The Leisure Society plus support, Tom Bright

The Leisure Society was founded by Nick Hemming, who grew up in Burton-on-Trent. As a teenager he formed the indie band She Talks To Angels with his art college friend, director Shane Meadows plus the actor Paddy Considine.

Following the band’s split, Nick was scooped up by local indie hopes The Telescopes, who were signed to Creation Records. Shane Meadows remained a supporter, hiring Nick to score 1999’s A Room For Romeo Brass and 2004’s Dead Man’s Shoes, but Nick was losing his confidence.

Everything changed with the arrival of fellow Burton-on-Trent exile Christian Hardy, who worked with Nick to develop and record new songs and encouraged him to venture out on stage.

The Leisure Society was born and developed rapidly, with an initial landmark being the single ‘The Last Of The Melting Snow’, which was championed by Dermot O’Leary on Radio 2, and Radcliffe and Maconie, and Guy Garvey on 6Music.

The band have been vaunted for their songwriting and production craft, winning two Ivor-Novello nominations and Rough Trade Albums of the Year. They’ve collaborated and toured with artists including Ray Davies, Brian Eno, Laura Marling, Neil Hannon, Richard Thompson, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott.

Tom Bright’s 2023 saw him appear on BBC’s The One Show, interviewed on BBC Radio 2, BBC 5 Live, live in session on Radio X, perform at The London Palladium, Shepherd's Bush Empire, Glastonbury Festival, Celtic Connections and tour the UK a couple of times over.

Tom has in fact been on the road relentlessly these past few years, supporting the likes of Mystery Jets, Tom Grennan, Reverend And The Makers, Declan O'Rourke, William Prince, Richard Walters, The Bluetones and Ligabue just to name a few. In a career that’s seen him work with Mick Jones (The Clash) and Matt Johnson (The The), share a stage with Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) and have his guitar signed by Johnny Marr (The Smiths), he spent 2 years in Spotify’s Most Beautiful Songs in the World playlist and has turned the attention of many, from Guy Garvey to John Kennedy.

Before his musical endeavours, Tom was once the UK’s youngest pub landlord, and is also a former patient of Great Ormond Street Hospital, undergoing a multitude of major life-saving operations.

His third album, ‘Somewhere Anywhere’ - produced by Ed Harcourt and mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios - is his most personal and reflective work to date.

He kicks off 2024 by supporting The Libertines, James Walsh (Starsailor), and returns to Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Later this year he will release a collection of early songs produced by Mick Jones.