A swarm of people waited with anticipation right down to the end of Leadmill Road. The time had come for the night that myself and many others had been looking forward to for months: a celebration of the best alternative rock band of current times, Bring Me the Horizon. A Sheffield band who formed back in 2004, Bring Me have gained millions of fans worldwide and have been a mammoth success in the music industry. One of the awe-inspiring things about them is their ability to constantly create new and unique material and stray away from sticking to the same sounds. They aren’t afraid to push boundaries and try new things and you can never really expect what they’re going to come up with next. They’ve collaborated with many other established artists over the years, such as: You Me at Six, YUNGBLUD, Tom Morello, Sigrid, BABYMETAL, Ed Sheeran and others. Their ever-growing success makes them one of the hottest bands in the world right now.
As customers patiently waited in-line until reaching the front of the queue, their faces were apparent with giddiness as they made their way through the iconic and colourful doors of The Leadmill. I find something very comforting about stepping through these doors. Some of the best nights of my life have taken place within these 4 walls, and I get a sense of being ‘home’ every time I visit.
First, a quick chinwag with Nev, Sheffield’s favourite doorman - then into the venue and straight to the bar. The Leadmill stock a wide variety of drinks, including ciders, seltzers, lagers, wines, spirits, and on this night in particular, a BMTH themed cocktail, named after one of their songs ‘Alligator Blood’ (if this was your go-to drink of the night, we hope you’ve just about recovered!) A choice of non-alcoholic beverages are also available. I went for the ol’ reliable Captain Morgan’s spiced rum and Coke.
Another customer favourite is Leadmill IPA which was made in collaboration with Thornbridge Brewery and was originally created to mark for The Leadmill’s 40th Birthday. The cans have recently had a re-brand and now features colourful and intricate artwork by Sheffield Artist, Tom J Newell, and includes the hashtag ‘#WECANTLOSELEADMILL’- it also has a QR code that takes you directly to the venues petition to support their current eviction battle.
The bars were super busy, and customers danced in the queues whilst they waited to be served. ‘Diamonds Aren’t Forever’, one of BMTH’s earlier, heavier tunes (an absolute classic) plus Bedford rock band, Don Broco with their fan favourite: ‘Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan’ were played whilst I queued at the main bar.
Liam Walton, resident DJ, was stood behind the decks up on the legendary Leadmill stage and provided us with anthem after anthem. By midnight, groups of mates filled the dance floor and were screaming their lungs out to every rock, emo and pop punk classic. As drinks were sloshed and spilt around the room, the floor inevitably got excessively sticky very quickly, meaning; the night was well and truly underway.
Something that I’ve always found quite comical, is the classic ‘going to the toilet but making an abrupt U-turn when an absolute banger comes on’ – and then doing this another several times until something average eventually gets played meaning you can finally escape to the toilet. We’re all guilty of this, right?
I said hello to a lot of friendly faces and we sang, danced and head-banged horrifically. It was the best! The chaotic lights and intense strobes gave the crowd an incredible sense of euphoria and the happiest of vibes.
A highlight of the night was when ‘Killing in The Name’ was played. A lot of comical groans were heard from the many gutted people who were meant to be hearing this song played live in just a few weeks’ time. American rock band, Rage Against the Machine, have recently pulled out of Reading & Leeds Festival 2022 and have been replaced with pop rock group, The 1975. Of course, this hasn’t gone down too well with the fans, as many people were hoping for a replacement that would at least fit the same music genre as Rage. In any case, the crowd went mad for this one thus the mosh pits began and they were not for the faint hearted!
We heard tracks from bands such as Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, Beartooth, Pierce the Veil, Architects, Enter Shikari, You Me at Six, Mayday Parade, A Day to Remember and hell of a lot more! Of course, the main focus of the night was Bring Me, and the crowd sang along to dozens of their best tracks. Obey, House of Wolves, Sempiternal, Happy Song, Dear Diary, Diamonds Aren’t Forever, Teardrops, Pray for Plagues, MANTRA, Parasite Eve and Sleepwalking were just a portion of the incredible BMTH tunes that were played throughout the night.
All in all, my friends and I had an amazing night and I’d love to see another Wrong Crowd special take place in the near future! Big kudos to DJ Liam Walton who did an outstanding job of keeping the crowd going all night long and supplied us with a phenomenal setlist of tunes. You can find Liam’s playlist on Spotify HERE.
Take a look at the Wrong Crowd page on Facebook and Instagram at @wrongcrowdsheff to see photos, upcoming club night announcements and anything rock/alternative!
Please sign the official e-petition to help save The Leadmill and secure the jobs of many well-loved, hard-working members of staff. Let’s fight this battle together and keep this supreme part of Sheffield’s history alive.
Photography provided by The Leadmill :)
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