Public Enemy given lift to Sheffield gig in back of Ford Focus

A photographer found himself acting as an unlikely hip-hop chauffeur after driving rap legends Public Enemy to a gig in Sheffield in the back of his Ford Focus.

Kevin Wells offered up his “ultimate homeboy car” to band members Flavor Flav and Chuck D to get them to Sheffield Arena in time after a taxi failed to pick them up from a signing in a local record shop.

Wells was the last in the queue to get his CD signed when a member of the Public Enemy entourage shouted out: “Does anyone have a car? We’re running late.”

The 50-year-old told the band he had his trusty Ford Focus parked down the road and would happily take them to Sheffield Arena, where they were due to be supporting The Prodigy 45 minutes later.

“It was very, very surreal,” Wells told the Guardian. “We all walked to the car – Flavor Flav, Chuck D and two of their entourage – and they all just piled in. I’m local to Sheffield so I know all the back streets to get there pretty sharpish so I didn’t feel too tense. I knew I could get them there in time.”

Unlike the 98 Oldsmobile favoured by the band in their track You’re Gonna Get Yours, Wells admitted his Ford was not bulletproof but said they had not encountered any hassle along the way – aside from a few red lights.

Wells said the multi-millionaire rap legends had proved to be very polite and amiable passengers, laughing and joking in the back seat, even as they kept receiving panicked phone calls from their managers and the venue to make sure they were going to turn up to the gig.

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He said: “They were just asking me where I came from and whether I was local to Sheffield. They were saying how amazed they were in England, how close together all the cities are, because they are used to travelling in the [United] States. They said they love that – though weren’t so big on the weather in England.”

The highlight of the journey, however, came as the car was coming through Attercliffe. “I had a compilation CD I’d made in the car,” said Wells. “It was on low but suddenly when Bohemian Rhapsody came on, one of the entourage at the front shouted ‘Bo Rap! Waynes World!’ and they all started headbanging in the back of the car.

“I kept looking in the rear view mirror and I could see Flava Flav with his sunglasses on and his big clock and I couldn’t believe it.”

After burning rubber down the side streets of Sheffield, Wells got the band to the arena in just 15 minutes. However, he then had trouble convincing the venue attendants that it was Public Enemy he had crammed into his back seat.

“They looked at me a bit funny, as if to say: ‘Yeah right we’ve heard that before.’ But then Chuck D flashed his pass and the attendant looked flustered and said: ‘Yes, I’m sorry, come through’ and he directed us to the backstage area”.

The band offered Wells guestlist for the show to say thank you but as the in-house photographer for both the Leadmill venue in Sheffield and the O2 arena, he had to dash off to take photographs of bands Scouting For Girls and the Enemy instead.

They all exchanged hugs and handshakes, and Wells got a selfie with the band, before they rushed off to prepare for their show that night.

He admitted that despite having a career photographing bands, he had never had such a close encounter with world-famous musicians. “They are my first famous passengers in my Ford Focus, but it’s a good one to dine out on for a few years,” he said.

Yet, Wells admitted that while personally he was now a big fan of Flavor Flav and Chuck D, he was still on the fence about Public Enemy’s music.

He said: “I like them but I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest fan. To be honest I wouldn’t say rap and hip-hop is my favourite kind of music but I do appreciate their stuff because they are one of the legends. So I’ve bought the new CD anyway.”