Roman Candle is thrilled to welcome The Leisure Society to St Mary's Creative Space, Chester, on Thursday, 14th May. Special guest Tom Bright.

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Tickets are £20 in advance from Grey n Pink Records or See Tickets.

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THE LEISURE SOCIETY

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The Leisure Society was founded by Nick Hemming, who grew up in Burton-on-Trent. Over the years, the band have received high praise for their oustanding songwriting and production craft, winning two Ivor-Novello nominations and Rough Trade Albums of the Year.

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As a teenager, Nick formed the indie band She Talks To Angels with his art college friend, director Shane Meadows plus the actor Paddy Considine.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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They’ve collaborated and toured with artists including Ray Davies, Brian Eno, Laura Marling, Neil Hannon, Richard Thompson, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott.

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TOM BRIGHT

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Tom Bright is a relentlessly touring songwriter whose songs land with emotional weight and unvarnished honesty. 2025 saw him make his third television appearance on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live, serenade thousands at his fifth Glastonbury Festival, and sell out shows across the UK and beyond.

Armed with a guitar signed by Johnny Marr of The Smiths and John Squire of the Stone Roses, Bright's tireless graft has seen him hit iconic heights of the London Palladium, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, appear on BBC’s The One Show and Sky News, and record countless live sessions and interviews for BBC Radio 2, 5 Live, Radio X and more. Along the way, he’s shared stages with The Libertines, Mystery Jets, Tom Grennan, Reverend & The Makers, Katherine Priddy, Ed Harcourt and others.

He has collaborated with The The, earned continued support from tastemakers Guy Garvey and John Kennedy and spent two years on Spotify’s Most Beautiful Songs in the World playlist with 'If I Met Your Shadow'.

In May, Tom released Young Old Bloke, a collection of early songs produced by Mick Jones (The Clash) and Dirty White. He has three previous albums in the world — all produced by Ed Harcourt. Away from the stage, his story is just as remarkable: once the UK’s youngest pub landlord, and a childhood marked by multiple life-saving surgeries.

Tom is currently working on his fifth studio album, with Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets) handling production.