Jon McClure
As famed for his outspoken views and forthright manner as for being the singer with Reverend and the Makers and supergroup Mongrel, Jon McClure is never shy about expressing his opinion. The 'Heavyweight Champion of the World' hitmaker has refused to allow success to influence his strong beliefs and his confrontational attitude has led to widespread criticisms from various quarters, ultimately leading to the star - affectionately nicknamed The Rev - to declare he was quitting music late last year after growing tired of what he perceived to be a music industry only interested in making money and limiting creativity. However, he quickly reversed his decision, believing his fame and status can only serve to better help with his causes. He's since has had a busy year juggling his two bands with various campaigns - including Instigate Debate - and working on his literary endeavours. BANG Showbiz caught up with Jon to discuss the state of the world, illegal downloading and why Cheryl Cole is bad for the music industry.
You claimed last year you were leaving the music industry but then, weeks later, changed your mind. What influenced your decision?
I was going to quit music becaus, what people don't realise about the music industry is it's run by white middle class men, which means if you're a woman, or from the north and particularly if you're making music originated by black artists or political music, then the door is continually shut in your face. It's a capitalist industry, so if you come in with a political thing or wearing something a bit risqué, the door will slam shut. So for that reason I got quite bummed out and was thinking, 'Why am I doing this? What's my motivation?'Subsequently, I had a word with myself, and people like Carl Barat, Richard Hawley and Noel Gallagher were like, 'Come on man, pull yourself together' and I thought, 'Fair do's' because for every kid that gets the door slammed shut, there's another one who can make it through... With Twitter especially, you can just get the word out and they can't challenge that in any way.
You're very forthright with your opinions - do you wish more artists were as outspoken as you?
Well here's my argument. We've got Iraq today, Afghanistan, bankers are taking the p**s, MPs are taking the p**s, the BNP are on the rampage, plus we're melting the ice caps. There's a lot to be angry about but nobody wants to do it because people just shut down on you. I come out saying political things and they shut down on me straight away. What upsets me is last week Lily Allen and Muse came out and said: 'We've got to campaign against file sharing. We're having breakfast with politicians and we're gonna tell then to shut down kids' internets.' Now, what a crying shame it is that all you can get angry or upset about is kids nicking your music.
I think when you get your nipples out in a magazine and you're trying to make serious political comment with the government, you're putting yourself in a silly position
Do you think Lily and Muse have a valid argument?
I think when you get your nipples out in a magazine and you're trying to make serious political comment with the government, you're putting yourself in a silly position. Obviously nobody wants to see my nipples... At the end of the day, I stole Lily Allen's album and there's nothing she can do about it. People think I'm a communist because I've got these views, but I'm not. I'm not saying people can't earn a living, but let's be fair. Muse, you're playing Wembley stadium, Lily Allen you're playing arenas. You've got millions of pounds, there's things happening that are far more important than that. I'll tell you what it is, music, it's all self-preservation. Of course you don't want kids to nick stuff but they're doing it all the time and good luck to them.
Are people too indifferent to world affairs these days?
Britain is the most f****d. It upsets me, it really does. You go to Holland or Belgium and France, they have a healthy society, they'll have a discussion and talk about things, whereas in Britain, nobody cares. You get people saying 'I don't care', or 'I don't know anything about it.' Britain stands less chance than anyone else in the world. We're the furthest down the line in terms of f****d up-ness, owing to the apathy of the people. In France they demonstrate in the streets, in Italy they demonstrate. They're f*****d, but they'll do something about it. Britain, we just keep getting f****d up the a*s and taking it, every single time.
Would you consider moving abroad?
Yes. I'd go to France or Holland or somewhere. They're not without their problems, but there's more tolerance. I don't like the idea we live in a society where people have no idea what the reality is. John Lennon said it: religion, sex and TV, and he's right. They've got people so doped up on bulls**t. Page after page after page on Jade Goody or Michael Jackson and a tiny amount about a tsunami that killed thousands of people.
What else are you working on at the moment?
I've written a book actually and I'm having it turned into a film. It's called 'Lies'. It's in eight parts. It's like a big rant. The first one is about Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy. It's about the lies that we tell each other, like how can Santa come down the chimney when you haven't got one? Just picking at things. The tooth fairy - a little bird who buys body parts off you. The next one is about WWF wrestling. It's cool man. The end point - it's a comedy - is with the Iraq war, the conclusion part is like, 'Look. You lied about Father Christmas, and the Tooth Fairy, and wrestling, then you lie to get into school and then when you get to school they lie to you about God and that, so do you really expect them to tell you the truth about Iraq?'
Do you know who will star in it?
It'll have Howard Marks in it, a wrestler, some other friends. Carl Barat has said he wants to be in it. I'm beating them off now, I tell you. Brad Pitt will be next...
You worked with Carl recently, doing a cover of 'Venus In Furs' with him and Brett Anderson at the Jack Daniel's JD Set in London. What was that like?
It was great. Anything with a drone does it for me. So yeah, I enjoyed it. I've always been a fan of Suede and Carl's a geezer, so it was fun. He's alright Carlos, I'm quite interested to hear what he's gonna come back with, with his solo thing. It'll be a bit of a change of direction. I'm a big fan of Carl, he's proper rock and roll. In terms of white indie music, The Libertines were the last thing - with the exception of the Arctic Monkeys - that was exciting. It's been a bit pants, the noughties, there's no one with anything to say. Carl has a bit of character and charisma.
Who else do you rate in British music?
There are some brilliant things in Britain, if you look hard enough, there's some great music. Skinny Man, I thought his album was brilliant. When that first came out, nobody had heard what it was like to articulate what it's like growing up on a council estate like that. He should have been the British Eminem. There's a band from Manchester called Dirty North, they sound dirty and horrible on the demo but in actual fact they're brilliant. It's like a dirty pop-electro-dub fusion.
Is it true you're bringing out your own magazine?
I've set up this thing called The Ark. It's basically a load of columns, written by me, Howard Marks, The Futureheads, loads of different people. Each week we'll each put up a column on a PDF file on the internet and then you have people who are interested - say there's five in Nottingham or 12 in Leeds - we'll get them to come together to produce their own version. There'll be a generic cover, then they'll all get together, write about the local cool band at the minute, use all the columns and then the rest of it will be all about their local scene. They can then go and sell it for as much as they think they can get for it. Every area would be different. It's more authentic. It's offensive having people who live in a posh glass tower telling me what I should be listening to.
Recent years have seen a rise in TV talent search shows - do you think they give more people a chance for success or are they ruining the music industry?
I watched 'X Factor' recently and Cheryl Cole was just sat there while there was this girl crying because she was gonna get knocked out and she was going, 'I just want what you've got. I want it so bad.' And Cheryl Cole didn't correct her like, 'No you don't, don't be silly, you're fine as you are, you're worthy in your own life'. She was just like, 'Yeah'. And I was like, 'What the f**k?' It doesn't give anyone a chance. One person wins who gets a million pound record contract. Simon Cowell is the winner. All it does is refine the notion of getting famous quick, there's no, 'Go in a practise room, refine your art, do what you're doing and hopefully you'll get somewhere'. It's just the whole, 'Let's be famous' thing. There's no point in being famous, it's c**p. I think musically it's so generic. The song is there before the singer, it's so s**t. Yet people are hooked on it.