Leeds

Until the 1974 reorganisation of local government, the County Borough of Leeds included the former parishes of Armley, Beeston, Bramley, Chapel Allerton, Farnley, Headingley/Burley, Holbeck, Hunslet, Leeds, Osmondthorpe, Potter Newton, Seacroft, Temple Newsam (covering the areas of Halton Moor, Halton, Whitkirk, Colton and Austhorpe) and WortleyA Vision of Britain Through Time: Relationships / unit history of LEEDS.

Leeds (from Bramley)

Location grid

Crime

Like many other English industrial cities, the crime rate in Leeds is well above the national average.Crime figures in Leeds.Crime Statistics for Leeds Apr 2005 - Mar 2006. Home Office. In July 2006, the think tank Reform calculated rates of crime for different offences and has related this to populations of major urban areas (defined as towns over 100,000 population). Leeds was 11th in this rating (excluding London Boroughs, 23rd including London Boroughs).Urban Crime Rankings (July 2006).

The city has three recognised red light districts, Spencer Place in Chapeltown, Water Lane in Holbeck and the areas surrounding the City of Mabgate public house in Mabgate, taking in Roseville Road, Telephone Street and Mushroom Street.

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Leeds and List of companies based in Leeds

Leeds was voted \'Britain\'s Best City for Business\' by Omis Research in 2003 but dropped to 3rd place behind Manchester and Glasgow in 2005 ("Relative under-performance over the past two years in transport improvements and cost competitiveness were the major contributing factors")OMIS Research. It is also regarded as the fastest growing city in the UKLeeds City Guideand has a diverse economy with the service sector now dominating over the city\'s manufacturing industries. Leeds is the largest financial centre in England outside the capital Leeds Economy Handbook 2007 - Sectors. New tertiary industries such as retail, call centres, offices and media have contributed to a high rate of economic growth since the early 1990s. In the late 1990s dot-com bubble, Leeds became one of the key hubs in the emerging new media sector, and companies such as Freeserve, Energis, Sportal, TEAMtalk and Ananova emerged to dominate the UK internet industry. Now, over 33% of the UK\'s internet traffic is claimed to go through Leeds, making it one of the most important regional internet centres in the UK. Over 100,000 people work in financial and business services in Leeds, which is about a quarter of the total workforce. The strength of the economy is also indicated by the low unemployment rate. However, despite the growth of the Leeds economy in recent years, some parts of the city still remain poor, especially to the south and east of the city centre, typical of many large cities in the UK.

Growth sectors in financial & business services: banking, labour recruitment*, commercial cleaning, legal services, insurance, pension funds, computing*, architecture and civil engineering, real estate, investigation & security, accountancy, equipment leasing, consultancy & market research*, advertising, and R&D*.

Some of the faster growing sub-sectors during the 1990s marked *.

Development

Further information: List of tallest buildings in Leeds and List of Developments in Leeds

In recent times Leeds has seen many new developments, with high rise schemes making a much larger mark on Leeds\' skyline. Sixteen skyscrapers are currently under construction or proposed, all of them taller than West Riding House (262 ft/80 m) - Leeds\' tallest building since it was built in the 1970sSkyscaper News. Bridgewater Place recently became the tallest building in Leeds, however this title is anticipated to be shortlived as the 561 ft (171 m) Lumiere building is expected to be finished by 2010. There are also plans in Leeds to build an even taller skyscraper than Lumiere, which will if built be known as the Millgarth Tower. Estimates of the height of this new building range from 190m - 210m. Between 60-63 floors high.

Tourism

Leeds has received several accolades in the field of tourism; including being voted by Condé Nast Traveler magazine Readers\' Awards as the "UK\'s favourite city" in 2004, "Best English city to visit outside London" in 2005, and also "Visitor city of the year" by The Good Britain Guide in 2005. A vibrant city, rich in culture and heritage, and ideally located in the very heart of England, it is supported by an extensive rail, road and air network which makes travelling to Leeds quick and easy. Situated close to the UK\'s geographical centre, it benefits from good transport connections with the M1 running from Leeds to London, the M62 connecting Leeds with the seaports of Liverpool and Hull, and the A1(M) for linking to the north. Leeds Bradford International Airport is one of the fastest growing regional UK airports, with a 75 per cent growth in passenger numbers in the last five years. Over 450 weekly flights connect the city to over 50 major European business and holiday destinations.

Tourism in Leeds is estimated to support over 20,000 full time equivalent jobs, and on average Leeds attracts around 1.4 million people annually who stay overnight, plus a further 18.4 million who visit on day trips. Visitors to the city bring in nearly £735 m into the local economy each year and Leeds\' vibrant and cultural scenes are some of the key reasons that visitors from across the UK and Europe come to Leeds. Major national and regional attractions include the Royal Armouries, the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre, West Yorkshire Playhouse and the award winning Harewood House, which was voted one of the best large visitor attractions in the Excellence in England Awards for Tourism 2003.Leeds City Guide: Leeds is booming Leeds is also only city outside London to have both its own opera and ballet companies – the internationally acclaimed Opera North and Northern Ballet Theatre.

Additionally, in the Good Hotel Guide 2004, four Leeds hotels were named as top choices for places to stay in the UK.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Leeds

Rail

Leeds Railway Station after the 2002 rebulid.

The rail network is still of great importance. Leeds City station is one of the busiest in the UK outside central London, with over 900 trains and 50,000 passengers per day. Its modern interior provides connections to London, Southampton and the south, Birmingham and the Midlands, Bristol and the West Country, Newcastle, Edinburgh and the north east, Manchester and Liverpool and the north west, as well as to local and regional destinations. The station itself has 17 platforms, making it the largest in England outside London.

From Leeds City station MetroTrains operated by Northern Rail operate to all parts of West Yorkshire and surrounding local and commuter locations and other operators including National Express East Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains and TransPennine Express operate services to the rest of the country.

Leeds has two railway lines offering direct services to London. The principal route is along the East Coast Main Line which operates half-hourly through the day. East Midlands Trains offers an alternative route via Leicester along the Midland Main Line to London St Pancras International, home of Eurostar international services. The East Midlands Trains service operates principally because the train operators fleet of diesel high speed trains (HST\'s) is based at Neville Hill maintenance depot in Leeds. There are three trains per day in each direction.

Tram plans

The city had plans in the 1990s and 2000s for a tram network known as Supertram. However the government axed the scheme due to an unwillingness to pay for any costs over budget, and the Department for Transport\'s apparent preference for a bus-based rapid transport scheme rather than a tram-based scheme.Leeds Tram Scheme - statement by Alistair Darling, Transport Secretary. Government Office for Yorkshire and The Humber (2005-11-03). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.Leeds Supertram - Closing down arrangements. West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority (2005-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-02-14. A sub-surface tramway system which could double as a public air-raid shelter facility was proposed in the 1930s by Leeds City Council, with Central Government funding. The plans were axed as the Second World War commenced and funds were diverted to the war effort. Leeds remains the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system.

Roads

Leeds is the focus of the A58, A61, A62, A63, A64, A65 and A660 roads. Nowadays, with the M1 and M62 intersecting just to its south and the A1(M) passing just to its east, it is one of the principal hubs of the northern motorway network. There is an Inner Ring Road with part motorway status and an Outer Ring Road. The city centre is pedestrianised, and is encircled by the clockwise-only \'loop road\'.

Recent developments to East Leeds have seen phase 7 of the M621 which involves completion of the Outer Ring Road scheme and construction of a bridge running from the A64 near South Accomadation Road, straight to the M621. This new road link will help in taking a percentage of traffic away from the city centre and roads exiting to South Leeds and the motorways.

Another project which will begin construction in late 2008 is the long awaited extension of Junction 45 on the M1. Provisions including slip roads, markings and roundabouts were all placed during construction of the motorway due to future expansion being a possibility. Now, a dual carriageway is being created from Junction 45 straight in to Leeds via Hunslet and Cross Green. This is all part of Leeds City Council\'s aim to re-develop and encourage investment in to the East Leeds area which in comparison to the North, South, West and Centre of Leeds, is the most underdeveloped.

Bus/coach

On 30 January 2006, a zero-fare bus service (the FreeCityBus) started running, on a circular route, in the centre of Leeds.

Leeds has a large modern bus station served by National Express and local bus services. Buses in the city are mainly provided by FirstBus and Arriva. Harrogate & District provides a service to Harrogate and Ripon. The Yorkshire Coastliner service runs from Leeds to Malton, Scarborough, Filey, Whitby and Bridlington via Tadcaster, York and Malton.

Trolleybus plans

A business case for a new trolleybus system in the Leeds region is scheduled to be submitted to the Department for Transport towards the end of 2007. This system would broadly follow the route of the axed Supertram project[1].

Local public transport information

Leeds Travel Info is Leeds City Council\'s public access website providing real-time travel information in the Leeds area. West Yorkshire Metro provides bus and train information on its website, and offers the innovative "My Next Bus" service of real-time bus information by text message or online. This real-time information is also displayed in certain bus shelters.

Air transport

Main article: Leeds Bradford International Airport

Leeds Bradford International Airport is located near Yeadon, to the north-west of the city and has both charter and scheduled flights to destinations within Europe plus Egypt and Turkey. There are connections to the rest of the world via London Heathrow Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In 2007 Bridgepoint Capital acquired the airport from the local councils which had previously owned it, for £145.5 million. The new owners have said they are to implement a £70 million capital expenditure plan, to focus on improving passenger and retail infrastructure. They also aim to more than double passenger numbers to 7 million per annum and to add up to 20 new scheduled destinations, both by 2015. LBIA - Leeds Bradford International Airport

There is a direct rail service from Leeds to Manchester Airport, with trains running throughout the night. Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is 40 miles (65 km) south of Leeds.

Sea transport

Leeds has good connections by road, rail and coach to Hull, only an hour away, from where it is possible to travel to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge by ferry services run by P&O Ferries.

Events

Millennium Square

• The Leeds German Christmas Market (or Christkindelmarkt) is held in Millennium Square every year for about five weeks in November and December
• The Ice Cube - Europe’s largest open air ice skating rink is also held annually in Millennium Square, usually from January to March.
• The Leeds Christmas Lights Switch On is an annual event featuring a celebrity turning on the lights with the Lord Mayor, accompanied by an up-and-coming band and small funfair. Leeds is one of the only cities in Britain to have a year-round agency in charge of planning their display and maintaining the equipment, and as such has established the largest Christmas lights display in the country, and one of the largest in Europe, with illuminations covering over 13 miles (21 km) of street (Blackpool Illuminations is bigger, but is not a Christmas display). The Switch On ceremony used to take place on the fourth Thursday in November from its inception in the early 1980s, but from 1996 has been held earlier in the month, usually close to (but not on) 5 November. It was held on a Friday in 1997 and 1999, but is otherwise always held on a Thursday, the traditional night in Britain for pre-Christmas late night shopping. As the popularity of the event increased into the early 1990s, attendances at what essentially became a free concert swelled, and has been known to attract in the region of 50,000 people (part of the main road through central Leeds, The Headrow, is closed off and traffic diverted).
• The Leeds International Pianoforte Competition [2], founded by Fanny Waterman, takes place every three years, next due in 2009.
• Party in the Park and Opera in the Park are major free events held each summer at Temple Newsam
• The Leeds Mela [3] is held each summer in Roundhay Park.
• Leeds West Indian Carnival takes place in Chapeltown each summer.
• The Leeds International Film Festival [4] takes place each autumn and there is also an annual Leeds Young People\'s Film Festival.
• The annual summer and Christmas concerts at Leeds Town Hall, organised by the Leeds Schools Music Association and involving hundreds of schoolchildren from around the city.
• There is also a musical event held annually at the Kirkstall Abbey, known as Fantasia, usually held in August which includes a large firework display.
• Kirkstall Abbey also plays host to the annual Kirkstall Festival, a Leeds tradition. This takes place every July.
• A Half marathon takes place every May, starting in the Town centre and running in a loop around the North of the city.
• The Leeds Festival (Previously Carling Festival:Leeds as of 2008) takes place every August bank holiday at Bramham Park

Culture and recreation

Sport

Main article: Sport in Leeds

The city has a strong sporting heritage, with teams representing all the major national sports. Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Football Club and Leeds Carnegie Rugby Union Football Club all play at Headingley, where there are adjacent cricket and rugby stadia, and Hunslet Hawks RLFC are based at the John Charles Centre for Sport. Leeds United A.F.C., the city\'s main football team, play at Elland Road in Beeston.

Football

See also: Football in Leeds

Unlike many other large cities such as Manchester, London, and Liverpool, Leeds only has one league football team. Leeds United were formed in 1919 in Salem Chapel, just south of Leeds bridge, following the bankruptcy of their predecessors, Leeds City. Under the management of Don Revie, they were a major force in English football during the late 1960s and early 1970s, winning the league championship three times, the FA Cup once, the League Cup once and the Fairs Cup twice. After Revie\'s departure for the England job in 1974, Leeds went into decline and did not win another major trophy until 1992, when Howard Wilkinson guided them to glory in the last-ever First Division championship before the creation of the Premier League. They remained at this level for 12 years before a financial crisis contributed towards their relegation in 2004. Three years later they were relegated again, into the third tier of the English league for the first time in their history.

Women\'s football

Leeds United L.F.C. are the best-placed women\'s football team in Leeds. They currently compete at the highest level in England, the FA Women\'s Premier League National Division, for the 2007–08 season, having finished 5th in the league last season. The club currently play their home matches at The Park, home of Tadcaster Albion A.F.C., in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.

Another women\'s team based in Leeds is Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.. They currently play in the Northern Combination Women\'s Football League, which is the third tier of women\'s football. Last season they finished 2nd in the league, narrowly missing out on promotion into the FA Women\'s Premier League Northern Division. Presently, the club play their home fixtures at The Bracken Edge, home of Yorkshire Amateur A.F.C..

Rugby league

The new Carnegie Stand at Headingley. Rugby league is Leeds\' second most popular spectator sport.

Leeds Rhinos are currently the best rugby league team in Leeds. They play their home games at the Headingley Stadium and compete in the Super League. They make up the top 3 sides in the league, based on the number of Challenge Cups won, together with the Bradford Bulls and St Helens RFC. In 2007 they finished 2nd in the league but they beat St Helens in the Super League Grand Final, making them Super League champions. They went on to beat the Australian NRL champions Melbourne Storm 11–4 at Elland Road on February 29 in the 2008 World Club Challenge.World Club Challenge. BBC Sport (29th February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.

They are the best supported rugby team of either code throughout the UKRhinos poised to set a record. Yorkshire Evening Post (13 September 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-21., having won a number of domestic and international trophies, including 5 Championships, 11 Challenge Cups and 2 World Club Challenge titles.

Another rugby league team from the city are the Hunslet Hawks, who are based in Hunslet, South Leeds. They play in the National League Two and their home is the John Charles Centre for Sport, formerly known as the South Leeds Stadium. Their nickname is The Parksiders, after their former home ground, Parkside. They have won the League Championship and the Challenge Cup twice each, though these honours were all achieved before the Second World War.

Bramley Buffaloes, from Bramley, West Leeds, currently play in the Rugby League Conference. They are known as The Villagers and the club play their home games at Stanningley ARLFC. Leeds Akkies are also in the Conference and are based in Bramhope, North Leeds. The club was founded in 2003 by students from the three universities of Leeds, to provide a pathway from student rugby league to open age amateur rugby league.

Rugby union

Leeds Carnegie, formerley known as Leeds Tykes, are the main rugby union football club in Leeds. They are owned by the same company that run the Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and, consequently, they also play at the Headingley Carnegie Stadium. Their name was changed on May 14 2007, when it was announced that Leeds Metropolitan University would buy a 51% stake in the club and change the name to fit with the university\'s sport department, Carnegie CollegeUniversity buys into Leeds Tykes. BBC Sport (2007-05-14). Retrieved on 2007-05-18.Ground Breaking Ownership for Leeds Rugby. Leeds Rugby Limited (2007-05-14). Retrieved on 2007-05-14..They currently play in the Guinness Premiership, the highest level of domestic rugby union in England, having been promoted as champions of National Division One in the 2006–07 season. The club won their first trophy in 2005, with a battling performance to defeat favourites Bath in the Powergen Cup final.

Otley R.U.F.C., who play at Cross Green, are another rugby union club from the area. They are based in Otley and compete in National Division Two, having been relegated from National Division One in the 2006–07 season. Morley R.F.C. currently play in the National Division Three North. They are located in Morley, south-west Leeds and they are competing in the National Division Three North. Their nickname is The Maroons, due to the colour of their kit.

Athletics

Leeds City AC is amongst the biggest and most successful athletics clubs in the north of England and competes in the British Athletics League. The club has also had the most successful men\'s harriers section in the country in the 21st century. Since the turn of the millennium the team has never been out of the top 4 in the National Cross Country Championships, winning in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 the team achieved the \'Grand Slam\' of wins - Yorkshire, North of England and English National Champions. They were also 2007 National 12-stage road relay champions and gained silver medals in the National 6-stage and cross country relays the same year.

Many athletic clubs serve the youth of the city and enter teams in the country\'s major running events - especially raising funds for local charities in the London Marathon and the British 10K. Leeds hosts many athletics events itself, most notably the Help the Aged Abbey Dash 10K, the Jane Tomlinson 10K and the Leeds Half Marathon.

Other Sports

Speedway racing was staged in Leeds in the period 1928 to 1939. The track was at the greyhound stadium in Elland Road. The track entered a team in the 1931 Northern league.

Sports facilities

Leeds has a wealth of sports facilities including the 40,000 capacity Elland Road football stadium, a host stadium during the 1996 European Football Championship; the Headingley Carnegie Stadiums, world famous for both cricket and rugby league; John Charles Centre for Sport with an Olympic sized pool in its Aquatics Centre and a stadium used for rugby league (Hunslet RLFC), athletics, bowls, football and tennis. Other facilities include the Leeds Wall (climbing), Yeadon Tarn sailing centre. Nearby, in Castleford, is Xscape (real snow indoor ski and snowboard slope with ice climbing wall).

Media

Leeds has bases for some media activities for the UK. Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd, owned by Johnston Press plc, is based in the city, and produces a daily morning broadsheet, the Yorkshire Post, and an evening paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post, as well as other publications such as Leeds Express and the weekly freesheets of the Leeds Weekly News, Wharfe Valley Times and Pudsey Times.

There are also a number of regular dedicated lifestyle magazines based in Leeds, most notably the \'The Leeds Guide\' magazine which features regular nightlife listings and pages on Food & Drink, Shopping, Fashion, Property, Travel, Clubbing, Film and Rock & Pop in the city. The magazine reflects the diversity of cultural life in Leeds and Yorkshire, with areas such as Art, Literature, Cinema, Comedy, Dance, Classical Music, Opera, Jazz and Theatre all regularly represented.

Regional television and radio stations also have bases in the city; BBC Television and ITV both have very large studios and broadcasting centres in Leeds, but there is concern over the future of regional independent television with the consolidation of Independent Television franchises in the UK. There are a number of independent film production companies based at The Leeds Studios, including the not-for-profit cooperative Leeds Animation Workshop, founded in 1978; community video producers Vera Media and several small commercial production companies.

BBC Radio Leeds, Radio Aire, Magic 828, Galaxy 105, Real Radio and Yorkshire Radio all broadcast from the city. In the 1980s, pirate radio stations including Rapid City Radio (RCR), amongst other shorter-lived stations broadcasting a mainly reggae playlist from Chapeltown, later diversifying into hip hop and house. Later, Dream FM (Leeds) was one of the biggest pirate radio stations in the country, but folded soon after getting a license to operate legally. Leeds is the UK\'s third largest media city, behind London and Manchester^{[citation needed]}.

A recent development in industry (particularly the boosting of the British Film Industry), Yorkshire hosted the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2007. Leeds and Sheffield played core parts in the awards, being the two key cities involved in hosting the ceremony. The IIFA Awards are Bollywood\'s (the Hindi film industry) equivalent to the Oscars in Hollywood. The four-day event generated millions of pounds in inward investment to the economy of Yorkshire.

Museums and the arts

A new Leeds City Museum is expected to open in August 2008Leeds City Council A new museum for Leeds in the building of the former Mechanics Institute, more recently used as the Civic Theatre, in Millennium Square. The previous city museum was in the Central Library building, and closed some years ago.

Abbey House Museum is housed in the former gatehouse of Kirkstall Abbey, and includes walk-through Victorian streets and galleries describing the history of the abbey, childhood, and Victorian Leeds.

Armley Mills Industrial Museum is housed in what was once the world\'s largest woollen mill, and includes industrial machinery and railway locomotives.

Thwaite Mill Museum is a fully-restored water-powered mill on the river Aire to the east of the city centre. A fulling mill was built on the site in 1641, and it was extensively rebuilt in 1823–25.

The Thackray Museum is a museum of the history of medicine, featuring topics such as Victorian public health, pre-anaesthesia surgery, and safety in childbirth. It is housed in a former workhouse next to St James\'s hospital.

The Royal Armouries Museum opened in 1996 in a dramatic modern building when this part of the collection was transferred from the Tower of London.

Leeds Art Gallery reopened in June 2007 after a major renovation project, and houses important collections of traditional and contemporary British art. Contemporary Art venues include Gallery 42, Leeds Met Gallery, PS:L and theartmarket.

Leeds has the Grand Theatre (where Opera North is based), the City Varieties Music Hall (which has hosted performances by Charlie Chaplin and Harry Houdini plus being the venue of TV\'s "The Good Old Days") and the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

The Leeds Festival takes place every year in Bramham Park, having moved from Temple Newsam after pressure from some local residents. It features some of the biggest names in rock and indie music.

The city is home to the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, held every three years since 1963, which has launched the careers of many major concert pianists. There is also the Leeds International Concert Season the largest local authority music programme of any UK city outside London.

The city also has an internationally recognised film festival; the Leeds International Film Festival is the largest film festival in England outside London and shows films from around the world. It incorporates the highly successful Leeds Young People\'s Film Festival, which features exciting and innovative films made both for and by children and young peopleLeeds Film.

Some of the first moving pictures in the world were taken in the city, by Louis Le Prince, of a Roundhay Garden Scene and of Leeds Bridge in 1888.

Leeds also has a very important dance community; it currently is the home of the world-renowned dance companies the Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance.

Historic houses and parks

The ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, a Cistercian abbey dating from the 12th century, are in an open park alongside the river Aire in Kirkstall, to the west of the city centre. The abbey gatehouse houses the Abbey House Museum. To the east of the city centre, Temple Newsam house dates from the early 16th century and has an extensive estate including gardens and a rare breeds farm. The house was left to Leeds City Council following the occupiers death in 1922. The house is notable Jacobean architecture. Lotherton Hall, with art collections and a bird garden, lies to the east of the city, Bramham Park to the north-east (this now hosts the Leeds Carling Weekend (Leeds Festival) since it was moved from Temple Newsam due to riots and trouble in the surrounding estates, and Harewood House to the north. Kirkstall Abbey, Temple Newsam, and Lotherton Hall are owned and administered by Leeds City Council.

To the north lies Roundhay Park with its well regarded Tropical World hothouse. Other parks in the city include Golden Acre Park which lies between Adel and Bramhope, Hall Park in Horsforth, Woodhouse Moor in Hyde Park, Potternewton Park between Chapeltown and Harehills, Temple Newsam Park stretching from Halton Moor to Colton, East End Park in the location of the same name, Cross Flatts Park in Beeston and Middleton Park in Middleton.

The parks of the city are put to good use. Roundhay Park hosts numerous concerts, as does Bramham Park (near Wetherby) and Temple Newsham. Roundhay Park is probably the most notable of the parks in Leeds and certainly the largest (in excess of 700 acres/283.3 hectares). It is one of the largest inner city parks in Europe and visited by almost one million people every year. The car park at Roundhay Park is notable as it contains the only remaining trolley poles from the former tram system in the city. The arena area of Roundhay Park is used for concerts and over the years had seen concerts from The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Simple Minds, Madonna, Genesis, Robbie Williams and U2.

Shopping

Main article: Shopping in Leeds

Leeds has an extensive and diverse range of shops and department stores, and has been branded with the title of the \'Knightsbridge of the North.\'City is \'Knightsbridge of the North\', BBC News, 24 May 2005 The diverse range of shopping facilities, from individual one-off boutiques to large department stores, which notably include Harvey Nichols and Louis Vuitton outlets, has greatly expanded the Leeds retail base. The Victoria Quarter, several existing arcades connected together by roofing the entirety of Queen Victoria Street with stained glass, is located off Briggate, Leeds\' main shopping street. Other popular shopping attractions include the Corn Exchange, Leeds Kirkgate Market, Granary Wharf, Leeds Shopping Plaza, Headrow Shopping Centre, The Light, The St John\'s Centre, The Merrion Centre Leeds, Crown Point, Birstall Retail Park and the White Rose Centre. In addition, there are also 2 proposed shopping developments, namely the Eastgate Quarters and Trinity Quarter.

Music

Main articles: Music in Leeds and List of bands originating in Leeds

Artists

Leeds has produced many notable acts, some recent examples being the Kaiser Chiefs, The Music, the Pigeon Detectives and Corinne Bailey Rae. Other acts from Leeds include The Wedding Present - who once had 12 new hit singles in the same calendar year, a feat unmatched by any other artist - Chumbawamba and Melanie B, of the Spice Girls. The punk band Gang of Four formed when they met at Leeds University.

Dance music and the clubbing scene

House Music had a big impact on Leeds when it arrived in the late 1980s. Early house nights included Downbeat at the Warehouse, Meltdown at the Astoria in Harehills, and Joy and Kaos at various temporary venues, along with a thriving Shebeen or "Blues" scene in Chapeltown.

Along with Sheffield and Bradford, Leeds was a centre for the Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass scene in 1989–1990, with influential local bands such as LFO, Nightmares on Wax, Ital Rockers, Unit 93 and Juno on Sheffield\'s Warp Records and Leeds\' Bassic Records.

Dance band Utah Saints hit the top ten several times between 1991 and 1993.

The earlier underground house scene developed into the Leeds club scene of the 1990s, when for a while Leeds held the title of Britain\'s clubbing capital. Both Back to Basics and mixed gay night Vague enjoyed the title of best club in Britain at different points in the decade, whilst The Orbit in Morley was an internationally recognised techno mecca (Orbit closed in the late 1990s and was replaced by a restaurant).

DIY scene

Leeds is very well-known for its current DIY underground music scene, with all genres well represented from hardcore,post-punk, and noise rock, electronica, indie pop, dub reggae, dubstep and folk. There is a vibrant and active community based around the