If there's one artist who best embodies Sheffield, it's surely Richard Hawley. He has taken inspiration from his home city when penning countless classic songs over the years and his music can currently be heard in the acclaimed play Standing at the Sky's Edge, about life at Park Hill. One of his best known songs is Coles Corner, which takes its name from the junction of Fargate and Church Street in Sheffield city centre, where the old Cole Brothers department store once stood. The lyrics don't mention Sheffield by name but it brilliantly evokes the city in lines like: "Cold city lights glowing/The traffic of life is flowing/Out over the rivers and on into dark."placeholder image
If there's one artist who best embodies Sheffield, it's surely Richard Hawley. He has taken inspiration from his home city when penning countless classic songs over the years and his music can currently be heard in the acclaimed play Standing at the Sky's Edge, about life at Park Hill. One of his best known songs is Coles Corner, which takes its name from the junction of Fargate and Church Street in Sheffield city centre, where the old Cole Brothers department store once stood. The lyrics don't mention Sheffield by name but it brilliantly evokes the city in lines like: "Cold city lights glowing/The traffic of life is flowing/Out over the rivers and on into dark."

11 times Sheffield has starred in song lyrics and titles, from Arctic Monkeys and Pulp to The Human League

By Robert Cumber
Published 21st Feb 2023, 00:01 GMT

Sheffield is a city brimming with musical talent, which has given the world brilliant bands from The Human League to the Arctic Monkeys and Pulp.

Joe Elliott, lead singer of one of the Steel City’s most famous exports, Def Leppard, once reportedly said that Sheffield was a ‘great place with great people’ but that 'there’s nothing in Sheffield to write songs about’.

While he was right on the first two counts, he’s been proved wrong countless times on his last assertion, with many of Sheffield’s most successful acts taking inspiration from their home city in their lyrics. Sheffield has also been a muse for many artists not lucky enough to hail from among its seven hills, who have still chosen to reference it in their music.

How many of these songs namechecking Sheffield or its streets and suburbs have you heard, and are there any we’ve missed off our list that you’d recommend?

Tony Capstick was a comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster, who was a long-running presenter on BBC Radio Sheffield and a member of the cast of Last of the Summer Wine. The Sheffield Grinder tells of the hardships of working in the city's steel industry and includes the lines: "Every working day we are breathing dust and steel/And a broken stone can give us a wound that will not heal."

9. The Sheffield Grinder - Tony Capstick

Tony Capstick was a comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster, who was a long-running presenter on BBC Radio Sheffield and a member of the cast of Last of the Summer Wine. The Sheffield Grinder tells of the hardships of working in the city's steel industry and includes the lines: "Every working day we are breathing dust and steel/And a broken stone can give us a wound that will not heal." Photo: Sheffield Newspapers Ltd

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In This is England, punk rockers The Clash list the troubles facing the country in the 80s, from racism to high unemployment. The searing lyrics include the lines: "This is England/This knife of Sheffield steel/This is England/This is how we feel."

10. This is England - The Clash

In This is England, punk rockers The Clash list the troubles facing the country in the 80s, from racism to high unemployment. The searing lyrics include the lines: "This is England/This knife of Sheffield steel/This is England/This is how we feel." Photo: Peter Jordan/PA Wire

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The Everly Pregnant Brothers are a Sheffield institution and one of their biggest hits is about long-lost city centre landmark the Hole in the Road. Oyl Int Road, sung to the tune of the Waterboys' The Whole of the Moon, takes listeners of a certain age on a trip down memory lane, with lines like: "Well you walk down from Fargate/With the wind in your hair/You come down escalators/Cause they didn't have no stairs." The lyrics also reminisce about the Hole in the Road's famous fish tank, though the band are not too misty eyed, acknowledging 'them fish didn't look nice'.

11. Oyl Int Road - Everly Pregnant Brothers

The Everly Pregnant Brothers are a Sheffield institution and one of their biggest hits is about long-lost city centre landmark the Hole in the Road. Oyl Int Road, sung to the tune of the Waterboys' The Whole of the Moon, takes listeners of a certain age on a trip down memory lane, with lines like: "Well you walk down from Fargate/With the wind in your hair/You come down escalators/Cause they didn't have no stairs." The lyrics also reminisce about the Hole in the Road's famous fish tank, though the band are not too misty eyed, acknowledging 'them fish didn't look nice'. Photo: National World

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