Elgin punk legends discuss unfinished business, vulnerability in music, and their defiant homecoming to the Seedlings Stage
Twelve years after unexpectedly announcing their departure onstage at Belladrum’s Seedlings Stage, Elgin punk band Cleavers are back with something to prove. Their self-released debut album Bad Luck, You Can Make It Next Time has already sold out its first vinyl run, and their recent shows in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow have been described as raw, cathartic and emotional affairs where nothing is held back.
Now in their mid-thirties, the band—featuring Danny Cleaver, Craig Cantlie, Kev Sinclair, and Robi Lambie—return to Belladrum 2025 not as a nostalgia act, but as underdogs from Elgin’s DIY scene with unfinished business to settle.
Twelve years on, you’re reclaiming the Seedlings Stage. What does it mean to return—not in tribute, but in defiance—to where it all paused?
“Since getting back together it’s reminded us of the unique bond and chemistry we have when playing together. The shows and new tunes have given a new lease of life to the band and we genuinely feel at the peak of our powers. Twelve years ago, we came as outsiders and turned that tent into a proper rock show, but then it all came to an abrupt stop. So to return now, firing on all four cylinders (literally, as a four-piece) doesn’t just feel like pure redemption for us, it feels like we’re finally picking up where we left.”
Craig Cantlie (Drums)
Cleavers over the years
“Bad Luck, You Can Make It Next Time” feels more like a reckoning than a restart. Was there a moment that made you realise: this is the album Cleavers needed to make?
“The idea from the start was to keep putting out singles, which, funny enough, has basically become the norm in the industry these days. We managed to release a bunch of 7″ records, a few tapes, and other bits, all self-funded by playing as many gigs as we could. That said, doing a proper CLEAVERS album felt necessary, and I’ve always felt a bit gutted that we never quite got there. Even when the band wasn’t active, that regret made me keep writing songs that felt like they belonged with us. I’ve been trying to get this album finished in one way or another for over five years, so to finally have it out there feels pretty amazing. It’s the record we were always meant to make.”
Danny Cleaver (Vocals, Guitar)
The band’s journey from Elgin’s modest music scene to festival stages wasn’t conventional. Before Cleavers, they played in local Moray groups like The Gen, OCD and Farewell Singapore, putting on shows in community halls, local bars, function rooms and garages. As Craig, who still works at Johnstons of Elgin, explains: “Elgin gave us everything. There wasn’t much of a music scene, so we had to make our own.”
Back in 2013 it was glitter bombs, sparklers, and glorious chaos. What’s planned for Belladrum 2025—a louder send-off, or a deeper reckoning?
“What excites me most about being in this band is that I genuinely don’t know. Playing live with these guys feels like an out-of-body experience and what comes out is raw, instinctive, sometimes even a bit unsettling. When we first came back last year, the shows were steeped in nostalgic melancholy. But now, something’s shifted. We’re starting to write a new chapter, one that feels urgent and alive. What the Belladrum crowd can expect is a band more hungry than ever, and more aware than ever of what we’re capable of. This doesn’t feel like a swan song at all, it feels like a beginning.”
Robi Lambie (Guitar)
Your live shows now embrace as much vulnerability as volume. Are punk’s boundaries shifting—or are you simply letting more of yourselves in?
“Back in the day, we were all about physical confrontation, whether it was setting things on fire or trying to climb the rafters to bash out a noisy solo. These days, we’re realising that being open about personal stuff can be confronting in a different way. The lyrics I write for this band are generally sincere, with a bit of gallows humour thrown in. I think it’s important to face the difficult things head-on, and really, what better place to do that than in a room full of like-minded people?”
Danny Cleaver (Vocals, Guitar)
This vulnerability has manifested powerfully in their recent performances. At their Aberdeen set, Danny paused before “All I Wanna Do Is Cry” to speak candidly about processing grief, whilst in Glasgow, Robi broke down in tears while performing the album’s title track, later explaining: “Playing these shows gives me space to reconnect with something that’s purely mine.”
From community halls to roasteries and family life, your journeys have diverged. Has returning to Cleavers changed how you see those worlds—or how they see you?
“The band feels more vital now than it ever has, like a pressure valve we didn’t know we needed. The past 12 years have taken us down wildly different paths, raising kids, building businesses, finding new versions of ourselves. For a long time, it felt like we had to draw a line between who we were then and who we are now. But when we get back in a room and hit that first note, it’s like time folds in on itself. The emotion that comes out is raw, gritty, and completely necessary. These shows feel like some kind of cathartic therapy and they’re helping us make sense of everything that’s come since we last stood on that stage.”
Robi Lambie (Guitar)
You’ve called this ‘unfinished business’. If this Belladrum set is your true closing statement—or rebirth—what do you want the crowd to take away?
“For me, and I think for some of the others too, there’s a real need to prove we deserve to be here. There’s this feeling we’ve carried for a while now, like we’re the forgotten boys. The ones who had something to say but never quite got to finish the sentence. Not just as CLEAVERS, but through every band we poured ourselves into for those fleeting years. What I want people to take away whether they catch us at Belladrum or hear us afterwards is that we’re worth their attention. We’ve released an album this year. We’re still headlining shows. We’re pushing each other to be better. CLEAVERS is here to honour the hard work and unfinished dreams of our younger selves. I guess in some ways this is vengeance for the forgotten boys.”
Answered by Robi Lambie (Guitar)
For someone who’s never seen you live, why should Belladrum be the first—and maybe most unforgettable—Cleavers gig they experience?
“Like Robi says, CLEAVERS show are unpredictable, even we don’t know what’s going to happen until we’re up there. Going off of recent shows, I’d be certain it will include blood, milk and tears. Every show feels like it might be the last and we play that way with our hearts sincerely on our sleeves. This one’s a long-overdue return to the Highlands, so we’re planning to make it special. We’ve got a few tricks lined up. I believe this year is movie themed and we’ve got a few Jurassic Park fanatics in the band – that’s all I’m saying.”
Craig Cantlie (Drums)
Their 2013 Belladrum performance remains legendary for its sheer volume and joyful absurdity, with one review noting they “ripped the tent a new one with an unholy cacophony of incendiary punk” complete with sparklers and glitter bombs. Now, with more years lived and just as much fire in their bellies, Cleavers return not as a nostalgia act, but as a band that stands firmly on its own feet—back on the very stage where they once bowed out, ready to remind people what can happen when you give everything to the thing that shaped you.
Cleavers perform at Belladrum on Friday 26th July at 4:50pm on the Seedlings Stage. Their debut album Bad Luck, You Can Make It Next Time is available now on Bandcamp and all major streaming platforms.
