Watch Self Esteem drive a Sheffield bus named in her honour

There are not many pop stars that get a bus named after them. but Rebecca Lucy Taylor – aka Self Esteem – has won that accolade in her home city of Sheffield.

First Bus Sheffield transformed one of their working buses with all the stylings and some lyrics from her hit album, Prioritise Pleasure, and what’s more Rebecca got behind the wheel to take it for a spin.

The unveiling of the Self Esteem bus is part of First Bus’s new Walk Of Fame project, which celebrates the greats of the City’s music scene by putting their images on the side of their buses.

Rebecca put her abilities to the ultimate test on the Blockbuster Driving Challenge taking on a series of nerve-shredding manoeuvres, and you can see the rookie bus driver in action here: 

Self Esteem has sold out Sheffield’s O2 Academy twice over, and is now preparing for a huge hometown outdoor performance at The Don Valley Bowl this July when the Rock’n’Roll Circus rolls into town. 

Shortlisted for the Mercury Prize 2022 for Prioritise Pleasure, Self Esteem is also due to perform tracks from the record at Wembley Stadium this summer when she opens for Blur.

Dubbed by the company as Sheffield’s Walk of Fame, this initiative has already unveiled a special bus dedicated to Reverend And The Makers, with plans for similar buses commemorating Richard Hawley and the under threat Leadmill music and arts venue already in motion. 

“As a company we are proud of our connection to the great city of Sheffield and all those people involved in carrying its name both locally and across the world,” says Ian Smith, commercial director at First Sheffield.

“They show that the words ‘Made in Sheffield’ still mean something to be proud of. We are teaming up with famous and not-so-famous artists who have put Sheffield firmly on the map and who have all, and still do, use the public transport network across the city when they are home.”

Each nominated artist is invited to take on the driving challenge at the home of First Bus in Olive Grove. They tackle several tricky driving manoeuvres and challenges, including driving down a course blindfolded.

Not surprisingly given it’s a rock’n’roll challenge there are some choice words as they try to manoeuvre their bus around the course, and you can watch what happened when Jon McClure from Reverend And The Makers took the wheel:

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Words by Paul Clarke, you can find his author’s archive here