The Rock N Roll Circus has built a name for showcasing the cream of South Yorkshire’s musical crop at their weekend-long festival at Don Valley Bowl. So far, we’ve seen the likes of Self Esteem, Richard Hawley and Milburn take to the Big Top Stage. With Sheffield’s own Reverend and the Makers celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2025, it’s no surprise they’ll be headlining next year’s event.
Frontman Jon McClure has curated his own Saturday lineup, featuring Groove Armada, Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, The Lottery Winners, The Everly Pregnant Brothers, Harriet Rose and disco party Day Fever, with plenty more to be announced.
Last month, Exposed’s Joe Food caught up with The Rev himself to discuss, amongst various other bits, 20 years in the music industry, making a soulful new record and the all-day bash he’s putting together to celebrate the milestone in style.
20 chuffin’ years, Jon. Does it feel like that long or still like yesterday when you were selling out places like Plug as an unsigned band?
It feels more like 100 years to be honest, mate! I’ve had a bit of a mad career, haven’t I? There have been loads of different eras for me: internet sensation, Alex Turner’s best mate, the indie/Oasis fucker, that gobshite off Twitter, Jeremy Corbyn fanboy…
Where would you say you’re at now?
Erm, let’s go for ‘elder statesman’.
Nice place to be.
Yeah, it is. Basically, if Richard Hawley is Don Corleone – or Don Hawley-eone – then I’m basically like a capo, right?
Yes. You’re still kicking up to Hawley.
I do kick up to Hawley. And this a serious point, here. You get these people like Hawley, Martyn Ware, Nick Banks, and I do go to them for advice. Even though I’ve got 20 years behind me in this game, I don’t think I’ve got all the answers. Those guys have been there and done it and can pass down the knowledge. Just the other day, Hawley was telling me that I needed to calm down, needed to breathe more, and he showed me this trick to slow my heart rate. I listen to those guys in the same way that they probably listened to Joe Cocker or anyone else from their day.
But to flip that around, I try my best to pass down advice and help out younger musicians coming through if they want it. I’ve got Harriet Rose on the bill for the Rock N Roll Circus show as well as Lottery Winners, who I’ve just done a tune with and it’s doing really well.
On that note, who were you looking up to when you were first getting into bands and cutting your musical teeth?
Probably Pulp if you’re talking Sheffield. They provided the realisation that you could be from Sheffield and be in a reyt cool band. I suppose to a lesser extent there was also Longpigs. On a more local level, there was a band called Lazy Dollies who played a showcase at the Virgin Megastore, so we thought they were like the Beatles or summat. But back then, a lot of people would go to London whenever they had some success with music. This was before the digital era, but you no longer have to go to London with a cap in your hand; you can stay here, be inspired by things here.
Where do you get those inspiration kicks from these days? What’s the secret to keeping the creative process fresh after two decades?
My thing is to surround myself with creative people and talk to them. If I bump into Pete McKee in the pub or something, I’ll talk to him and try to glean something from what goes on in his mind. Or there’s people like Mark Herbert, boss at Warp Films, who I might speak to about some mad new film they’re making. There’s a young artist from Sheff, Conor Rogers, and his stuff can inspire me too. It might never come out directly in a tune, but creativity is a muscle, and you can be inspired by different mediums.
I’ve also changed my process in terms of how I make music, and every tune I’ve brought out since then has done really well in terms of getting picked up by radio and what have you. I’ve changed things up, using a different collaborator. I read this thing about how Bowie would flip up the cast he worked with, push himself in a different direction and give himself a different challenge. That’s a really important thing, especially coming from an indie band background: you can’t be trying to make the same record all the time.
What sort of record are you making now, because we’ve heard there’s one in the pipeline?
I’m a soul man now. I’ve canned the original recordings for this album because my dad was dying and I didn’t want to be distracted. I’ve got a single that I’ll have out around Christmas and it’s wild – unlike anything I’ve done before. It’s a bit like Elvis in Las Vegas. I’ve sent it around to a few people and the feedback has been incredible. I want to get the album right now, and it will be coming out around the same time as the Rock N Roll Circus gig next summer.
After having the type of year you’ve alluded to, I can imagine the Rock N Roll Circus show being an emotional one in front of a hometown crowd. Throw into the mix a huge milestone of 20 years with a band you’ve been on an incredible journey with. How are you looking forward to the event?
Day Fever’s going to be running all day, playing tunes in between the sets. Groove Armada are gonna be doing their bit, my old mates Carl and Pete – who need no introduction – Everly Pregnant Brothers and Steve Bracknall, so everyone can have a good laugh. You’ve also got some cracking younger talent in The Lottery Winners and Harriet Rose. I think that’s incredible value for 50-odd quid.
There have been loads of different eras for me: internet sensation, Alex Turner’s best mate, the indie/Oasis fucker, that gobshite off Twitter, Jeremy Corbyn fanboy…
Some quickfire questions to finish up. What’s been your proudest moment in 20 years with Reverend and the Makers?
I’d say getting in the Top 10 with the last album. It felt vindicating, showing that the first time wasn’t some flash-in-the-pan moment.
Biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band?
The decade after the noughties, when being in an indie band from the noughties was about the uncoolest thing you could be.
Finally, if you could go back to the start, what advice would you give to the young Jon McClure?
I wrote a song about it, ‘A Letter To My 21 Year Old Self’. Don’t say yes to everything. Don’t disguise your anxieties behind arrogance. Be kind to yourself and give yourself a break. Oh, and now I’d say it’s important to slow your heartbeat down, just like Hawley said!
Tickets for next year’s Rock N Roll Circus on Saturday 30 August are on sale now. General adult tickets start from £55.45 (VIP upgrades available) and can be purchased from rocknrollcircus.co.uk.
