Little Man Tate: ‘Jon McClure actually talked my mum and dad in to coming to watch our band’

Sheffield four-piece Little Man Tate will be gracing the main stage at the Tramlines Festival on Saturday and couldn’t be happier about it.

In April 2020 the band announced via their social media channels that they were set to make a comeback 11 years after they parted ways in 2009. Due to the Covid epidemic, plans were put on hold and they eventually played two excellent back-to-back sold out shows at the Sheffield 02 Academy in October 2021.

“We are pretty excited but a little nervous. To play outside is a little strange and different to what we are used to but because it’s Sheffield and we know that we will have a lot of people there for us,” Edward ‘Maz’ Marriott says.

“It’s a nice feeling knowing that there won’t be too much pressure on us with it not being our headline show or event, so we can really enjoy something a little different.”

Headlining Tramlines this year will be Sam Fender, Kasabian and Madness but as ever, the festival has a diverse range of artists to suit all tastes.

Little Man Tate will be joined by fellow Sheffield outfit Reverend and the Makers – a band who had a heated rivalry with each other in the early noughties indie-era.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Reverend play,” Jon Windle admits. “We’ve had disagreements in the past when we were younger but since getting to know Jon and Laura (McClure) you couldn’t meet nicer people. I’m looking forward to enjoying them as a fan as opposed to a rival band.

“My mum and dad were considering not coming to Tramlines because they are getting on a little. They were talking to Jon McClure last weekend at a football game and he hit the nail on the head when he said to them ‘You don’t know how many times Little Man Tate will do this. You should go!’ He actually talked my mum and dad in to coming to watch our band.”

The band have been working with producer Martin Smith who has worked with the likes of Prince, Bombay Bicycle Club, Gomez and Sheffield icons Richard Hawley and Jarvis Cocker.

“People know we are writing again; we’ve been updating a little bit on socials. We are just biding our time a little bit and not rushing things,” Marriott says.

“We’ve rushed things in the past. We need to evolve but at the same time not alienate the people who bought into what we did in the first place. People say the third album is the most difficult to write. When you’ve been away for twelve years and you are trying to capture a new audience but not alienate your old fans, it’s a really hard album to write. What we’ve done so far, I’m confident with and excited for it,” Windle adds.

Little Man Tate are due to take to the main stage on Saturday July 23 at 5.15pm. tramlines.org.uk