Music in Sheffield research guide

Sheffield is the home of many well-known bands and musicians including a large number of synth pop and electronic groups such as the Human League, Heaven 17, ABC and Cabaret Voltaire. The pioneering independent record label Warp Records, founded in Sheffield in 1989, has become one of the UK’s most respected dance music labels. Artists such as Pulp, Def Leppard, Joe Cocker, Richard Hawley, Milburn, The Longpigs and Moloko along with many other popular and alternative musicians were born in Sheffield. More recently several indie bands, including Arctic Monkeys and The Long Blondes, have emerged from the city as part of the NME-coined phrase: the New Yorkshire Movement.

Sheffield Archives and Local Studies Library hold a range of sources relating to Sheffield's music scene from medieval church music manuscripts through to modern flyers and posters.

Contact us on archives@sheffield.gov.uk to find out more, book in advance or order archival materials.