Our podcast series - hosted by local people, telling local stories - which celebrates New Briggate, a unique and vibrant high street in Leeds.
Each episode of Sounds of New Briggate spotlights a different aspect of life on New Briggate and its fascinating heritage.
This podcast series is part of our Hidden Histories of New Briggate project, supported by Leeds City Council and Historic England as part of the New Briggate High Street Heritage Action Zone regeneration programme.
You can find the podcast on:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | RSS | SoundCloud
New Briggate After Dark
Suzy Mason – co-founder of Leeds’ Kit Kat Club, Vague, and SpeedQueen – takes us to New Briggate after dark. This episode explores a snapshot of some of the street’s nightlife stories, transporting us back over 50 years of dancing, drinking, taxis, take-aways, and a few celebrity customers along the way.
The Jewish Heritage of New Briggate and Beyond
Throughout the 1860s to the 1920s, New Briggate was a hub of Jewish life, laying the foundations for a rich and diverse Jewish history reflected in artefacts on the street and the stories of people. In this episode, Simon Phillips explores the Jewish heritage of New Briggate and how this links to the wider social history of the Jewish community in Leeds.
Africa, Leeds West Indian Carnival and New Briggate Histories
Joe Williams from Heritage Corner Leeds takes us on a tour of New Briggate and its connection with Leeds’ Black community, via celebrated African-American Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge; a slave owner buried in St John’s churchyard on New Briggate; and Leeds’ infamous West Indian Carnival.
Jazz History of New Briggate
Chapel FM’s John Toolan interviews Steve Crocker from Jazz Leeds about the jazz history of New Briggate, and its role in the artistic and cultural development of Leeds.
Queer New Briggate: Archives and the High Street
What do photography archives mean to marginalised groups, and why are they important for heritage projects? Socially-engaged artist Emma Bentley-Fox is joined by photographer and archivist Stuart Linden Rhodes, performance artist Harry Clayton-Wright, and East Street Arts’ Alice Boulton-Breeze to explore this, plus Stuart’s Hidden in Plain Sight: Queer Leeds exhibition on New Briggate, queer safety, and queer history.
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