Are The Maccabees teasing their return? Fans react

23 October, 2024

Orlando Weeks and Hugo White from The Maccabees perform in 2015

The Maccabees have sent fans into a frenzy by teasing what appears to be a reunion.

The band – comprised of Orlando Weeks, Felix White, Hugo White, Rupert Jarvis, Sam Doyle, Robert Dylan Thomas, Elliott Andrews and Will White – parted ways in 2016, after 12 years together.

However, according to a new post online, it seems that they may be coming back together after eight years.

Earlier today (October 23), the band updated their social media channels for the first time in seven years, posting a brand new logo.

While nothing has been officially announced regarding a reunion, the update has got fans talking about what the members could have planned.

“…?!?!?!”, one wrote on X/Twitter in response to the update, while another added: “Aw man if this is what I hope it is that’s awesome news”.

A third said: “More excited about the Maccabees reforming than Oasis,” while someone else joked: “Million Dead and Maccabees in the same day after 3 days at Biffy Clyro. Give my wallet a break!!” Find more fan reactions below.

The Maccabees shared four studio albums, ‘Colour It In’ (2007), ‘Wall Of Arms’ (2009), ‘Given To The Wild’ (2012) and ‘Marks To Prove It’ (2015), and each made its way into the Official Top 40 albums charts.

They shared news of their split in August 2016, confirming that it was an amicable decision between the members.

“We are very proud to be able to go out on our own terms, at our creative peak and off the back of the best and biggest shows we have ever done. There have not been fallings out and we are grateful to say that we are not leaving the group behind as a divided force. It has been a rare and absolutely incredible time that we all feel very lucky to have shared,” they wrote at the time.

“Though there are no concrete plans at this stage, we are all planning to continue making music. We are excited about the future and intend to move on, with some sadness, but with appreciation, affection and huge pride at the music we have made and all that we have achieved together.”

While there was some talk of possible farewell tour dates from the members, nothing materialised, and Felix White and Hugo White came together again in August 2023 under the musical project, 86TVs.

At the time, they shared the debut single ‘Worn Out Buildings’ and caught up with NME to open up about finding the courage to write again post-Maccabees.

Maccabees
Felix and Hugo White performing live with The Maccabees in 2015. Credit: Getty Images.

“A lot of the time, those early years of a band are really where you look back and you’re like, ‘You know what, that momentum and the energy everyone had, the excitement for it and the first connection of things is actually magic that you can’t recreate’,” Hugo said.

“To be able to be back in that situation and be aware enough and present enough and in a place in our lives where we’re so grateful to be in this scenario again is a beautiful thing.”

Band members included their younger brother, Will, and the drummer Jamie Morrison, who had previously worked with Stereophonics and The Noisettes.

In January of this year, they went on to announce their debut EP ‘You Don’t Have To Be Yourself Right Now’ with a run of tour dates. Then, in May, they confirmed details of a self-titled first album with the lead single ‘Tambourine’.

More recently, they returned with the single ‘Someone Else’s Dream’ and have announced details of their biggest UK and European tour to date.

As for Orlando Weeks, the musician shared his debut solo record, ‘A Quickening‘ back in 2020, and went on to confirm the follow-up record, ‘Hop Up’.

Speaking to NME about his experience of writing ‘Hop Up’. “I didn’t feel stuck at any point or on the lyrics or any song sections. Also, I wasn’t doing it in my flat where small people and partners are trying to sleep in another room. I was going to a friend’s empty workspace and making loud noises, drinking beer, shouting and playing the trumpet badly.”

He added: “With this record, I was just trying to make something positive without needing to explore difficult things. It’s just to savour and cultivate joyful things.”

Earlier this year, he dropped his simmering single ‘Dig’ featuring Wet Leg‘s Rhian Teasdale – a single from another solo LP called ‘Loja’. The record was primarily recorded in Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle of Wight with producer Sergio Maschetzko (Black Country, New Road) and David Granshaw, along with Nathan Jenkins (Bullion).

Although a comeback hasn’t been officially announced, Felix White did speak to NME about the prospects of a reunion this summer, ahead of the release of 86TVs debut album.

When asked if he had plans to celebrate the upcoming 10th anniversary of the last Maccabees album, White responded: “I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. Sometimes someone from Fiction, the label that put our records out, says, ‘This is an anniversary for that’. But no one’s got in touch with me about [the 10th anniversary].”

Recalling how there have been a number of huge indie anniversary tours in the works recently, he added: “I like the classic album tours that people do – I’m really into that. So it’s a weird one with The Maccabees, yeah. We’re not doing any of that. We’re sort of just doing our own lives, which feels pretty good. Where we left it at Ally Pally… it’d be so difficult to replicate.”

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