Friends Reunited - Hot Press caught up with Irish indie trio The Revs

Last August, Co. Donegal rockers the Revs rolled back the years for a reunion show in Dublin’s Whelan’s. Taking just a month to sell out (and not needing a single poster to do so), the trio’s set was, by all accounts, a triumph. Perhaps not surprisingly, the band have now been tempted to make their reunion semi-permanent. When we catch up with singer/bassist Rory Gallagher, he tells us he’s thrilled to be back onstage with his friends.

“It was nice to put a lot of ghosts to rest,” he reflects. “We didn’t break up on bad terms, but we didn’t break up on good terms either! Rehearsing was lovely. Not to sound cheesy, but the magic was still there and it felt like hopping back on a BMX bicycle.”

Admitting it was a bit of “a shock” selling out Whelan’s so far in advance, Rory says that some anniversaries of the band’s milestones gave himself, guitarist/singer John McIntyre and drummer Michael O’Donnell the inspiration to get the band back together.

“We were so chuffed Whelan’s sold out,” he notes. “There’s always a fear nobody’s gonna come and see you. The reunion was weirdly coincidental with important dates in our lives. It was 15 years since we won Best Newcomer at the Meteors and Best Newcomer at the Hot Press Awards in Belfast. It also 10 years after we’d broken up.”

With three albums under their belts and a shedload of items ticked off their bucketlist (more of anon), did The Revs regret breaking up in the first place?

“I don’t regret splitting up,” insists Rory. “I regret how it happened – it had become such a task to do anything. We had a PLC and went the totally independent route. We took out a bank loan for our third album and while it was our best album, it didn’t sell. That’s basically what killed us.”

Now living in Lanzarote, where he runs music venue the Island Bar with his wife, Rory tells us he has lots of highlights from The Revs’ first run.

“There’s a lot of great memories,” he enthuses. “Walking out onstage and seeing Slane Castle out of the corner of your eye when we opened for the Stereophonics was a definite bucketlist moment. Playing in Johnny Depp’s Viper Room in 2002 was cool too. In the crowd was Jack Osbourne and at the very back was BA Baracus! We did South By Southwest as well. You know when you’re really young and you’re nervous, so you over-pack? I must have brought every single little lead, pedal and accoutrement with me, except for a fucking guitar strap! I had to go up to a band and beg them for a lend of one.

“They were called The Darkness and the guy gave me this pink, fluffy guitar strap with a lightning bolt through it. I remember going ‘Oh God…’, and the look the other two lads in my band gave me was priceless (laughs).”

2018 looks set to add to The Revs’ list of priceless memories, with their upcoming Dublin date the first item on their agenda.

“We were thinking Whelan’s was going to be a one off,” says Rory, “but because it caused a bit of a stir, MCD approached us to do another one. After that, we’re not sure. There’s talk of doing some festivals, and we might put out a single for the summer. We don’t feel the need to conquer the world anymore, so it’s nice to just meet up with the lads and have fun.”

The Revs play the Academy, Dublin on

February 10.