From The Magazine First Love, Last Love… Farewell to The Maccabees

Ever since the urgent charge of 2005 debut single ‘X-Ray’ introduced The Maccabees as a band brimming with passion and wide-eyed excitement, Orlando Weeks, Felix White, Hugo White, Rupert Jarvis and Sam Doyle slowly but surely buried themselves deep into the hearts of the indie nation. From the youthful, twitchy energy of debut ‘Colour It In’ (see p20 for more on this one), to the heart-busting anthems of ‘Wall of Arms’; the slow-burning leap forward of ‘Given To The Wild’ to 2015’s superlative ‘Marks To Prove It’ – the expansive, soaring climax of all that had come before – The Maccabees were a band that blossomed and progressed in the classiest of ways. Never making a bad record and translating them into the kind of cathartic, joyful live shows that, by summer 2016, had earned them a rightful spot as major festival headliners, it felt like, after a decade, the band had finally earned their deserved place as one of the UK’s finest.

But then… well, you know what happened next. So now, with eyes having temporarily dried, we find ourselves on the eve of the band’s farewell tour: eight dates up and down the country and then it’s all over. It’s going to get emotional.

See, more than just a band capable of crafting a bucketload of infectious classics, The Maccabees have always been a group with that extra emotional je ne sais quoi: the kind that grabs you by the heart and fills you with the warm affection of an old pal. We’re not the only ones who think so, either. So here’s to The Maccabees: truly one of the special ones. From DIY, and some of the band’s musical nearest and dearest.