'My café closed after 12 years – I turned the heartbreak into a song' – Leeds Mrs Atha’s founder on new single

Having spent 12 years trading on Central Street in the city centre, the Leeds-born musician and father-of-three faced an abrupt change - channelling both pain and hope into his new single, Daylight Robbery.

More than just a business, Mrs. Atha’s was a cherished community hub where thousands found comfort - a sentiment echoed by the many who shared their deep affection for the shop.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Warren said the song’s lyrics capture both loss and pride, emerging as a form of self-healing.

“On the last day of the shop, so many people literally were in tears, you know, like, holding me,” he said. “And I'm literally talking about grown men… the shop meant so much to so many different people, for so many different reasons.”

Composed in a single, cathartic 15-minute burst, 'Daylight Robbery' conveys Warren's raw emotions and the unwavering support of the Mrs. Atha’s community.

He recalled: “I sat down with the guitar and it just came out. It was, it was as simple as that. I went downstairs, I said to the missus, ‘Can I just play you this song? I think it’s decent.’

“And I literally couldn't finish singing it to her, and I just started crying. It was the first time I actually really let the emotions, the pain of it, wash over me.”

Mrs. Atha’s had long been a cherished fixture of the city centre, drawing regulars and newcomers alike. However, like many neighbouring businesses, it struggled due to ongoing construction projects that severely impacted Central Street's accessibility and customer traffic.

He reflected on the closure: “The shop was 12 years of my life, intensely entrenched in everything that I did. All of a sudden, that's not there, and all of these feelings of loss.'

Yet, he found a redemptive quality in the experience, saying: “I feel love, I feel pride, I feel happiness at what we did and all the lives that were lived there.”

At the time, Warren described the two years leading up to the closure as a “long, painful and heartbreaking” battle and the “cruellest and most infuriating time”.

Warren said: “There's obviously some resentment on my part about how it went down. But the whole process has been such a catharsis, that I feel in such a much better place than I could possibly have imagined.

With a background in bands including Ryder and The French 75s, Warren recorded the country-inspired song in Tileyard North in Wakefield. It was produced by Leon Pashley and features locally sourced talent. He explained: “Seven local artists, people I know who have supported me, contributed to the choir part of the song.

“When we were trying to get the concept for the song, we looked at hiring a choir, but it was really expensive. Ultimately, we spoke to lots of other singers and managed to coerce them all into a room at the same time and recorded this small part, which we could then double-track and loop, and it just sounds absolutely amazing.”

Even if music doesn’t become a new livelihood, Warren’s motivation is connection and pride in the work: “Whatever happens with the single. Whether it does well, whether it gets a million streams, it's actually not relevant to me now. The process - the getting to write it, getting to record it, getting to release it, getting to feel the love from other people, that's enough for me.”

Daylight Robbery is out now on all major streaming platforms.