VIA PRESS RELEASE | 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 July 17–19, 2026.
The weekend will see Pulp play the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday July 18, 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—a matinee set at 3pm, and an evening show at 8pm.
On Sunday, July 19, 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, July 17, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, before producing a new staging of Hannah Patterson’s debut novel Ungone in the Purcell Rooms on Saturday 18 July.
For all events except Pulp, a presale for Southbank Centre Members starts on Wednesday, 15 April at 2pm (all times BST), before tickets go on general sale at 2pm on Thursday, April 16.
A Pulp presale for Southbank Centre Members will take place from 10am on Friday, April 17, with a presale for Pulp’s mailing list subscribers starting at 10am on Monday, April 20. Tickets for the show will then go on general sale from 2pm on Monday, April 20.
“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.”
Welcoming the Rough Trade takeover, Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, adds: “Rough Trade Records is a true icon of British culture—a label that has continually shaped, challenged and expanded our national sound. As we mark the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary this year, we’re proud to keep a finger on the creative pulse of a constantly changing cultural landscape, acknowledging the great icons and change-makers of our time while championing the independent voices pushing music forward. Celebrating Rough Trade’s past and present artists on our stages feels like a natural part of that journey.”
Geoff Travis opened the doors to the first Rough Trade shop in West London in 1976, and following a couple of years of selling other people’s records, he and the shop’s staff soon started releasing their own as the store became a nexus for the DIY spirit ignited by the nascent punk scene. With many artists and bands frequently visiting Rough Trade to purchase records, soon the requests for help with their own music became irresistible, leading to the label’s first single, “Paris Marquis” by French punks Métal Urbain, in 1977.
From that fateful moment onwards, Rough Trade went on to become the home for a diverse range of artists including the likes of The Smiths, Mazzy Star, Princess Nokia, Aztec Camera, Dean Blunt, Robert Wyatt, Warpaint, Cabaret Voltaire, The Strokes, Alabama Shakes, The Fall and continues to release genre-defining music today by the likes Amyl & The Sniffers, Lankum, Sleaford Mods, and many more, under the stewardship of Travis and co-MD Jeannette Lee.
“The judgment of what is released on the Rough Trade label devolved from the original collective to me quite quickly. Benign dictatorship, I call it. And then when Jeannette Lee joined me in 1988, it changed to our decision jointly,” notes Travis of Rough Trade’s evolution from shop to label and beyond. “We are proud of the artists that have graced our label for all these 50 years, some of whom you will be seeing at this weekend. And it could never have happened without the work of John Kemp, Jo Slee, Steve Montgomery, Ken Davidson, and Richard Scott at the very beginning. To all of whom I am eternally grateful.”
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 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 also has a long association with Rough Trade and a fresh new connection. 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.
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 embraces the spirit of improvisation and unpredictability, making their concert 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, 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 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 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.
