Arctic Monkeys' best mate, 'Reverend' Jon McClure is worshipped back in Sheffield. Now the cocky singer is ready to convert the rest of us.

Banging the pulpit

As last weekend's fiery Glastonbury headline slot proved, there is nothing unexciting about the music of Arctic Monkeys. Yet disappointment creeps in when you realise that they barely have anything to say.

That's where Jon McClure comes in. Friend, former bandmate, and inspiration to the Arctics' main man Alex Turner since they worked in Sheffield's Boardwalk bar together, the 25-year-old is now launching his own group, Reverend and the Makers. He's more than happy to tell me all about it.

"He'll talk your ear off," warns his publicist, with some understatement. Starting off cheerily describing the current state of flooded Sheffield ("Armageddon has come!"), he quickly moves on to slagging off the Killers, Razorlight and almost every other band in his hometown aside from his Monkey mates. Then he's on to George Bush, Gordon Brown and Live 8, levels of irateness fast increasing.

Somewhere amid this verbal barrage he finds breath to declare that his forthcoming album contains "what I consider to be the best songs ever".

We've heard from plenty of tiresome, self-professed pop geniuses before, and if McClure was half as talented as he says he is we'd have forgotten all about the Beatles by now. But there are plenty of indications that his September debut, The State of Things, will be one of the most exciting new albums of the year.

His first single, Heavyweight Champion-of the World, has now been riding high in the charts for an impressive seven weeks, its riotous indie funk and lyrics about abandoned dreams striking a particular chord with Radio 1, where it remains on the A-list.

McClure says that his album's title is an attempt to be filed along side Prince's Sign 'O' the Times and Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On, records that came to stand for more than mere entertainment, and promises "funk mixed with drum and bass mixed with dub mixed with psychedelia. You can't put it in a pigeonhole."

He accepts that much initial interest in his music was due to his relationship with Arctic Monkeys - they played together in school-age band Judan Suki, the line "Dancing to electropop like a robot from 1984" in their hit I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor is a reference to McClure's other old group, 1984, and his brother Chris is the fag-puffing wastrel on the cover of their debut album - but he has already passed up the opportunity to cash in.

"I was offered a lot of money to become one of those bands that's imitated what they've done," he says. "But while all the Sheffield stuff was kicking off I went to ground. It would have been a surefire, quick-fix route to success but there would have been no longevity in it. And I'm an artist and a poet, not a cash whore."

More chart action, bigger gigs, and yes, a bit of cash, are now inevitable, but by McClure's standards he's already made it. "There are kids in Sheffield who've got tattoos of my poems on their bodies. That's success to me."

•Reverend and the Makers play the Scala on 3 July (020 7833 2022).

Old Spice for Brown's New Era

One of the most striking symbols of the Blair era is being de-mothballed for the Age of Brown. Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress, which summed up Cool Britannia in a single bum-skimming swish, could be donned again when the Spice Girls begin their first tour in nine years at the end of this year.

But having dominated the charts in Blair's early years, and decreed that Margaret Thatcher had Girl Power, how do they feel about the future under our 52nd premier? "I met Gordon Brown the other day," revealed Geri at yesterday's unruly press conference. "He seemed a nice enough fellow. Maybe you have to get to know him, peel away the layers a bit." Hardly a ringing endorsement - there seems to be little chance of the kind of flirty relationship Ginger Spice has enjoyed with Prince Charles and Nelson Mandela.

The reunion announcement, hosted by Richard E Grant in the huge new cinema at The O2, was predictably full of gushes about how "It's gonna be really brilliant" and "We love each other really", with no mention of distasteful topics like the huge wad of dough they're each pocketing or their disastrous recent solo efforts. The girls seemed to enjoy reverting to type, with Posh pouty and distant and Mel B upping the cackling to ear-splitting levels. The paparazzi fought each other, the press were teased mercilessly (one poor chap from Heat magazine was virtually sexually assaulted by Scary Spice). It was just like old times.

Still, I don't expect to see a Take Thatstyle sudden mass outpouring of love from the public. Though they've been absent from the charts, it doesn't really feel like the five have ever been away, so they won't have been missed so much. Nevertheless, there's no reason why the concerts won't be simple, jolly nostalgic fun.

Just don't expect to see our Prime Minister in the front row when the Girls play London on 15 December.

New on the Net:

Regal Recordings, home to Babyshambles and Lily Allen, is about to see a couple of even bigger names joining its regular singles club. Three new songs co-written by Paul Weller(right) and former Blur man Graham Coxon will be in download stores on Monday.

Last week Warner Records became the last of the major labels to try selling a song without Digital Rights Management, meaning it could be copied freely between sources. The unrestricted availability of the Muse single Map of the Problematique was a "mistake", said the label, but it still raises hopes that the other majors will soon follow EMI's lead and make all their music DRM-free.

Those looking to recreate that festival feeling without pouring gallons of liquid filth down their trousers might wish to visit www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2007/06/2007_bonnaroo_d.html, where generous blogger Largeheartedboy has posted numerous free downloads of live performances from this month's Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee. Acts include Wilco, the Flaming Lips and The National.

An early listen to:

José González
In Our Nature (Peacefrog)

José Gonz&aactute;lez could have been one more guitar plucker in a sea of faceless singer-songwriters, but a talent for unlikely cover versions marked him out for stardom. His hypnotic interpretation of the Knife's Heartbeats was the perfect accompaniment to Sony's acclaimed bouncing balls advert, reaching the top 10 early last year. On this second album, due at the end of September, he offers a magical new take on the Massive Attack hit Teardrop.

Unfortunately, it will be pipped to the post by Newton Faulkner's similar acoustic version, out next month, but strong original tracks such as Down the Line and Fold, mesmerising in their simplicity, should keep him at the forefront of the overpopulated world of quietly strumming men.