The Sheffield public gave their hero Richard Hawley a teary-eyed standing ovation at his sold out City Hall gig on Tuesday night.‘Who’d ave thought it?’ said Hawley, visibly overwhelmed by the 2,200 strong crowd who gathered in celebration of a triumphant 18 months for Sheffield’s Pitsmoor-born son. His latest album Coles Corner has gone gold, picked up the South Bank Show’s Best Album award and narrowly lost the Mercury Music prize – to fellow Sheffielders Arctic Monkeys, who were among the audience that included Hawley’s proud wife Helen and thirteen-year-old daughter Rosie.
The landmark concert was an emotional event for all who attended – especially for Hawley who dedicated a song to his dad, Dave, whose battle with cancer meant that he couldn’t be there.
The Sheffield crooner sailed flawlessly through a back-catalogue spanning three albums. Always an evangelist for his home city, songs like Naked in Pitsmoor and Coles Corner struck a chord with his audience who heckled along to Hawley’s trademark lively banter.
The mutual admiration was obvious as the singer said, ‘Thanks a lot folks. I think we love you.’ His backing band, comprising all local musicians grinned like Cheshire cats throughout the two-and-a-half hour set of country-tinged timeless classics. The momentous night seemed long overdue for Hawley who has shot to fame after a 25-year music career.
Hawley previously played guitar with the Longpigs and Sheffield outfit Pulp, only recently realising his own talent for velvety vocals and swoon-some poetry. Glorious orchestral ballads like ‘The Ocean’ and ‘Run For Me’ had the Arctic Monkeys hanging over the balcony in awe as he showed them how to rock n’ roll.
Hawley’s meteoric rise to fame has seen him touring the world and collaborating with Jools Holland and the famous Muscle Shoals rhythm section. But he proved that he’s still true to his Yorkshire roots, ‘You’ve got time to nip out for a pie and a pint,’ he told fans before the interval.
During the final few songs, while Hawley’s handpicked archive footage of Sheffield was projected onto the stage, few could fail to notice an accidental shadow of their hero cast on the wall. A rapturous encore saw a brave couple on the front row jiving to rockabilly cover ‘It’s Alright Mama’.
The memorable evening ended with Sheffield on its feet, welcoming it’s idol back just in time for Christmas.
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