- Jon McClure
Infobox musical artist
Name = Jon McClure
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Jon McClure
Born =
Instrument =vocals
Genre =Indie rock
Occupation =Musician
Years_active =
Label =Wall of Sound
Associated_acts =Reverend and The Makers
Mongrel
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =Jon McClure, known as the Reverend, is lead singer and frontman of
Reverend and the Makers and ex-vocalist of 1984 and Judan Suki. He claims that that the name "Reverend" became hismoniker because "I'm a big mouth and always running on at people". [ [http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/703/music.asp Metropolis - Reverend and The Makers ] ]Jon McClure was born in
Grenoside in 1982, and grew up there with his parents and brother Chris. He studied history and politics at theUniversity 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 . He then dropped out of university to become a poet [ [http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=4476 Reverend and the Makers : Interviews ] ] , and began blogging on the internet. A close friendship developed withAlex Turner lead singer ofArctic Monkeys , who McClure met on a bus and asked if Turner wanted to join his band at the time Judan Suki. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/why-reverend-jon-mcclure-cant-be-satisfied-456094.html Why 'Reverend' Jon McClure can't be satisfied - Features, Music - The Independent ] ] Together the two have co-written songs includingHe Said He Loved Me , The Machine (both feature onThe State Of Things ) and Old Yellow Bricks (featuring onFavourite Worst Nightmare ). McClure cites his key influences as beingBob Marley ,Oasis andJohn Cooper Clarke . [ [http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtvuk/01062007/interview_reverend_and_the_makers Interview: Reverend And The Makers | MTV UK ] ] One of his favourite books isNineteen Eighty-Four , a novel byGeorge Orwell and inspiration for the name of his former band 1984. [ [http://www.virginradio.co.uk/music/artists/reverend_and_the_makers/biography/ Reverend And The Makers - Biography - Virgin Radio ] ]He shared a flat with frontman of
Arctic Monkeys , Alex Turner. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7034076.stm BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Reverend preaches the power of pop ] ]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 formArctic Monkeys with some friends from their school. In 2004 the band downsized from eight members, to five. The band 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" byCymande 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 second band was 1984, the band were named after the novel by
George Orwell , which McClure recalls, during an interview with theNME in August 2006 as one of the only books he's ever heard of when put on the spot about his favourite, he was too embarrassed to say 'The Dandy', which he later admits in a feature about the Sheffield uprising in "Sandman Magazine " in October 2006. 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 theIraq 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 and 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 aYorkshire Music Scene whichNME 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. Fact|date=September 2007 Maintaining Alex Turner's close link with McClure, who provided much of Turner's inspiration in his early songwriting days. [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/album_reviews/s/1016334_reverend_and_the_makers__the_state_of_things_wall_of_sound_ Reverend And The Makers - The State Of Things (Wall of Sound) - Album reviews - Music - Entertainment - Manchester Evening News ] ]
ide projects
Reverend Soundsystem
Prior to Reverend and the Makers being signed McClure hosted 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, which ran for a year from October 2007 and has featured a number of guest DJs such as Mani (Stone Roses/Primal Scream), Peter Hook (New Order), the late Tony Wilson (Factory Records), Andy Nicholson (ex-Arctic Monkeys), 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. The event no longer takes place at The Plug.
=Mongrel=McClures new project that features band members;
Lowkey (Uk Hip Hop Artist),Andy Nicholson (Ex Arctic Monkeys Bassist),Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys Drummer), Drew McConnell –Babyshambles Guitarist, Joe Moskow (Reverend and The Makers),Jagz Kooner Television appearances
McClure appeared on
Never Mind the Buzzcocks onJanuary 10 ,2008 alongsideKT Tunstall ,Jeremy Edwards andLauren Laverne .References
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