She has become a huge star in recent years with hits like Truth Hurts, Good as Hell and About Damn Time
Lizzo performing in the Shipping Forecast for Sound City in 2014(Image: Liverpool Sound City)
In the last five years, Lizzo has become a globally acclaimed pop star with tours all over the world and millions of records sold. But for a select few people she will forever be remembered for a night downstairs at the Shipping Forecast on Slater Street in May 2014 during Liverpool’s annual Sound City festival.
After releasing her hip-hop album Lizzobangers album in 2013, it was thanks to her shift to pop with songs including the likes of Truth Hurts, Good as Hell and About Damn Time that she has managed to grow a worldwide fanbase and be awarded four Grammy awards.
One of those that had managed to secure a spot in the city centre venue in 2014 was Anfield Wrap podcast host, Neil Atkinson. He told the ECHO: “I was well aware we were seeing someone who was bigger than the event, even at that point in her career, she was bigger than the venue, bigger than the number of us who were there, because that’s sometimes what you used to get at Sound City.
Neil Atkinson(Image: Supplied/Neil Atkinson)
“It felt a little bit incongruous in and among Sound City, but it was still really, really cool and I remember it being a really good gig, tonnes and tonnes of energy.
“At one point, she asked for a male volunteer from the audience, and some lad was sort of pushed into getting up. When he was up there, he got tied down with feather bows and danced with, in a bit of a Janet Jackson style way.”
Besides her flamboyant antics on stage, it was evident to all in the 60-strong audience that they were witnessing the start of something special.
Stuart Mather from Wirral, said: “I remember that Neil and I went together. I think we had colluded beforehand that we were going to check her out because we had both either listened to her first album, Lizzobangers or we had been playing her song Batches & Cookies to death.
Lizzo is now a worldwide star (Image: Getty Images for Amazon)
“There was no stage. She was literally standing there with a semicircle of an audience around her. She was sensational and an absolute charisma machine. We all just sort of left thinking how incredible it was. You could tell that she was a superstar in the making.”
Meanwhile, Mark Keeley, who had been in the audience with his wife that night, said: “Her attitude and brashness added to her obvious talent was all there in the live performance from the start.”
Stuart Mather(Image: Supplied/Stuart Mather)
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Besides Lizzo, over the years, Sound City has managed to host a number of artists before their steep rise to fame.
Managing director of Sound City, Becky Ayres, said: “We also had Ed Sheeran playing in Bumper, which was on Hardman Street, Fontaines D.C. played in Cains Brewery, Sam Fender played in On Air.
“Sound City has always been the reason why a lot of these artists have come to Liverpool, because we book them and we just saw something in them.”
Becky Ayres, Managing Director at Sound City(Image: Phoebe Lees)
Stuart added: “It is interesting because I was at Glastonbury in 2023 and I was walking past the stage with a bunch of mates and saying that I saw her in the basement of a pub about 10 years ago, which was pretty mad.
“I am sure there have been other people on the Sound City line-ups that have gone on to be global megastars, but Lizzo in 2014 was quite something.”