Made in Sheffield

Subtitled "the birth of electronic pop," Eve Wood's Made in Sheffield takes viewers back to the late '70s/early '80s in the titular English steel town, where bands such as ABC, Cabaret Voltaire, Human League, and Heaven 17 took advantage of the fact that punk had kicked the doors down, musically speaking, to create a machine-influenced sound marrying the nascent techno sound of Kraftwerk with pop, eventually helping to usher in the New Wave (and still echoed in the music of artists and bands as diverse as BT and Radiohead). Primarily comprised of interview clips (including Cabaret Voltaire's Chris Watson, Heaven 17's Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, ABC's John Skeffington, Human League's Phil Oakey, 2.3's Paul Bower, and music critic Andy Gill) that are occasionally more nostalgic than insightful, the film also features a number of concert and song snippets. Unfortunately, with the exception of ABC's "The Look of Love" and Human League's "Don't You Want Me," the major songs from the movement are simply not heard here (such as Heaven 17's "Penthouse and Pavement," which is a defining example). DVD extras include 75 minutes of bonus interview footage, nine minutes of concert footage featuring bands that didn't make the transition to top of the pops (Artery, I'm So Hollow, Vice Versa), and an informative booklet. A bit repetitive and minus the music that would have illustrated why these bands were important, Made in Sheffield may not be the best treatment of the subject, but at present it's the only one available, and therefore should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)