Last updated: 4 hours ago
James Leesley grew up in Handsworth, Sheffield where week-day evenings were spent kicking a football around grassy urban edgelands. At the weekends, the social clubs with their glitter balls, comedians, cockle sellers and sequin-suited cabaret singers brought a touch of glamour to this hilltop suburb on the fringe of an industrial northern city. The stage was not some far-off place. Dreams could be made and broken under bright lights and by the brusk tones of a bingo caller.
The classic songs, slap back echo and house organ sounds of the social club scene are in Leesley’s blood. His work draws inspiration from the heartfelt melodies of songsmiths like Carole King and Burt Bacharach with the smokey tenderness of vocalists such as Dusty Springfield and Elvis. Add to that his enthusiasm for American literature and the surrealism of 60s French cinema. After stumbling across an old 4-track tape machine at a local car-boot sale, Leesley used it to distill these influences into something that is spare in its sound but full in its intention and emotion.
The classic songs, slap back echo and house organ sounds of the social club scene are in Leesley’s blood. His work draws inspiration from the heartfelt melodies of songsmiths like Carole King and Burt Bacharach with the smokey tenderness of vocalists such as Dusty Springfield and Elvis. Add to that his enthusiasm for American literature and the surrealism of 60s French cinema. After stumbling across an old 4-track tape machine at a local car-boot sale, Leesley used it to distill these influences into something that is spare in its sound but full in its intention and emotion.
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