Shed Seven say second number one album is madness

Shed Seven frontman Rick Witter has said they are still coming to terms with having a second number one album this year.

The group, from York, have joined a group of 20 artists who have topped the album charts twice in the same calendar year.

The Britpop stars celebrated their 30th anniversary this year and had their first-ever chart-topper A Matter of Time back in January, which has now been followed by Liquid Gold.

"It's madness, I think it's going to take a little bit of time to compute," Witter said.

"Probably, in January 2025 when we go a bit quiet, we'll sit down and start doing the stats and wondering what on earth has happened.

"We have kind of done something very unique for York, which is just as amazing as anything else - we've well and truly put York on the musical map."

Liquid Gold topping the charts means Shed Seven can join the select group of artists such as The Beatles, Elton John, Queen, and Taylor Swift who have also had two number one albums in the same year.

Guitar player Paul Banks said: "Can't quite really believe that we're standing here once again this year, but this is our second number one of 2024, which is just absolutely mind blowing."

Previously, Shed Seven enjoyed six Top 40 albums in the UK.

Of those, four entered the Top 10 on the Official Albums Chart, including 1996's A Maximum High, 1998 record Let It Ride, 1999 hits compilation Going for Gold and 2017's Instant Pleasures.

Their new album revisits famous tracks from their past in celebration of their 30-year journey as recording artists.

The band marked their anniversary with two homecoming gigs in York's Museum Gardens, playing to around 4,000 people each evening at the historic city centre site.

The band originally comprised of Rick Witter on vocals, Joe Johnson on guitar and keyboards (replaced in 1993 by Paul Banks), Tom Gladwin on bass and Alan Leach on drums.

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