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Reverend and the Makers are an Indie Funk Electro band based in Sheffield , England and signed to Wall Of Sound . They are the brainchild of Sheffield's Reverend, ''AKA'' Jon McClure. STORY Jon McClure was born in Grenoside in 1982, and grew up there with his parents and brother Chris. He studied History & Politics at the University of Sheffield, where he met many musical friends and colleagues although he has known Ed Cosens since childhood and in Notre Dame High School - Sheffield. PREVIOUS PROJECTS Judan Suki McClure's first band was Judan Suki , which featured Ed Cosens and Laura Manuel from The Makers . The name Judan Suki, is Japanese meaning 'being kicked in the weak spot' which McClure believed related directly to the music. Judan Suki was nothing more than a laugh and an experiment by McClure. During its life, Judan Suki had approximately 20 members throughout their time including Alex Turner and Matt Helders who later went-on to form Arctic Monkeys with some friends from their school. In 2004 the band downsized from eight members, to five. The band simply including McClure, Ed Cosens as well as Karl Kelly on bass and Matt Holt, with Laura Manuel still on backing vocals. It was at this time that Judan Suki were playing for decent sized record companies, although he felt that the band were not good enough to be signed, a sentiment he kept to Reverend and The Makers as his perfectionist attitude forced songs from the album to be re-recorded delaying the bands releases. Judan Suki became well known within Sheffield and headlined venues such as the Boardwalk in 2002. The band were notable for their cover of "Brothers on the Slide" by Cymande although a studio version was never recorded by the band. However the song did feature on a recent mixtape compiled by McClure. 1984 McClure's next project was 1984 , the band were named after The Novel by George Orwell , which McClure recalls as one of his favourite books. Again, Ed Cosens stuck with Jon, and co-wrote many of 1984's songs as well as all of Reverend and the Makers. The band also included Judan Suki bassist Karl Kelly and drummer David "Chalky" White. The band shared a short life from 2004 to 2005 and McClure's strong views against the Iraq War meant that many of Jon's lyrics, vocals and outlook had an angrier edge to them. There are clear links and continuations with the lyrics and ideas of 1984 to those of Reverend & the Makers and ' God Is In The TV ' which is one of the b-sides on the forth-coming single, was originally a 1984 song. 1984 came to an end when McClure decided he was ready to start getting "serious" as he did not want to be "just another guitar band" or part of a Yorkshire Music Scene which NME catogorised the band shortly before the band split in 2005. The lyric "dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984" from the arctic monkeys song "I bet you look good on the dance floor", is a reference to John's band, 1984. Maintaining Alex Turner's close link with McClure, who provided much of Turner's inspiration in his early songwriting days. FORMATION OF REVEREND AND THE MAKERS In late 2005, McClure once again collected musicians together for his new project: Reverend and The Makers. The original Makers, like previouse bands included co-songwriter Ed Cosens, this time playing to ( Bass ). The rest of the makers consisted of Dave Sanderson ( Guitars ), Joe Moskow ( Keyboards ), Richy Westley (drums, ex- Hoggboy) and Laura Manuel ( Vocals ), and occasionally Simon Stafford on trombone. Sanderson was dismissed in July 2006 after the band completed their first headline UK tour and replaced by Gledhill guitarist Tom Jarvis, who continues to play with both bands. At this time a percussionist, Stuart, was also added to the band's line-up. Stuart is the cousin of Eddie The Kid . Demos and Live Reverend and The Makers released a 9-track demo in 2006, entitled " Ten Songs ." The artwork included a tracklist with ten songs, Track 10 being "Paris at Night" However this song was not made available for download; it only surfaced on the Internet in August 2007. The demos were recorded at 2Fly Studios, and produced by Alan Smyth , McClure acknowledges the work Smyth put into the Demos by accrediting the debut single; "Heavyweight Champion of The World" as McClure/Cosens/Smyth. Reverend and the Makers' music is a mix of indie guitar pop, Electronica and a touch of Madchester -esque funk. Indeed, some of the Internet demos feature members of other notable Sheffield bands such as Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys Tim Hampton, Bromheads Jacket and Mike Hughes, Little Ze . One of Reverend's inspirations is Manchester Performance Poet John Cooper Clarke and Reverend often performs his own poems, of a similar style, in between songs during his live sets. One of the B-sides to the debut single "Heavyweight Champion of the World" is a poem entitled "Last Resort" in which John Cooper Clarke and McClure read alternate stanzas. This poem was also duetted live when the band played live at Shoreditch's Spread Eagle in the first tour in May 2006. Reverend's lyrics are a particular attraction. His down-to-earth, cynical and observant outlook on modern-day life are captured in refreshing, cutting and highly intelligent verses and delivered in a striking deep voice spoken in a notable Yorkshire Accent . In April 2006, Reverend and the Makers were support to the Arctic Monkeys on their sell-out UK tour (same management), exposing the band to larger audiences and bigger venues. This was followed by their own first UK tour in May and June, selling-out dates in Shoreditch ( London ) and The Plug in home-town Sheffield on the final night. A second tour followed in October 2006, showing great progression as a band. The sound was much tighter and far more advanced than on their previous tour. Jarvis had given a lot more strength to the guitar element and was certainly a catalyst in the progression of the band. Reverend Soundsystem Reverend also hosts a monthly clubnight on the first Saturday of every month named "Reverend Soundsystem" at The Plug in Sheffield , and has also hosted one event at Manchester's Po Na Na. The Soundsystem has featured a number of illustrious guest DJ's such as Mani ( Stone Roses / Primal Scream ), Peter Hook ( New Order ), Tony Wilson ( Factory Records ), Andy Nicholson (ex- Arctic Monkeys , aka. Andygun ), Chris McClure (face of the Arctic Monkeys debut album cover ( Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not ) and brother of Jon), Terry Hall ( The Specials ), Milburn , Bez and Arctic Monkeys as well as live performances from The Sunshine Underground , Gas Club , Stoney , 747s , The Hosts and White Rose Movement . Signing to Wall of Sound Late 2005, fellow Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys released their debut single, and McClure was hounded by major record labels, reportedly offering him sums of up to £150,000 to make an album like Arctic Monkeys. Although McClure was on the dole at this time, he resisted the temptation, and decided to do everything his own way, managing to sell out the 1,000 capacity Plug in Sheffield twice, while still unsigned. It was not until the following year that McClure met Mark Jones in a club in London when he asked him for a lighter. The two got talking and Mark Jones came to see Reverend and the Makers at the next show. Jones reportedly proclaimed the band as the 'best band in the world' and signed them to his label Wall Of Sound Records . Debut single and tour Reverend and the Makers undertook nationwide tour and date for their long-awaited first release. The tour included dates in Wakefield , Leeds , Nottingham , Liverpool , Sunderland , Birmingham , Bristol , London , Brighton , Middlesbrough , Stockton , Leicester , Sheffield , Hull , Manchester , Newcastle , Barnsley and a second date in London respectively. The band are also set to play more dates in July and many festivals over the summer period including Glastonbury Festival , Carling Weekend , T In The Park and T4 On The Beach . Their first release was the single " Heavyweight Champion Of The World " on 28th May 2007 and featured the B-Sides "18-30" and "The Last Resort" featuring John Cooper Clarke . The single takes its name from a line from " A Kestrel For A Knave " a novel by Barry Hines and another favourite book of McClure. The single is available on both CD and 7" vinyl formats, including a limited edition "White Vinyl." The single was released on download on the 6th May and reached #38 in the UK single chart on download only. The album, entitled " The State Of Things ", was recorded over the Christmas period and is to be released on Wall of Sound on 17th September 2007. On April 30 , 2007 Reverend and the Makers performed " Heavyweight Champion Of The World " and a cover of Kelis 's "Trick Me" on Radio 1's Live Lounge with Jo Whiley . Reverend Mixtape At the Leadmill venue in Sheffield on May 27 , 2007, approximately 200 CD's entitled '' And Whilst The World Was Asleep We Were Listening To... '' were handed out to the fans. It is reported that more copies will be available later in the year in independent record shops. The cover featured a poem by McClure on the back "Just Like His Dad" which is a b-side to the fourthcoming single "He Said He Loved Me." The mixtape features songs from Cymande, Pixeltan, The Clash and Love. The CD opens with an alternative version of "The Last Resort" which only features McClure's verses and has a synth backing. TRIVIA The Reverend is known for his questionable dancemoves while on stage, these moves are referenced in the Arctic Monkey 's debut single " I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor " with the lyrics "Dancing like a robot from 1984 ." DISCOGRAPHY Singles
Mixtape
Album
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