"Heavyweight Champion of the World" is the "top ten" debut single by Reverend and The Makers

Reverend and The Makers

Reverend and The Makers are an indie pop band based in Sheffield, England and signed to Wall of Sound. The band is fronted by Jon McClure, nicknamed "The Reverend"...

, as well as the first single from their debut album The State Of Things. The single was released on May 6, 2007 on download only and was subsequently released on CD and 7" vinyl on May 28 that year. The single was also released on a white label

White label

White label records are vinyl records with adhesive plain white labels affixed. Test pressings, usually with Test Pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are produced in small quantities to evaluate the quality of the disc production...

 which was limited to 800 copies, the track list for this is the same as the standard vinyl. The song has since peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

Inspiration

"Heavyweight Champion Of The World" tells a story of not just under-achievers, but the majority who are trapped within repetitive lives, with the ironic hook "just be like everybody else". The song title is taken from a line of Barry Hines

Barry Hines

Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL is a British author who has written several popular novels and television scripts.-Early life:Born in the mining village of Hoyland Common near Barnsley, England, he attended Ecclesfield Grammar School and played football for the England Grammar Schools team...

 book 'A Kestrel For A Knave.' Like the song, the book's main character is an under-achieving young boy growing up in Yorkshire. The song has received rave reviews, and appeared as Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...

's 'Hottest Record In The World Today', and is equally liked by Radio 1 DJs Nick Kershaw and Greg James

Greg James

Greg James may refer to:*Greg James , BBC Radio 1 DJ and broadcaster*Greg James , Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales...

. The single is accredited to Jon McClure

Jon McClure

Jon McClure, known as the Reverend, is lead singer and frontman of Reverend and The Makers and ex-vocalist of 1984 and Judan Suki. He claims that the name "Reverend" became his moniker because "I'm a big mouth and always running on at people"....

, Ed Cosens and Alan Smyth

Alan Smyth

Alan Smyth is a music producer from Sheffield, England. He has worked with a number of bands, including Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Reverend and The Makers, The Long Blondes, Milburn, Richard Hawley, Dead Like Harry, Smokers Die Younger, Monkey Swallows the Universe, Little Man Tate, 65daysofstatic,...

, acknowledging the work that Smyth did towards the demo of the song.

In addition to the reference to Barry Hines, the song's chorus includes another pugilistic reference, from the movie On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...

. The line, "I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody" spoken by Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

 in the movie is closely paraphrased in the song's lyrics as "I could've been a contender/Could've been a someone."http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047296/quotes

Trivia

On both vinyls, the inscription "sleep beneath the stars. MO!" is scratched in the run off as well as the catalogue numbers. In the inside of the CD's booklet, the lyrics to 'Stamping', a song by Jon McClure for his previous band 1984 ("Heavyweight Champion Of The World" even borrows the first verse of the song). When performed live the band frequently include alternate verses from "Stamping" and extend the ending to include the hook from Pixeltan

Pixeltan

Pixeltan are a Brooklyn based noise rock/electronic band consisting of Mika Yoneta , Devin Flynn , and Hisham Bharoocha...

 song 'Get Up/Say What' ("You can say what you want but it doesn't mean that it's true") which McClure admits in a blog that he admires. The song 'Get Up/ Say What' was also included as the second track on a recent Mixtape compiled by McClure. The Mixtape entitled "And Whilst the World Was Asleep We Were Listening To..." opens with an alternative version of "The Last Resort" featuring only McClure's verses and a synth backing.

The song also features on the compilation 'Top Gear

Top Gear (current format)

Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...

: Seriously Cool Driving Music'.

Track listing

• 7": (WOS009S)
• A. "Heavyweight Champion Of The World"
• B1. "18-30"
• B2. "The Last Resort" (with John Cooper Clarke
  John Cooper Clarke
  John Cooper Clarke is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet"...
  
  )

• CD: (WOS009CD)

1. "Heavyweight Champion Of The World"
2. "18-30" (extended version)
3. "Heavyweight Champion of the World" (Club Mix)

Peak Chart positions

• UK Singles Chart: #8
• UK Download Chart: #6
• UK Physical Chart: #7
• UK Airplay Chart: #20