A Love Letter to a Broken Town is the fourth studio album by the indie rock band who describe it as being "for the community, the roots and the towns that made us..."
The Reytons are planning to pop up at Arc Cinema on Forge Island, the £47m landmark leisure destination in Rotherham town centre.
For a band who release their music entirely on their own terms with no major label backing or corporate support, and in typical Reytons style, press interviews for the album were carried out by the lads themselves in Rotherham town centre.
Buying a sofa set and coffee table from the British Heart Foundation, lead singer, Jonny, interviewed the rest of the band at the foot of the High Street to talk about the album, and Rotherham and towns like it.
Promo photos and videos for new songs off the album also feature Rotherham prominently - Jukebox is set in the beautiful town centre pub, The Cutler's Arms, and Busker's Paradise centres on the cyclical journey of a £5 note as it travels through shops and pubs in South Yorkshire. The artwork for Hello Are You Today? features a phone box on the High Street.
Jonny Yerrell said in the latest video interview, as the bin men rattle by in the background: "This town is important to me, you know, I grew up here. I've got so many fond memories, whether it's just walking through the town with my nan, going to McDonald's parties as a kid. I mean I once turned the Christmas lights on stood on the on the roof around the corner. I've done so much in this town, I've had so many questionable nights walking up and down these streets on a night out."
Lead guitarist, Joe O'Brian talked about the time he spent in local skate parks as a kid. He added: "I think there's a lot of love to give this town that it dunt really get so it's nice that, like in this album specifically, every song that I do listen to on it it feels like it's definitely about home."
Jonny added: "Even recently again with individuals deciding to do things to try and put Rotherham down every time, but this album to us, when you pick it up, when you look through the books, even through through the dirt you see the diamonds do you know what I mean? There's something beautiful about this place and we know it and we want other people to see it."
Bassist, Lee Holland, admitted to being from Doncaster but echoed the sentiments. He said: "I think all these local towns are fighting the same fight and I think the one thing that hasn't changed is the people within them. There's still good people, there's still a lot of nicity and nice things."
Emphasising the point, the band are releasing a limited edition pop up record featuring an illustration of the town inspired by Roald Dahl. £5 from every record sold will go directly to Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice in Rotherham.
Talk inevitably turned to Clifton Park, the 2024 gig that saw 20,000 people enjoy a spectacular hometown gig in Rotherham with Jonny still tearing up when watching footage and drummer Jamie Todd reminiscing the band's most famous gig by watching back phone footage from fans and getting different people's reactions to things like the Trojan horse and Take That finale.
UPDATE: The Reytons "A Love Letter To A Broken Town" Meet & Greet Event is taking place on Saturday August 8 (9:00am - 5:00pm) and Sunday August 9 (11:00am - 6:00pm) at Arc Cinema on Forge Island in Rotherham town centre.
Through The Reytons website, fans need to pick a time slot to attend a private cinema screening, followed by a Q&A, Meet & Greet and other entertainment.
A small £2 charge for the tickets will be donated to local charities.
Jonny added: "When you're looking around, the architecture in this town is incredible, and the council are definitely definitely improving it in terms of there's a lot of money being spent down at the bottom on Forge Island, which is where we're going to be this weekend. You can come down to the cinema, there's a lot of things that we want you to see because Rotherham does get a lot of shade."
A Love Letter to a Broken Town is out now. The Reytons gave back the sofa set to the British Heart Foundation..
The Reytons website
Images: The Reytons / YouTube / Facebook
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