Following a series of sold-out shows across the UK, Richard Hawley returns to Sheffield’s City Hall on Tuesday 16 December to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Coles Corner.

Joined by his full band and a string section, Richard will perform Coles Corner in its entirety in the city that shaped it.

Coles Corner was Hawley’s third studio album and his first for Mute Records. After five years of garnering praise for his songwriting talents and heart-melting baritone voice, and steadily building a solid fanbase through his outstanding live performances, hard work paid off on an album regarded by many as his best.

Recorded in Sheffield’s Yellow Arch Studios, and co-produced with his long-time bassist Colin Elliot, and Mike Timm, Coles Corner featured fellow musicians Shez Sheridan (guitars), Jon Trier (keyboards), Jonny Wood (upright bass) and Andy Cook (drums). They conjured up an exquisite album inspired by Hawley’s love of vintage ‘40s and ‘50s sounds, chamber pop, country, blues, and rock ‘n roll, on a set of intimate love songs full of nostalgia, regret, sadness and a bittersweet atmosphere, on a collection that would cement Hawley’s abiding love and passion for his hometown of Sheffield. 

Nowhere is this exemplified more than on the album’s title track. ‘Coles Corner’, named after a former department store in the city which was a popular meeting place for couples, immortalises the legendary landmark on a song that swells the heart with its sweeping strings and swooning chorus, on a universal paean to the loneliness of the city at night. 

Other beautiful balladry exists in songs such as ‘Born Under a Bad Sign’ and ‘Darlin’ Wait For Me’, while Hawley’s love of country and early rock’n’roll can be heard in ‘Hotel Room’, ‘I Sleep Alone’, and the driving ‘Just Like The Rain’. 

The album’s most epic song and, to this day, a fan favourite live, is ‘The Ocean’. Written on a family holiday in the shadow of Cornwall’s Minack Theatre (with a video later filmed at the same location), the song features one of Richard’s best vocals; all yearning and urgency as it builds to its visceral crescendo. 

Tickets go on general sale on Friday 17 October at 10am. Click here to access the presale.