My Jukebox: Joe Cribley

My Jukebox is a chance to get up close and personal with the record collections (we live in the 21^st century and so Spotify discoveries are happily included alongside physical collections) of some of Sheffield’s well-known faces.


Recently we spoke with legendary local artist Tom J Newell and, next up to share his collection is Joe Cribley. A well-known face in the Sheffield hospitality scene, Joe was a key member of the team behind the Great Gatsby and the Manager of Picture House Social, working with many of Sheffield’s finest cocktail connoisseurs, artists and musicians. After several years in the trade, Joe stepped out on his own and created the much-loved piña bar in Kelham Island. Transformed from an old warehouse space into one of the coolest and most popular spots down at Kelham, piña has become a favourite local fixture. Adorned with a huge Kid Acne mural, the bar is run and managed by Joe and his team.


Lockdown may have shut piña’s doors temporarily, but their team showed some true Sheffield grit recently when 21 of them and their friends and families undertook the Hope is Strong 100 challenge -  running 100km over 10 days - in aid of Sheffield Hospitals Charity. The challenge was a great success and raised nearly £8,000 to support the efforts to deal with the Corona Virus pandemic.


Joe kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to share with Ear to the Ground what’s in his record collection.

What was the first album you bought?


“Nirvana’s ‘MTV Unplugged’. I must have been 11 or 12 and I remember listening to it back to back on an CD Walkman whilst on holiday in Morocco. Very nostalgic”.

What records make you happy?


“’1999’ by Joey Bada$$ takes me straight back to university days. Wolf People and Fain also takes me back to my early 20’s and bring back memories from a real fun few years. The same goes for Rodriguez and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats” 


What records remind you of home?


“Anything by Barry White or Stevie Wonder, my Dad’s two favourites. Mum also loves Neil Young and so his records do too”!

What are the most popular songs at piña?


“It’s super varied but we play a lot of World Disco, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. 'Tumbledown' by Merchant is a popular one”.

What tunes have you been listening to in lockdown?


“’Rumours’ by Fleetwood Mac and ‘Everything Else Has Gone Wrong’ (the title feels ironic at the moment!) by Bombay Bicycle Club are getting a lot of airtime. I’ve also had loads of running playlists on as we have completed the Hope is Strong 100 challenge and lots of Maribou State.”


What is your favourite album of all time? 


“Probably ‘1999’ by Joey Bada$$ for nostalgic reasons”.

What is your favourite song of all time?


“‘I Think of You’ by Rodriguez. The whole story of Rodriguez is just fascinating and lyrically he’s just incredible”.


Thanks to Joe for his time. To find out more about piña please visit http://barpina.co.uk/