The Wedding Present, The Velveteens

Bringing Morley Arts Festival to a close will be the legendary Leeds band, The Wedding Present in the unique and intimate surroundings of the Alexandra Hall.

With its independent releases, The Wedding Present acquired a reputation for bittersweet, breathtakingly honest love songs immersed in whirlwind guitars. From exploring traditional Eastern European folk music, on their major label debut on RCA to enlisting noise-mongering sound engineer Steve Albini’s aid at a time when everyone else was releasing ‘Madchester’ dance mixes, the band has stubbornly refused to play the record industry’s game from its inception.

In 1992, The Wedding Present released twelve singles, one per month, equalling Elvis Presley’s 35 year old record for ‘most hits in one year’. They have since gone on to achieve eighteen UK Top 40 hit singles.