YOUNG REBEL SET und TOM BLACKWELL

In the organizer's words:

Young Rebel Set were a phenomenon. The band's story can of course be romanticized and nostalgically glorified in retrospect, but that's how it was. Seven friends in their early 20s form a band in the KuBar in Stockton-on-Tees in the north-east of England and write their first song, called "If I Was". And through rock 'n' roll magic that can no longer be traced back today, it finds its way to Swiss concert promoter Martin Schrader. He knows exactly who needs to hear it next and sends it to Danny Simons, who books the concerts for Grand Hotel van Cleef in Germany. A short time later, Thees Uhlmann flies to Newcastle to see one of the band's first concerts. He meets the band and the deal is made that very night.

In early 2010, Young Rebel Set play their first concerts in Germany and a first EP with the band's first songs is released via Grand Hotel van Cleef. The shows are wild, unpredictable, hedonistic and sometimes chaotic. The debut "Curse Our Love" is released in 2011. Of course, the internet already existed, but "hype" worked differently back then. Through music, through concerts. Through word-of-mouth propaganda, the concerts got bigger and bigger and by the end of 2011 there were already a good 1,000 fans in front of the stage in Berlin and Hamburg when singer Matty Chipchase and the brothers Parmley and Evans took to the stage. The second album "Crocodile" followed in 2013 and the story ended in 2015 with an indefinite break.

It will be four years before Matty Chipchase gets his gang back together: New songs are already in the drawer, reunion concerts are planned. In December 2019, Matty died at the age of just 35 and the concerts never happened. In September 2024, on the day Matty would have celebrated his 40th birthday, his bandmates perform at the KuBar in Stockton with the support of the local music scene. They celebrate Matty's lyrics, their shared songs and their friendship.

And so founding members Andy and Chris Parmley and Luke Evans decide to get the gang back together after all: With other former line-up members and companions, Young Rebel Set tour Europe again in September 2025, playing not only their indestructible songs "If I Was", "Lion's Mouth", "Walk On", "Measure Of A Man" and whatever they're all called, but also new tracks written for the third album. Matty is unfortunately no longer there, but the magic is.

In addition to brothers Andy and Chris Parmley (guitar and drums) and bassist Luke Evans, the band's line-up for the upcoming tour also includes Andy Bensley, who not only used to record demos for the band or take care of the live sound, but has also toured with them as a guitarist. Danny Allison, who has been recording and playing with the band since before the "Crocodile" album, is on piano. Liverpool singer Tom Blackwell, who will also be performing his own songs as support on the tour, will take over the lead vocal position.