Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys are perhaps the most famous of the city’s musical exports to reference their native Sheffield, especially in their earlier songs.
From a bus journey to High Green to a seductively seedy tour of Sheffield’s suburbs, via references to The Leadmill nightclub and famous city streets such as The Moor and the Wicker, songwriting maestros Jarvis Cocker and Alex Turner have both mined their Sheffield upbringing extensively when composing lyrics.
But famous London singers and groups, including The Clash, Elton John and Stormzy, have all notably name-checked Sheffield in their music, as have Billy Bragg and Paul Heaton.
We’ve put together a list of some of the best songs paying musical homage to the Steel City, which naturally includes more of Sheffield’s finest in The Human League, Richard Hawley, and Reverend and the Makers.
If you’re wondering why there’s no place for Def Leppard, that’s because we’ve not been able to find any Sheffield references in the band’s extensive back catalogue, despite their fondness for the city in which they were born and raised.
Def Leppard’s lead singer Joe Elliott reportedly once described the city as a ‘great place with great people’ but said 'there’s nothing in Sheffield to write songs about’.
What’s your favourite song about Sheffield, and which band or singer has best captured the city’s unique character on record?
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1. 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." | Peter Jordan Photo: Peter Jordan
2. 2006 - The Reytons
The Reytons may hail from Rotherham but they are no strangers to Sheffield. The band's song 2006, from their 2024 album Ballad of a Bystander, takes a nostalgic look back at the Sheffield nightlife of nearly two decades ago. They sing: "I'm talking that Leadmill vibe/That Boardwalk thing, that West Street life/Good times but I never got closure." The chorus features the lines: "Take me back, take me back/To when the music was a little bit better." But other lyrics appear to suggest this refrain is somewhat tongue-in-cheek and it's all too easy to look back through rose-tinted glasses. Referring to performing on the 'toilet circuit', the song continues: "Two pound every six pound ticket/And you get four pints, that's one per person." | National World Photo: Kerrie Beddows
3. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured - Arctic Monkeys
The Arctic Monkeys have also mined their home city extensively for musical inspiration. Fake Tales of San Francisco famously name-checks Hunter's Bar but we've opted for the slightly less well-known Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured, which includes the lines: "It's High Green, mate/Via Hillsborough, please" After all, High Green is where the chart conquering quintet, who formed the band at Stocksbridge High School, hail from. | National World Photo: Chris Etchells
4. I Drove Her Away With My Tears - Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott
Paul Heaton lived in Sheffield for several years as a boy and is a big Blades fan. It seems some of the Sheffield vernacular rubbed off on him too. I Drove Her Away With My Tears, by Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, references the different dialect for crying around the UK, including in the lines: "In Sheffield we still call it 'roaring', in Glasgow they have a good 'greet'." | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images