YOUNG REBEL SET /// ZECHE CARL /// ESSEN

In the organizer's words:

YOUNG REBEL SET
Back on tour in Germany in September for the first time since 2015

YOUNG REBEL SET were, and there is no better word for it, a phenomenon. Of course, you can romanticize and nostalgically glorify the band's history in hindsight, 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. The fire is lit. A short time later, Thees Uhlmann flies to Newcastle to see one of the band's first concerts. He meets the band, and that very night the deal is made.
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 April 2011, and the band is signed to Ignition Records (including Oasis, Primal Scream, Hard-Fi, ...) in the UK. 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. The last five years have been intense, perhaps a little too much so.

It will be four years before Matty Chipchase gets his gang back together: New songs are already in the drawer, reunion concerts are being 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, their friendship. A fire burns again.

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.

The band announced their tour with a video message and recorded acoustic performance for visitors to the Beach Motel van Cleef Festival, which took place on January 10 and 11 in St. Peter-Ording. The surprised fans already had the opportunity to purchase the first tickets for the concerts in September.

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 recorded demos for the band and took care of the live sound in the past, but has also toured 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 takes over the lead vocal position. The band comments:
"No one can replace Matty. He was unique in every sense of the word and we still feel his loss immeasurably. When the idea of rewriting the end of Young Rebel Set, adding a chapter, it was clear that the microphone position would be the most difficult to fill. We knew we had to find someone who wouldn't just copy Matty, that's impossible, but someone who we respected as a musician and who could bring their own style and voice to our songs.

In Tom Blackwell we found exactly that person: He's originally from Liverpool, and we met him a good ten years ago in London when we were recording our second album. We spent a lot of time together and he recently married a good friend of ours and moved to live near us in Teeside. We love Tom's voice and his own songs as a solo artist, he will also be supporting us on the September shows and couldn't be happier to have him on the mic for us on this tour."

Mark Evans, Luke's brother, the band's original second guitarist, won't be joining us on tour, but there's no bad blood: "Of course, Mark initially toyed with the idea of coming on tour with us, but as the plans became more concrete, he decided to focus on his own album instead. We recorded a lot of his solo songs together, which will be released soon. The record sounds great, keep your eyes peeled!"

Support: Tom Blackwell

Price information:

VVK: 30€ plus fees | B.O.: 36€