The amazing story of Sheffield-based Studio Electrophonique, the home studio that helped launch some of Britain’s most beloved bands, including ABC, The Human League, Heaven 17, Clock DVA and Pulp. The Sheffield space age began in 1961, when local mechanic Ken Patten won a tape-recording competition by recreating the sound of a rocket launch using a pencil and a bicycle pump. In the decades that followed, the makeshift home studio he constructed became the launch pad for a group of young musicians who would shape the futuristic sound of 1980s pop. The Human League, Heaven 17, Pulp, ABC and others made their early recordings with Ken, whose DIY ethic was the perfect fit for a city facing industrial decline but teeming with ideas. Studio Electrophonique tells the story of a generation seeking new frontiers in music, using everything they could lay their hands on – from science fiction novels to glam rock, Dada art and cheap electronics – to get there. Drawing on original interviews with Jarvis Cocker, Martyn Ware, Mark White and others, it brings to light a world of humour, charm, creativity and unfounded yet undaunted self-belief. This event will consist of a screening of Jamie Taylor’s documentary, A Film about Studio Electrophonique (Cold Tap Films, 2022), followed by a discussion between Jamie Taylor and BBC Radio 6 Music’s DJ Deb Grant about his new book, Studio Electrophonique: The Sheffield space age, from The Human League to Pulp (Manchester University Press, 2025).