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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13. Heavyweight Champion of the World - Reverend and the Makers
Sheffield's Reverend and the Makers are riding a wave at the moment, on the back of their acclaimed album Heatwave in the Cold North. Their most famous single, however, is still Heavyweight Champion of the World, which reached the top 10. It includes the lyrics: "At school, he used to dream about being Bruce Lee/But the need for chops in the Manor Top/Ain't all that great you see." Photo: DEAN ATKINS
14. The Bus to Crookes - The Human League
A second entry for Crookes on our list, this time courtesy of Sheffield legends The Human League. While it may not have reached the heights of Don't You Want Me, instrumental track The Bus to Crookes is still a catchy tune and somewhat surprisingly not the first song on this list to be inspired by Sheffield's public transport network. Photo: Daniel Martino
15. Whippin' Piccadilly - Gomez
Gomez hail from Southport and their infectious indie classic Whippin' Piccadilly is about a day out in Manchester, but it does include the line: "Finally made our way back to the train, rolling into Sheffield tonight." Photo: Submitted
16. 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