Coles Corner by Richard Hawley

When I first moved to Sheffield in 1984 I was puzzled by hearing people arrange to meet up on Coles Corner. The iconic Cole Brothers department store was then a modernist glass and concrete structure in Barkers Pool, but I soon found out that the original grand building was on Fargate opposite the Cathedral, with the famous doorway where you could shelter from the rain whilst waiting (hopefully) for your date to turn up on a Friday night. Even though the original signs had been taken down in 1963, the name persisted in local memory.

Richard Hawley is also something of a Sheffield legend. He formed several bands, including the Longpigs, as well as playing bass with Pulp for a while, and remains a stalwart of the Sheffield music scene, as a solo-artist, session musician, producer and inspiration for many other people. He’s also a supporter and regular feature of the famous Sheffield Tramlines festival.

This album also harks back to the sixties with echoes of crooners like Matt Monroe and Roy Orbison, and nods to a country sound in places (where country is definitely of the Yorkshire variety). These songs are timeless, singing of heartache and longing, especially on the title track where he is hoping that maybe he’ll meet someone with a smile and a flower in her hair on Coles Corner.

Steel-city-tastic!