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Manchester Evening News

Entertainment

Bethan Shufflebotham

Reverend and the Makers bring a 'Heatwave In The Cold North' at Manchester Academy

Manchester Academy (Organization) Makers REV Manchester Sheffield AO Arena Revs

“I don’t care who you are, where you come from, what your politics are, how old you are,” said Jon McClure as his band Reverend and the Makers make their way onto the stage at the Manchester Academy to the Rocky theme tune. “You’ve got to bounce.”

The commander asked and Rev’s Army’ dutifully obliged. It’s impossible not to when they’re bringing out ‘banger after banger’. The Manchester gig forms part of the Sheffield band’s first live tour in four years. Formed in 2005, Jon McClure and his collective of musicians burst onto the scene with their top five charting debut album, The State of Things.

Opening at the Academy with the title track, the Rocky soundtrack seemed apt. This was only round one, and the Revs had come out swinging.

The five albums since have seen the band move through several incarnations, sounds and line ups and experience all the highs - and most of the lows - that the music industry has to offer, but it was Covid-19 that saw Jon worry the most about income, since his wife Laura is also a member of the band.

He said: “I thought ‘how the f*** am I going to make money? I’m in a band and I can’t gig, and my wife’s in a band with me and she can’t have a gig. Luckily I managed to pull a few strings together and record a new album.”

Reverend and The Makers at Manchester Academy - February 16, 2023 (Bethan Shufflebotham)

Now, a band would typically release an album before heading on tour, but the Yorkshireman and his musicians aren’t the conventional types. Not to mention the fact that, in an impressive unbroken run, each of their albums have reached the Top 20 in the UK album charts.

The first single from the new album ‘Heatwave In The Cold North’ has already received a wave of radio support, so it feels as familiar to fans as some of their old classics.

The sun drenched Barry White-inspired soul bop from forthcoming album of the same name has become their biggest hit in over a decade, followed by the softly-spangled psychedelic soul of b-side High - an ode to Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and long, hazy afternoons.

I Hate It When You Lie was well received by fans, as well as Problems, for which Jon brought out The Ramona Flowers’ singer Steve Bird to sing with him. The Sheffield singer joked that the support act were ‘like if Stranger Things made music’, but I’m convinced that if Venca was out to get me, it’s the Revs that would bring me back from the Upside Down.

Spotting a young fan, no older than 10 in the crowd, Jon - a father-of-two - told him ‘it’s going to get rowdy in here’, inviting the little lad and his parents to sit side-of-stage for the rest of the night.

And rowdy it got as they performed Open Your Window, Shine A Light and Heavyweight Champion Of The World in quick succession, proving that the Sheffield quintet aren’t just here to push their latest tunes, but provide a nostalgic experience of their best-loved back catalogue, and give fans a night they’d certainly struggle to forget.

Tracks like Miss Brown and Bandits served as a reminder of the band’s ska sensibilities, the 41-year-old frontman bouncing around the stage with his knees higher than anyone. The female members of the band are absolute live wires on stage, too - synth-whizz Laura McClure and bassist Antonia Pooles injecting sass and style to the set. They are nothing short of electric.

In fact, there’s something about watching Reverend and the Makers live that gives you a rush of new-found vigour. Jon’s practically plugged into the mains but as a whole they’re a catalyst of energy that seems to send shockwaves through the audience.

Club banger Bassline seamlessly followed MDMAZING, once again showing that Reverend and the Makers aren’t your average indie band, but have seen themselves build, innovate and grow musically and artistically over the last two decades.

Manchester's own Lottery Winners also got a shout out from the band, too, commending their 'working class music' and citing them as one of his favourite bands. He added: "I used to think I wanted to be a cool b***ard, and then I thought I wanna be Paul Heaton, or Madness, or Slade, or the Lottery Winners - people's music!"

And music for the people really was on the menu, rounding off the rambunctious 90-minute set were some of the bands most popular, crowd-pleasing plays, with The Rev orchestrating a throng of some 2,000 people - from the front to the back - to bounce as they erupted into Out Of The Shadows.

By He Said He Loved Me, fans are practically ready to burst, but it was the trumpet sample of War’s Low Rider, played by Laura, that finally sent fans into overdrive as they closed the show with Silence Is Talking, the catchy hook of which found itself chanted through the streets of Manchester as crowds flooded out of the building.

The Reverend’s story is one of the great survival tales of the British music scene as charisma, talent, defiance and sheer willpower sees the band start a new chapter, reenergized and raring to go.

Typically when bands perform live after nearly 20 years, it can feel like they’re doing it for ‘the good old days’, but for Reverend and The Makers, the best is yet to come, their latest album armed to the teeth with an arsenal of their biggest, best and most accessible and ambitious songs to date. It's an exciting era for the Sheffield melody-makers, with Jon desperate to come back to Manchester soon - but on an even bigger scale. "AO Arena next time, yeah?"