Reverend & The Makers share new single and launch exhibition with Brian Eno, Mel C, Carl Barat, Jeremy Corbyn and more
Reverend & The Makers have shared the latest single from their upcoming album, and held an introspective exhibition featuring contributions from numerous famous faces.
‘A Letter To My 21 Year Old Self’ is taken from the Sheffield band’s upcoming album ‘Heatwave In The Cold North’, which is due for release on April 28 via Distiller Music. Pre-order the album here.
“‘A Letter to My 21 year old Self’ is most of my pals favourite song from the new record, it’s also the most personal one I’ve ever written,” said frontman Rev of the new track.
“Put simply, I’ve made a hell of a lot of mistakes during my time as a musician. Said and done loadsa dumb things. I guess this is me trying to tell myself not to do all of those things but also saying not to be hard on myself or to turn my frustrations in on myself. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have taken over the world. But doesn’t everyone say that?”
The single is the fourth to be taken from the forthcoming LP, following on from ‘High’, ‘Problems’ and the title track. Check it out below.
To mark the release of the heartfelt single, Rev – whose real name is Jon McClure – asked fans and friends to take part in a new exhibition, where they wrote letters that impart wisdom back to their younger selves.
The result was hosted in Sheffield’s Fagans Pub last night (March 23), where the letters were unveiled, and fans were given the opportunity to meet the frontman and get an exclusive preview of the album.
Brian Eno, Mel C, Carl Barat and Jeremy Corbyn were all among names who took part in the exhibition – each submitting their own letter to their 21-year-old selves.
“As clever as you think you are you could benefit from a little more humility,” read Eno’s letter. “You hold very strong views but I suspect that this is often because you admire the other people who hold those views and hope that some of their worldliness will rub off onto you. Sometimes, you must admit, you haven’t thought those matters through very carefully, and yet you argue for them as though you’ve spent years thinking about them.”
Elsewhere Mel C’s contribution stated: “I would like to tell you it’s all going to be fun and trust me it is going to be a wild ride but fame is a beast. You and the girls will be adored but that’s not the whole story, you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, there will be some jealousy, ridicule and criticism, that’s ok, try not to take it to heart.”
Jeremy Corbyn’s read: “You’ve worked on a farm, gone to college for a term and declared it unsuitable, got another job, and are now a reporter for a local paper. I cannot believe you really want to be a journalist though, your character isn’t to report events but to shape events.”
The band have shared their support for Jeremy Corbyn before. Last December, the band publicly issued an invite to the former Labour Party Leader, encouraging him to attend their concert at London’s Islington Assembly Hall.
Meanwhile, back in 2017 McClure told NME: “The press is owned by millionaires. Every day they attack Corbyn because he represents a threat to their wealth and power. It makes any notion of living in a democracy a sham.”