Cast – Live Review – The Foundry, Sheffield
By Joe Barlett, December 2025
For many music fans of a certain age Cast were a big deal. Whilst Oasis, Blur and Pulp are now generally considered Britpop’s big hitters, Cast’s album All Change was a huge hit when released in 1995. It was the biggest selling debut album for Polydor records and produced four singles that were the staple of indie dance floors for the rest of the 90s.
Cast’s lead singer and songwriter, John Power, was the bassist in the La’s throughout the 80s. Power had little input into the Las’s songwriting but after being encouraged by La’s frontman Lee Mavers to start writing, he eventually formed Cast.
By 1993, Power had enlisted Skin Tyson on guitar, Peter Wilkinson on Bass and Keith O’Neill on drums and after a hectic gigging schedule Cast released their first album, All Change. By 1995, Britpop was in full swing, but All Change felt a little different to other albums of the era having a more melodic mersey beat influence and less of the laddish swagger that many of the other guitar bands relied on.
After All Change, Cast released two more albums in the 90s, but like many teenage indie fans I was not able to tick them off my bucket list as, along with most guitar bands of the era, they were dropped by their record label as commercial success gradually tailored off.
“Energised”
In the intervening years, I have managed to see the obvious Britpop bands headlining festivals or putting on their own mammoth shows but I have never seen Cast. When I saw that their 30 years of All Change tour was heading to the Foundry at Sheffield University I jumped at the chance to see some of my teenage indie heroes.
On entering the Foundry, I was reminded of my days as a student in Sheffield where I spent almost all of my time (and money) at the student union. There could be no better place to see one of Britpop’s best bands than where I enjoyed so many an indie disco fuelled by cheap ciders.
The audience was hardly eclectic being made up of predominantly middle-aged men wearing Pretty Green jackets (although I did note a few had swapped their Britpop uniform for outerwear clearly remembering how cold student unions used to be). There were a few other more diverse audience members, however, Cast having supported Oasis in the summer meant there were fresh faced young fans in attendance that were easy to spot as they all seemed to be wearing the same Oasis 2025 tour T-shirts.
As people grabbed a few beers and waited for the band to take the stage, there was a genuine sense of anticipation from the audience who had dragged themselves out on a dreary midweek night. When the band did come out, there was no time for pleasantries, immediately launching into ‘Follow Me Down’ and then ‘Promised Land’. By the time Cast played ‘Sandstorm’, their third and most raucous single, the whole crowd was energised. I half expected a mosh pit to break out.
Power wasted little time with lecturing the audience or engaging in banter, he was here to play tunes and the band rattled through the album barely pausing to allow the audience to catch their breath.
The band have been around for over 30 years so it is hardly surprising that they were tight, but nobody in attendance could have failed to be impressed by their performance. Tyson’s lead guitar blended perfectly with Power’s rhythm guitar and bass allowing the vocal harmonies space when needed. These elder statemen have not lost their appetite for playing live.
As to be expected, the best audience reaction was for the singles, when Power said “this announced our arrival on the scene” there was a noticeable crowd response as they played ‘Finetime’, their first single.
“Mammoth mixture”
Whilst I may have been reminiscing about gigs gone by and how much better things were in the 1990’s, I was brought back the modem world when half the audience pulled their phones out for ‘Walkaway’. This is a song that clearly resonates with many, perhaps reminding them of a lost love or for those of us less emotionally intelligent, the final montage of Euro 1996 when England lost on penalties again.
The band finished revisiting All Change by finishing on ‘Alright’, an absolute 90s banger.
After this I retreated to the bar readying myself for a few songs as an encore. When Cast returned, nobody was left short changed as they delivered a mammoth mixture of new material and older songs from their other albums. The gig had 22 songs in all with a fantastic outro in their final song ‘Free Me’, that left everyone satisfied that they had had their fill.
Whilst I love nothing more than seeing a new band in a small venue, Cast reminded me that there is still little better than seeing a classic album performed live and they did it with a level on enthusiasm that puts most youngsters to shame. If you see Cast are playing near you or are on a bill at a festival, check them out as you are guaranteed a fine time indeed.
images: Joe Bartlett
While working in the legal industry, Joe Bartlett spent years balancing his day job with a deep-rooted passion for music – playing in bands and attending gigs across the UK. In 2018, after finally laying to rest his (admittedly deluded) dreams of rock and roll stardom, he dipped his toe into the world of arts journalism. Since then, Joe has been on a mission to share his love of live music, art and culture with readers, offering insights, reflections and recommendations to inspire others to get out and experience the richness of the UK’s creative scene. Having performed and partied everywhere from Grimethorpe to Glastonbury, Whitby to Wembley, and countless places in between, Joe is perfectly placed to review all aspects of the arts – from the grassroots to the grandiose.
