Reverend and the Makers

Reverend and The Makers
Performing in Leicester, August 2012
Background information
Origin	Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Genres	Indie rock dance-rock electronica ska revival
Years active	2005–Present
Labels	Cooking Vinyl, Wall of Sound
Associated acts	Oasis, Primal Scream, Mongrel, Lowkey, Milburn, Arctic Monkeys, thisGirl, Reverend Soundsystem, The Book Club
Members	Jon McClure Ed Cosens Laura McClure Joe Carnall Ryan Jenkinson
Past members	Joe Moskow Richy Westley Dave Sanderson Tom Jarvis Tom Rowley Andy Nicholson Stuart Doughty Paul Blakeman

Reverend and The Makers are an English rock band based in Sheffield, Yorkshire. They are signed to Wall of Sound. The band is fronted by Jon McClure, nicknamed "The Reverend".

The band's debut album The State of Things (2007) helped them gain success in Britain, as well as spawning UK Top 10 single "Heavyweight Champion of the World". The band released their second album, A French Kiss in the Chaos (2009), which led to the band being invited to support Oasis on their final tour, playing venues such as Wembley Stadium. The band's third studio album, @Reverend Makers (after the band's Twitter handle), was released in 2012, and the band's fourth studio album, Thirty Two, was released in 2014.

In late 2005, McClure brought several musicians together for Reverend and The Makers. Like his previous bands, The Makers included co-songwriter Ed Cosens, this time playing bass. The rest of The Makers consisted of Dave Sanderson (guitars), Joe Moskow (keyboards), Richy Westley (drums, formerly of Hoggboy) and Laura Manuel (vocals), and occasionally Simon Stafford on trombone. Sanderson was dismissed in July 2006 after the band completed their first headline UK tour and replaced by Gledhill guitarist Tom Jarvis.

Late in 2005, fellow Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys released their debut single, and McClure was hounded by major record labels, reportedly offering him sums of up to £150,000 to make an album like Arctic Monkeys. McClure declined the offer, and decided to do everything his own way, managing to sell out The Plug in Sheffield twice, a venue with a capacity of 1,000 people, while still unsigned. It was not until the following year that McClure met Mark Jones in a club in London when he asked him for a lighter. The two got talking and Mark Jones came to see Reverend and the Makers at the next show. Jones reportedly proclaimed the band as the "best band in the world" and signed them to his label Wall of Sound Records.