Simon RushworthAs the dust settles on The Temperance Movement’s dramatic return to the live arena, Rushonrock reflects on the classic rock comeback everyone wanted — but nobody dared believe we’d get.
The backstory
It’s one of Rushonrock’s best-read interviews for a reason. In 2018 Phil Campbell chewed the fat with our man Adam Keys and what followed was a searingly honest deep dive into a life knocked sideways by drink and drug addiction. The Temperance Movement’s troubled frontman revealed the band had come close to breaking up and, by the time we caught up with Campbell and guitarist Paul Sayer at Ramblin’ Man Fair a year later, the cracks had clearly widened. The pair explained they’d decided to pause touring until the follow-up to A Deeper Cut had been completed. By 2020 Campbell had quit and that fourth studio album was well and truly mothballed. It looked like that was that for the saviours of classic rock.
The rebirth
In a remarkable turn of events, towards the end of 2024, a series of teasing social media posts began appearing under The Temperance Movement name. Come the beginning of December and a limited run of UK and European dates had been announced. Within days, venues were hastily upgraded, extra dates were added and the Ain’t No Tellin’ tour was confirmed. Perhaps wisely, Campbell and Sayer kept their counsel. Repeated requests for an interview were turned down — we’d have to wait to see the band back on stage before gauging whether this was a quick cash grab or, in fact, a genuine response to the fact that this brilliant band has unfinished business.
Campbell’s back: Phil your boots!
Within seconds of impassioned opener Chinese Lanterns, featuring all of the band huddled around Campbell’s mic, it was immediately clear that this was the truest version of The Temperance Movement. That subtle yet seismic set opener recalled the sense of compelling camaraderie that thrilled early adopters of the band — remember the May 2013 headline tour that took in tiny clubs across the UK and introduced unsuspecting audiences to the most captivating classic rock quintet of the decade? Back then the Pride EP was all we had to go off but Campbell and co. were clearly something special. Fast forward 12 years (is it really that long?) and one of the most captivating singers on the planet has lost none of his soulful charm.
The old ones are the best… only ones
Tellingly, there was no new material in this year’s comeback set. Instead, audiences were treated to eight tracks from 2013’s dazzling full length debut and the very best of White Bear and A Deeper Cut. Oh, and a glorious cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Now given the fact that Cambell and Sayer alluded to a new record as long ago as the summer of 2019 there must be a few new tunes kicking around and it would be damn cruel to deny fans a taste of what the future might hold. The guys could get away with going retro on their first tour in half a decade but it’s a tantalising thought that come the end of 2025 we might have a bunch of brand new Temperance Movement songs five years in the making…
The future
New music aside, every single fan who crammed into a string of sold-out shows across the UK and Europe will simply be hoping and praying The Temperance Movement’s troubled history is a thing of the past. Watching Campbell and Sayer coast through classics Only Friend, Oh Lorraine and Smouldering was nothing short of wonderful — as returns to form go, a hotly anticipated tour was rip-roaring in the extreme. After what’s gone before Another Spiral (of the downward variety) can’t be discounted but TTM MkII are surely too wise to let another golden opportunity slip through their grasp. This band was always the future of contemporary, blues-based classic rock. Going back to the future, finally, feels uncommonly good.
Images by Gordon Armstrong at G’s Gig Shots