Rough Trade 50 at The Southbank
Rough Trade 50 at The Southbank
Special weekend of shows announced including Pulp, Scritti Politti, caroline & more
Rough Trade Records is set to mark 50 years since its beginnings with a one-off, special series of concerts and events at London’s Southbank Centre, which will take place between 17 and 19 July 2026.
The weekend will see Pulp play the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 18 July, performing their latest album More in full before exploring their back catalogue. On the same day, Scritti Politti will make a welcome return to the stage, playing two shows in Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Scritti Politti will play a matinee set at 3pm, before returning for a second show that evening at 8pm.
On Sunday, 19 July caroline will play a show in the Queen Elizabeth Hall with special guests My New Band Believe, while on the same afternoon Jarvis Cocker will introduce Ken Loach’s classic 1969 film Kes in the Royal Festival Hall. The unique screening will feature the soundtrack being performed live by an orchestra.
Rough Trade Books will also present two events during the weekend, hosting an evening of one-off performances and readings with their writers, artists and collaborators on Friday 17 July in Queen Elizabeth Hall, before producing a new staging of Hannah Patterson’s debut novel Ungone in the Purcell Rooms on Saturday 18 July.
A presale for Southbank Centre Members starts on Wednesday, 15 April at 2pm, before tickets go on general sale at 2pm on Thursday, 16 April (all times BST). See https://www.
“This year means it’s 50 years since the day the first shop opened its doors on Kensington Park Road,” explains Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records. “The Rough Trade shop, which became a distributor and then a Record label, has helped to bring into the world some of the very best music. Someone said we should celebrate! So here we are with a weekend takeover of the Southbank Centre. Come and celebrate with us.”
The line-up for the weekend’s shows not only reflects the arc of Rough Trade’s history, but also reaffirms the label’s commitment to remain at the creative vanguard.
Scritti Politti (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 18 July) were among the early signings to Rough Trade, releasing their 1982 debut album Songs To Remember with the label before returning to Rough Trade in 2006 to release the acclaimed, Mercury Prize-nominated White Bread Black Beer, before partnering with Rough Trade to make them the custodians of their whole, rightly revered catalogue.
Pulp (Royal Festival Hall, 18 July) also has a long association with Rough Trade and a fresh new connection. Co-MD Jeannette Lee has managed the band for many years, before the label put out their single After You in 2013 produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy. This was followed by the band fully signing to Rough Trade last year for the release of their highly anticipated and much-cherished record More, Pulp’s first new album in 24 years, which they will perform live in full.
caroline signed to Rough Trade in 2020 and has released two albums with the label, the eight-piece’s self-titled, 2022 debut and last year’s caroline 2. Visionary songwriters and composers, on stage, the London-based band frequently embrace the spirit of improvisation and unpredictability, making their concert (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 19 July) one not to be missed, particularly as they will be joined by My New Band Believe. The new project of former black midi member Cameron Picton, the group released their self-titled debut album at the start of April making them one of Rough Trade’s latest signings.
The label’s events will be rounded off by a screening of the film Kes (19 July), with its soundtrack performed live in the Royal Festival Hall by an orchestra. Ken Loach’s film is a favourite of Rough Trade, its staff and artists, and it will be introduced live by Jarvis Cocker.
“Ken Loach’s film Kes is considered by many to be the definitive Northern film. It is actually situated in West Yorkshire, and the two cities of Sheffield and Manchester are not that far away. Rough Trade has a long history with Sheffield, starting with Cabaret Voltaire and continuing with Pulp, whilst Manchester was where The Fall, The Blue Orchids and The Smiths all came from,” explains Travis of the decision to end the celebration with the 1969 film.
“We made many, many trips to both cities in the early days of Rough Trade in an effort to see shows in the city and in our attempts to sign those bands. We always felt we were one nation, and even though we are Londoners, we appreciated the kind of genius exhibited in this film that was perhaps native to the region. It’s simply one of our favourite films ever, and we wanted to celebrate that!”
A number of special guests are set to join the bill across the weekend and will be announced in due course.
Founded in partnership with the label in 2018, Rough Trade Books is also joining in the celebration with two unique live events.
An Evening With Rough Trade Books (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 17 July) will see the Rough Trade-signed Kate Stables from This Is The Kit joining Max Porter for a performance of his work All Of This Unreal Time; poet Ella Frears will collaborate with Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat on a new version of her poem Goodlord; Sam Reid will be bringing his book, The Pin Jar, to life with the help of musician Elspeth Anne and writer Will Burns; Anna Whitwham will read from her beautiful memoir Soft Tissue Damage accompanied by a dancers Sylvie Poppy O’Brien and Francesca Thakorlal; Jen Calleja will present her book Goblinhood with the aid of puppetry; Babak Ganjei brings his surrealist magic to the stage in a physical manifestation of his work, On The Bus Without A Phone; and Owen Williams and Kirsty Gunn will read from their recently published books. The night will be hosted by author Lily Blacksell.
Rough Trade Books will also bring playwright and screenwriter Hannah Patterson’s debut novel Ungone to the stage (Purcell Rooms, 18 July) in a brand new, dramatic treatment. Retaining the book’s devilish intelligence and thought-provoking premise of one woman’s attempt to avoid confronting her mother’s dementia by hiring somebody else to play her during visits, the intimacy of the original novel and the high tension of the stage come together in this compelling new production. Additionally, the event will feature a live performance from Ana da Silva, artist and founding member of post-punk pioneers The Raincoats, a band that released all their studio albums through Rough Trade Records.