Manchester band The Empty Page said they 'still can't believe it' after The Cure's guitarist Reeves Gabrels wore their t-shirt on stage during the band's gig at Wythenshawe Park on Friday night (August 21).
The Cure, led by Robert Smith, are considered one of the biggest alternative groups of all time, with hits including Just Like Heaven, Boys Don't Cry, Close To Me and Friday I'm In Love. They played to around 30,000 people at the eagerly-awaited Wythenshawe Park gig, supported by Slowdive and Manchester group The Slow Readers Club.
'A very surreal experience'
On stage, Gabrels, also known for his previous work with David Bowie, kept the Manchester representation going by wearing a t-shirt for local band The Empty Page. Members of the 'fiercely independent' alternative punk trio were in attendance and said it was 'a very surreal experience' when they first recognised the guitarist's choice of outfit.
“We couldn’t believe it,” lead singer Kel Page said. “When they first came on stage, his t-shirt did look a bit familiar but we were standing quite far back from the stage so we couldn't really see it too well. But we zoomed in on our phone camera and realised that he was actually wearing our T-shirt. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like it. I still can’t get over it now - it was crazy.”
Kel said she has no idea how Reeves managed to hear about the band, but the trio - which also includes guitarist Giz and drummer Steven Kent - has worked hard to build a loyal fanbase since emerging over a decade ago.
How the t-shirt connection happened
“We did know that a guitar tech on the tour had ordered one of our T-shirts,” Kel revealed. “But that could have meant anything - we didn’t think for one second that it would lead to a member of the band actually wearing it on stage.”
“We’re quite a small band, but we do have quite a lot of fans and we’re known to a lot of people in the stage tech industry. I think Reeves probably found out about us through his guitar tech and then decided to wear the t-shirt. It’s a huge deal for us, especially with it being such a massive crowd in Manchester.”
“We were just squealing like little girls every time Reeves appeared on the big screen. We had lots of friends at the gig too and my phone just started to blow up with people asking us about it. One person was like ‘is someone in The Cure wearing a ******* Empty Page t-shirt?' There were even people in the audience who were wearing our shirts too. It was honestly a very surreal experience - I don't think I'll ever stop talking about it!”
Recent attention from famous fans
Kel said the band, who will play at Manchester Academy 3 on September 24, have recently had attention from other famous fans, including actress and musician Juliette Lewis and Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson.
“I got a notification on my phone a few months ago that Courtney Love had shared a video of us,” Kel said. “It was really bizarre, I didn’t think it was real at first. But she posted about us and then tagged all these huge rock stars in the video. Since then, Shirley Manson has really been championing us and reposting our stories.”
“After we shared a video of Reeves wearing our shirt, Shirley responded and said it was wonderful to see. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for us, we’re not really sure what’s going on. One of my friends said it was like we had done a spell or something. I think the algorithm must have thrown us a bone for the first time ever.”
Kel said the exposure means a great deal to the band, who will also play Bury's Glaston BURY festival on August 31, and hopes it will help spread the word of what they're doing - especially at a time when it's hard for grassroots artists to make a name for themselves.
“It can be really diffuclt being an independent artist,
