Mercury Prize For Streatham Again?
Streatham Pulse recently made a rare trip north of the river to see a band at ‘The Tabernacle’ in Westbourne Park. Whilst ordinarily I’m too consumed by what’s happening in south London to think about venturing to west London’s gentrified suburbs, on this occasion I had good reason. The Streatham-based band, ‘The Leisure Society’, were topping the bill and I wasn’t about to miss it.
‘The Leisure Society’ are about to make a big impression on the music scene. After years of refining their particular blend of indie/folk, they’ll soon be releasing their second album to a growing fan base expecting great things. In 2009, the eight piece ensemble made Ivor Novello history, becoming the first unsigned band to be nominated for the prestigious award. They’ve since been signed to record label ‘Full Time Hobby’; released their debut album, ‘The Sleeper’; and won the ‘iTunes singer songwriter album of the year’. With their single ‘Save it for Someone Who Cares’ receiving their second Ivor nomination, they’ve become the first band to be nominated in two consecutive years.
Their set at the Tabernacle showed off a wealth of material, which lives up to the expectations now being placed upon them. It’s not often a band manage to combine such a large variety of instruments, complex arrangements, multiple parts and tempo changes yet still retain such a clear, cohesive sound. It was their encore, however, that was the highlight. With the venue not permitted to grant an extension, the band simply assembled amongst the tables in the front row and performed, informally and completely un-amplified. With the crowd gathered in silent awe, there was a realization that we were witnessing an intimacy, which we’re unlikely to see repeated, by a band well on their way to bigger things.
The word on the street back in South London, is that their new album, recorded partly in New York, but mainly in Streatham, has a more complex sound than their last and is expected to win them new followers, whilst retaining old fans, such as Brian Eno, Mark Riley, Mark Radcliffe, Dermot O’Leary and Guy Garvey from Elbow, all of whom have actively championed the band. It’s an impressive list of achievements and admirers for a band who only turned professional a year ago. In fact this time last year, singer songwriter, Nick Hemming was working in a fabric warehouse in Merton. With Streatham being the home to last years Mercury Music Prize winner, Speech Debelle, could it be too much to expect the Mercury award to go to another Streatham act in 2010? Could this even be the start of a period which sees Streatham hailed as the next creative hotbed? Or am I getting a little carried away with myself now?
Here’s a little sneak preview of what they’ve been getting up to on their recent tour.
You can buy Leisure Society music here from 
This article can also be found in the current edition of ‘New London Review’, the new magazine for Streatham, Brixton & Clapham.
Click here to read the original Streatham Pulse blog post about the Leisure Society from last year and to watch the excellent video for their, Ivor nominated, song ‘Save it For Someone Who Cares’.
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