 | | Jon 'Reverend' McClure (pic: Chris Clunn) |
After all, if he’s got one thing, it’s an opinion. In fact, he’s so well-known amongst his friends for spouting off about stuff that it’s earned him the nickname, Reverend, though the only preaching he does is from a speaker stack, not a pulpit. "I’m a bit of a right-on brother, I like telling people how it is. It’s not a religious thing. Me and God aren’t the best of friends. But you know, here I am, the Reverend." It’s those opinions that have forced Jon to the forefront of the bustling Sheffield music scene, where he’s been selling out venues and garnering praise for a couple of years now. Definitely not the Monkeys Indeed, such is his status that he could have already had his cake and eaten it had he been prepared to bend a little, a notion is as alien to the Reverend as the idea of chips without Henderson’s Relish. | "I’m hardly lacking in confidence in my own art, but he’s something else. If I could get into that zone lyrically, I’d be a very happy man." | | The Reverend on Salford's punk poet, John Cooper Clarke |
"It’s been a difficult path to do it in my own way, because obviously, when the whole Arctic Monkeys thing kicked off, I got loads of offers saying ‘take this deal and make us a substandard copy of their record’. "I was like, **** off, there’s no way I’m doing that. I’m a genius and I’m going to make the best record ever. And it’s been a struggle for people to believe that. "You get a lot of musicians saying they’re in it for the music, but they’re careerists after fame and money, so for people to believe me that I’m trying to make an artistic statement and do something different has been difficult, but we’re nearly there now." The punk-poet cometh While his music sets him apart from the bunch on that side of the Pennines, on this, it’s that duet with John Cooper Clarke that sparks interest before anything else. To the Reverend, they’re the perfect sparring partners, even if he did find himself a little overawed in the Salford poet’s presence.
 | | John Cooper Clarke |
"We’ve got some mutual friends, so when I’d done some demos, I passed them through to John and he dug what I was doing. I went to see him perform and he started singing one of the songs, so I got backstage to thank him. In my mind, he’s the only genius I’ve ever met. I think he’s amazing. "He has a respect for what I do as much as I have a respect for him, because I started out as a poet, but he’s awesome. To work with someone like that on a level is amazing. I mean, I’m hardly lacking in confidence in my own art, but he’s something else. If I could get into that zone lyrically, I’d be a very happy man. "But the duet comes from both of us. We did it first when we played a gig in Brixton and John happened to come down. I got him up on stage and we did it like a rap battle. It was that good that I thought we have to do this again. "So Jon came over and did it in the studio and he had us in hysterics. He’s really good fun to work with." Making the band That spirit of camaraderie and collaboration doesn’t just extend to legends. Jon named his band The Makers because that’s exactly what they do: make his music.
 | | Jon 'Reverend' McClure (pic: Chris Clunn) |
"If you look at things like hip-hop, people collaborate all the time, but in white indie guitar music, there seems to be an idea of saying ‘this is mine, you can’t touch it’. It’s rubbish. You don’t walk down the street every day and only hear only one voice. That’s not real, it’s not an accurate way of reflecting society. "So that’s why I called it Reverend and the Makers, because it’s not just me. There’s the band and there’s other people on there too. It’s a very collaborative thing." Say what you see And just as he is passionate about how the music is made, he’s equally intense about it having honesty and allowing him to hold a mirror up to society. "I’m talking about subjects that most people are frightened to talk about, because they’re too concerned with their careers or alienating their target audience. "We live in the most turbulent times in living history but you wouldn’t know it from listening to the Fratellis or someone like that. Whilst music can be escapism, to completely deny what is happening in the world is ridiculous. "Musicians, generally speaking, are an intelligent bunch, so it’s not like they’re ignorant of these things, they’re just too scared. People celebrate rebellion and musicians who were rebels like Lennon, Marley and Dylan, but they won’t be a rebel themselves. They’ll stick a poster of Che Guevara on their wall but they won’t have a clue who he is or what he stood for. It’s bull****." A rock star who’s prepared to actually tackle the issues of the day while also making great accessible pop music… amen to that. Reverend and the Makers are at the Roadhouse on Wednesday 30 May. The debut single, Heavyweight Champion Of The World, is out on Monday 28 May on Wall Of Sound. | 
