The Reytons Triumph With Homecoming Show

Since the release of their debut album Kids Off The Estate in November 2021, Rotherham band The Reytons has gone from strength to strength, the word-of-mouth sensation spreading like wildfire throughout the UK.

Setting The Reytons apart from the competition is their fiercely independent approach to the way they work. Not exactly welcomed with open arms by the music industry from the very start, the band channelled their working-class grit and determination to overcome every obstacle thrown at them. Aided by the masses of loyal fans, no achievement is out of reach.

Without the backing of a major record company, the band, through sheer hard work aided by their devoted fans, achieved a Number One album earlier this year, and when frontman Jonny Yerrell held up a trophy awarded for this success, he received a terrific response from the crowd.

Four years ago, I witnessed the band play a packed gig full of their fans in a room upstairs in a Doncaster pub. To be part of their journey from those humble roots to the astonishing achievement of selling out the biggest venue in Sheffield is a testament to the endurance, single-mindedness, and belief of The Reytons.

Having sold out the 12,000-capacity Sheffield Arena for a gig that will be fondly remembered as part of the success story of The Reytons, it was apt that when Yerrell announced, “Good evening, Sheffield Arena,” it was a comment that could only be said after the long journey he and the band have had to get to where they now are.

Probably the last big group to emerge from a working-class background were the Arctic Monkeys, nearly twenty years ago. The Reytons have found a huge gap in the market that has rightly been filled.

Absorbed by the music and being part of the moment, it was refreshing to see fans keep their phones in their pockets to savour every moment.

With the fans taking over the singing of the chorus during Uninvited, the enthusiastic response was almost loud enough to be heard by those record company executives in London who turned down the band so many times, though tonight it was The Reytons who had the last laugh.

“If it all ends tomorrow, what a journey it has been for the kids of the estate,” commented Yerrell, a statement no one could have made better.

The Disney song When You Wish Upon a Star played as the fans filed out of the arena, it might have seemed like a fairy tale come true, though there was no arguing that if you believe in something strongly enough, dreams do come true.