Rick Witter gives inside track on Shed Seven's first studio album in 16 years

"That's the power of social media today. We've basically sold a record with no title, no song titles, no artwork, so it's totally different from the 1990s," says frontman Rick Witter.

He was reacting to Monday's album launch through Pledge Music and the Sheds' website that saw a sell-out rush for 777 signed vinyl copies; 777 signed limited-edition deluxe double CDs with a second disc of demos and alternative versions; seven signed test pressings; a £50-per-ticket Pledge Music acoustic set and fan Q&A in The Oak Room @ The Hospital Club, London, on November 15 and a £50-a-ticket intimate gig at the 200-seat Pocklington Arts Centre on November 25.

So, let's start putting the flesh on the bare bones with the aid of Rick, who first mooted the possibility of a new album in a surprise announcement in his Christmas interview with BBC 6Music's Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie in Thor's Tipi in York.

"Since we re-formed in 2007 after a four-year break, we've seen the love for Shed Seven grow and grow over the years," he says, reflecting on the ever-strengthening bond between fans as tribal as football supporters and York's most successful band of all time from Britpop's heyday.

Rick Witter: "We've seen the love for Shed Seven grow and grow"

"It's quite strange when all we were doing was picking songs from our catalogue to play at gigs, but by the seventh time we went out on the road again, it really felt like we were a fully functioning band once more and we found ourselves writing songs again.

"And we thought, 'hold on, there's something better here than we could ever have imagined', and before we knew it, we had 15 songs, and the great thing is that they're all good songs, rather than that old thing of thinking 'oh, we still need another three songs to fill out the album'. We're too proud to let anything be cr*p."

The Sheds have been writing and secretly demoing songs at The White Rooms recording studio in Osbaldwick Link Road, York. "Once we had enough to think about what we were going to do with them, we started to share them with people in the record industry," recalls Rick.

Back came the advice that Shed Seven needed to sort out a new management and come up with a strategy for financing and releasing an album. They duly signed to Various Artists Management (VAM), who already have the likes of The Libertines, Spiritualized, Charli XCX, Reverend And The Makers and Killing Joke on their books. "That's a broad spectrum of artists, and the good thing is that it takes the pressure off us as we've been managing ourselves for a while," says Rick.

Next came the link-up with Pledge Music, doyens of orchestrating bands raising the readies to make a record. "I was a bit cautious at first about Pledge because it had always seemed to me that it was like 'you give us your money and we make a record', which felt almost like begging, but with us it's not been like that. The music industry has changed now," says Rick.

"The songs sound like Shed Seven 2017 but very fresh," says Rick Witter

"We'd never have thought before of something like selling seven signed test pressings for £150 each, but this is something that Pledge does, so we now have nine, maybe ten months before the album comes out, and all through the year, if you've signed up to Pledge Music, there'll be things like video snippets of the recording sessions, so you can be part of the journey and you'll feel like you know the album even before it comes out. That's great because we have such hardcore fans, so it'll be like being in the band without the hassle of being me!"

Which label might release the album and where it might be recorded in the spring are yet to be set in stone. "All that's still up in the air, as we have two or three of the standard record labels with offers on the table, so we're sitting stroking our chins about which one to sign with, but we now have the money for recording the record," says Rick.

"There has been talk of going to Thailand to make the record because The Libertines' management shipped them out there to do theirs, and if we go to somewhere where we can't go home for three weeks, we'll definitely record intently rather than thinking 'we should be out clubbing'!"

Rick cannot reveal any song titles at this stage, but does say that he has enjoyed his resumption of filling notebooks with lyrics. "I guess it's still about just living your everyday life [as a 44-year-old husband and father in York, walking his daughter to primary school], and just keeping your eyes and ears open," he says.

"It's always been like this with Shed Seven songs, rather than thinking 'How are we going to do this?', it's just been natural. After 16 years, I've got my notebook out again, listening to people on buses, writing things down.

Shed Seven's last studio album: 2001's Truth Be Told

"The songs sound like Shed Seven 2017 but very fresh. I don't think you need to worry if you're a Shed Seven fan that it won't be typical Sheds with big choruses. The songs all deal with love, hate, fear, life, as usual: I'm not going to start writing about Donald Trump!"

A release date is pencilled in for December 22, the day before the closing gig of their biggest ever tour, #Shedcember2017, whose 15-date itinerary will take in three Yorkshire gigs, Sheffield O2 Academy on December 9, Leeds O2 Academy on December 18 and Hull City Hall on December 21.

"We'll probably release a new song in October, then maybe another in November. and play those and maybe two more on tour," reveals Rick, who will be rehearsing with the Sheds for two or three days at Pocklington Arts Centre before the November 25 warm-up.

As for the album title: "To be honest with you, the last discussion we had, we were favouring calling it Shed Seven, because we've never called an album after ourselves, it's a fresh start and we're all involved, so we could go for the eponymous title at last," says Rick.

General sales for the Shedcember2017 tour open tomorrow at gigsandtours.com and ticketmaster.co.uk. Shed Seven will be joined on tour by John Power's re-formed band Cast.

Charles Hutchinson