Meridian may be less than two months old, but the five first-years at the University of Sheffield have already shaped a swaggering rock’n’roll sound and attracted a small cult following among those paying attention. We met the band – vocalist/guitarist Alex, vocalist/bassist Will, guitarist Lewis, drummer James and vocalist Anna – after their debut show at the Washington, the storied Sheffield venue that once hosted early gigs by Pulp and the Human League, to talk everything from the value of local music scenes to supporting university strikes and their dreams of headlining Hillsborough Stadium.
When and how did Meridian come about?
Alex: I’ve been writing a bunch of songs this past year because my last band broke up, so I’ve got that whole album set up and I needed a band to play it with. Our manager Billy met James, the drummer, and Will, the bass player, and they were talking about how they wanted to start a band. So he told me about them and we all met that same night.
Lewis: Then you saw me at Music Players Society and thought, that guy looks fucking cool, got to get this guy involved. We started talking about John Shuttleworth, that was our bonding moment. This is the famous myth of Meridian.
Alex: Yeah, I asked if he happened to play guitar and he said he played rhythm which is the greenest flag because you don’t want someone who’s only ever good at soloing. And we got another member called Anna who couldn’t be here today but she’s wicked as well – she adds a lot, especially on Down to the Waterline.
Was there a particular moment when you realised you played well together – did it click in the first rehearsal?
Lewis: Not the first rehearsal because my amp wasn’t working.
Alex: When I thought, fucking hell, we need to get gigging now was the third or fourth rehearsal when we bashed out the Down by the Waterline in one take and, fuck me, it just felt good. That’s the fourth song we play, I think it’s probably the highlight of our set.
You’re all at the Uni of Sheffield at the minute, how do you balance your studies with the band?
Alex: We rehearse a lot, we don’t balance it very well. They’ve all been on strike which has been a big help. Which we support. I’d like it on the record, the band Meridian support the UCU.
Lewis: Yeah I don’t really balance it. Not one of us balances it well.
You’ve got your manager Billy Burton, how helpful has he been for the band?
Lewis: He got us this gig, he’s a top fellow. The second we got this gig, we stopped fucking about – we got a graphic designer, a photographer, a journalist. We got our own Alistair Campbell here, we’re gonna be invading Iraq by Sunday. And we got a roadie, Billy George. Great guy – he’s a fan first, and then we let him be part of the crew. There’s a song which is in open A, so I have to switch guitars, and that’s his role. He did it wonderfully tonight.
Does Billy ever give you any advice?
Alex: I run everything past him. When we finish a song, we check with Billy first because he’ll always say whether it’s good or not and he won’t fuck us about, he always gives it to us straight. I love him.
What’s the story behind the band name?
Lewis: We’re missing the one member who can really tell it from the heart. Will said (imitates Geordie accent), oh, Meridian like, what about Meridian like? He’s got a speech impediment so he says like a lot.
Alex: We’ve got some justifications for the name though – I was born round the corner from the Greenwich Meridian in Tarner Street, Greenwich, and then in Chinese acupuncture, get this in the article, it’s the veins in which energy flows through the body of meridian.
What artists influence your music and style the most?
Lewis: The Style Council.
Alex: No.
Lewis: What do you mean no?
Alex: Objectively, The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Small Faces. And then every one of us loves The Smiths one way or another. Even James loves The Smiths.
You just played your first ever gig, how did it feel?
Alex: Pretty fucking good. Relieved because it didn’t go too badly and we got through it. The first gig’s probably the hardest, it were a bit wobbly legs before we got on but it was fine.
Billy: It wasn’t a disaster.
Lewis: That’s our manager, that’s the kind of positive attitude we get. It wasn’t a disaster, no one died.
What were you most worried about going into the gig?
Alex: I’ve got a cold so I thought my voice was gonna kip it halfway through.
Lewis: The soundcheck wasn’t great for me because my guitar was so close to the amp, it was just feeding back but I realised if I change the pickup it’s fine.
What do you hope people thought or felt during the show?
Will: Feel the music.
Alex: I want them to enjoy it enough to want to go and listen to other live artists. We’re the hardest working band in Sheffield, but there are other ones as well – go and support your local artists, even if it’s your gran in a fucking Beatles tribute. I want them to think I will go see this again and support venues like this (The Washington), because they’re all closing down and we’re losing the opportunity to play. Britain as a country doesn’t have much to give but music and culture is our legacy and that’s what’s important.
You’ve got a catalogue of original songs, do you have any plans to release them soon? Any singles or an EP in 2026?
Alex: We’re working on stuff and we’ve just met a guy who might have an opportunity to record. We’re thinking the first single will be out hopefully in the first part of next year.
Lewis: Are we revealing what it is or no?
Alex: Well if you like Down by the Waterline… But we’ve got an album written, we’re just going to work through the songs and hopefully in 2026 we’ll have something to show for it.
Beyond recording, what are your goals for Meridian in 2026? Is there one main indicator of success?
Lewis: Meridian want to play Hillsborough stadium. Fuck Bramall Lane.
Alex: Just gig, we want a lot of people to come out and enjoy the music. We want to play alongside other bands in Sheffield, get to know them and keep this community going.
Words: Donovan Livesey