saw Mona take time out from their support slots with Kings of Leon to play the Leadmill in a rescheduled show.  July started with Villagers gracing the Steel Stage for a festival warm up before the month ended with a bang with Tramlines, which saw four amazing free gigs on consecutive nights.

The Leadmill kicked off Tramlines with a show by Guillemots which had people queuing to the end of the road to ensure their place inside.  Friday saw the Leadmill rock with Twin Atlantic, Futures and Tellison.  The Saturday night was one of the busiest in Leadmill history as people flocked in their scores to see some of Sheffield’s best local bands play across two stages.  The gig featured Led Tango, The Wynells, Silents, Nerves, Black Flowers, Ruberlaris, The Cartels, The Tivoli, The Book Club, Driftrun, Mabel Love, The Monicans and Liverpool’s Sound of Guns.  Tramlines ended at the Leadmill on the Sunday as the crowd fell silent to appreciate the songs and story telling of Josh T. Pearson.

August was a quiet month due to the festival season getting into full swing but following Pulp’s performance at the Leeds Festival the hashtag #PulpPleasePlayLeadmill become one of the most talked about subjects in the UK on Twitter and saw @Leadmill jump to the top of the trending topics for a whole weekend.

September saw Slow Club return to the Leadmill for a homecoming show before Rebecca smashed it in the back room with a DJ set full of R’n’B and dirty pop.  One week later and Metronomy filled the main area before Viva Brother returned with a new name but with a show that left the Steel Stage shaking.  The following week saw Hard-Fi pack out the main area, before Pete and the Pirates played a very sweaty gig on one of the hottest days of the year.  The week ended in calmer style with a sold out show from the up and coming Benjamin Francis Leftwich.

In the first week of October the Leadmill won the Live UK Music Award for Best Venue Teamwork (Major Club) at a ceremony in London.  Votes from the public saw us beat the likes of Brixton Academy, London Koko and Nottingham Rock City to the award.  We celebrated the following day with another sell out show from The Pierces and then from local talents the Violet May, who would return in December on the main stage with Death in Vegas.

October then exploded with the return to the Leadmill of Sheffield favourite Miles Kane for his second sold out show of the year.  The following day was another riot (almost literally at times) with The Twang before the weekend was capped off with a performance from old favourites Pop Will Eat Itself.  As if that wasn’t enough for one calendar month we also saw the return of Mr Scruff for another of his legendary DJ sets, an epic two hour set from British Sea Power before the month ended with Glasvegas.

November started with another sell out show from the Airbourne Toxic Event, a show many of the gig goers hailed as one of the best they had ever attended on Twitter.  The following day saw Tribes end their UK tour at the Leadmill with what they proclaimed to be their best show of the tour as the crowd spilled onto the stage towards the end of the set.  A week later saw Pigeon Detectives play to a sold out crowd before the Naked and Famous returned, this time to the main stage, with one of the most amazing lighting shows in Leadmill history.

The following week saw the Leftfield in Motion tour hit the Leadmill featuring Billy Bragg and The King Blues, followed by Yuck.  Next saw the return of Peter Stringfellow for the King Mojo night which raised money for the Blitz Memorial charity.  Then we had Turin Brakes play their debut album “The Optimist LP” in full in another show which left the gig goers buzzing on Twitter.  The week then ended with shows by The Bronx’s side project Mariachi El Bronx and then Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.

November ended in spectacular fashion with one of the most anticipated shows of the year by Skrillex.  The gig had sold out months in advance and the crowd went absolutely mental for the show which featured visuals and lighting which overshadowed the Naked and Famous just a fortnight previously. 

December started with the Justice for Hillsborough gig which featured local heroes Jon McClure and Richard Hawley, alongside Mick Jones, Pete Wylie and the Farm.  The show was perhaps most notable as it featured Mick Jones playing Clash songs for the first time since 1982.  People travelled from far and wide for the show which has instantly gone down in Leadmill history as a “were you there?” moment.  Proceedings for the year drew to a close with Death in Vegas who were supported by the Violet May who fulfilled a long term ambition of gracing the Leadmill’s main stage.

So 2011 was quite a year for the Leadmill with one of our most diverse and strongest line ups in recent years.  The year was topped off nicely with our Live UK Music award for Best Venue Teamwork (Major Club).  This award was voted for by the public so we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for us. 

We’re already into 2012 with The Maccabees having already played and the likes of Pulled Apart By Horses, Grouplove, Inspiral Carpets, Cast, Los Campesinos, Graham Coxon, Feeder, Alkaline Trio, Ladyhawke, Tribes, Reverend and the Makers, Marina and the Diamonds, Duane Eddy, The Horrors, Newton Faulkner, Michael Kiwanuka, St. Etienne, and Peter Hook already announced and with plenty more up our sleeves for you to come…

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