Interview

Interview

Stage Times: The Struts

From embarrassing stage tumbles to belting out We Will Rock You at Wembley, The Struts’ Luke Spiller walks us through his most memorable performances


When it comes to rock ‘n’ roll swagger, few modern bands are quite as well-versed as The Struts. Formed in Derby and raised on the attitude and charm of British rock greats, since relocating to the sunnier skies of LA the four-piece have stunned US crowds with their quirky English flamboyance. 

With frontman Luke Spiller modelling his performance on Freddie Mercury and Bon Scott, there’s nothing understated about The Struts. Filling out increasingly bigger venues across the Atlantic, they’ve become known for their extravagant live shows, intent on bringing the party spirit back to the rock scene.

“Our live show has been our saving grace,” Spiller nods.

“We’ve been through so many trials and tribulations, but we always had a great live show. That’s carried us, and it’s something we’ll always have. Some bands aren’t lucky enough to have that, and it does determine your longevity. I saw The Rolling Stones in LA recently, and that was a huge reminder of the value of pairing great songwriting with a great live show. Not only does it make it more fun for yourself and the audience, but people will keep coming back because they’re entertained.”

Entertainment is the sole focus of The Struts’ fourth full-length record Pretty Vicious too, a rollicking collection of huge, singalong guitar anthems tailormade for the biggest of stages and the rowdiest of crowds.

“I think one of the reasons why it’s been so positively received is that we co-produced this record, and that’s something that we haven’t done before. We had a lot of control,” Spiller explains.

“We wanted to come back and prove to ourselves, prove to the fans, and prove to the critics that we could write an album that is up there with our debut. We’ve come back with this big guitar-heavy rock record, and it feels natural to go down this rabbit hole of moody, sexy, upbeat, Quentin Tarantino-esque rock music. That’s exciting to me.”

Following a riotous appearance on Download Festival’s main stage this summer, The Struts will return to the UK later this year for a co-headline run with British singer Barns Courtney. Before the inevitable chaos ensues, we sat down with Spiller to talk about the most memorable shows of his band’s career.

The Struts - Too Good At Raising Hell (Official Music Video)

The gig that made you want to play music

They could barely be classed as a band because they probably broke up a few weeks after I saw them. I was fresh out of secondary school, and it was the end of the summer. There was a local band from Clevedon – just outside of Bristol – playing near where I lived. I can’t remember any of the songs, I can’t remember what they looked like, but I remember seeing a group of friends up on stage playing together. They were having fun, and there were probably only about 40 of us watching. The whole atmosphere left me motivated to do something like that. By that point though, I had already got the stage bug. I played the Pharaoh in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat when I was eight years old. He’s this Elvis Presley type character, and at the end of the performance I had a standing ovation. From that point, I knew I could do this.

The first

It was in Derby, and I’m pretty sure it was at a place called The Old Bell. I remember it quite clearly because I had just got a new pair of headphones, and Gethin [Davies, drums] sat on them. They were on his drum stool, and he sat on them during soundcheck and broke them. I still bring it up to him now, because he never paid me back for them. That would have been a decade ago now, which is crazy.

Were you always a confident performer, or has that energy taken time to build?

Honestly, that’s the way I have always been. Even in bands before The Struts when I was just gigging in Bristol, it was always the same. There was always some big, silly entrance, and I was always getting everyone to clap their hands. That’s the only way I knew how to do it because I was obsessed with Bon Scott, Mick Jagger, and Freddie Mercury. I love entertaining, confident frontmen. 

The smallest

It was in Leicester, probably a year or so after our first show in Derby. We ventured all the way to Leicester, and we played in front of a man and his dog. It sounds like the set-up for a bad joke, but I’m being deadly serious. There was maybe one other person minding the bar, but other than that, it was literally a bloke and his dog. We all found it so terribly funny that we decided to swap instruments. I started playing the drums, Adam [Slack, guitar] switched to bass, and Gethin was singing. It wasn’t even like the one guy who came was there to see us, he was probably a local person who struggled with alcohol consumption. I think he might have been nodding along… or nodding off! 

The biggest

The Struts + Queen: We Will Rock you/We Will Rock You fast (Nire Mix)

With The Struts, it would have been when we opened for The Who in Quebec, which was to a strong crowd of 75,000 to 80,000 people. For myself though, it would be singing with Queen at Wembley Stadium. When you’re opening for someone like The Who or The Rolling Stones, people are still walking in and getting their seats. However, I played Wembley as part of the Taylor Hawkins tribute show. Queen and I were on just before Foo Fighters started their set, so it was well into the night. All bums had found their seats, and we were at full capacity. All eyes were on us.

As someone who has always been inspired by Freddie Mercury’s performance, what was it like to stand in that position? 

It’s an impossible goal, or so I thought. The circumstances were terrible, but it was a bizarre, bittersweet experience. I rarely get nervous or caught up in my head before going onstage, but on that night, I knew it was really important that I didn’t f*ck it up. I was only doing one song too, so I couldn’t ease into it. I had to come out like a bolt of lightning and be fully charged from the get-go. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and it still hits me every time I think about it. It was so special.

The weirdest

I wouldn’t say it was bizarre in a negative way, but it was psychedelic. Every now and then we do private corporate shows, and sometimes it can be really disheartening. You’re often playing some random sporting event, but you’re getting paid a fat chunk, so that makes it worth it. One time though, we were requested to play a birthday party. It was for a girl in her mid-twenties, and it was an energetic crowd. We did a quick meet and greet before going on, and her dad joked about magic mushrooms. I was like, ‘Oh, have you got any?’ He brought out this big bag, and he asked if I wanted some. I was like, ‘F*ck it, it’s a party!’ I threw all professionalism out of the window and munched down a decent amount. It wasn’t a heroic amount, but it was quite a big chunk of shrooms. We went onstage 15 minutes later, and about 40 minutes into the set… Everything got a bit strange. Honestly, I loved it. The lights were melting on me, and the crowd were dancing. I was having a great time!

The worst

It’s rare that we have a bad gig, but there have been some moments of embarrassment, times where I wished that a hole would appear and suck me into the ground. When we were still establishing ourselves, we did a show in the Midlands. I can’t specifically remember where it was, but there was a good crowd. Back in the day, we used to drink quite a lot. I used to get quite lubricated before going onstage, and it was the only way I knew how to do things. I thought that was what everybody did, but at this one show… I was quite drunk.

I used to do this trick where I would lower the mic stand and – in a very gymnastic-style fashion – whip my leg over it. I suppose it was in a similar way to how you’d act if you saw a concrete bollard in the road. It was a packed house that night, and it was going to be a good gig. I had a little bit too much Dutch courage and forgot to lower the mic stand. We were about 40 seconds into the first song of the set, and I went to kick my leg up. I kicked it up so high that it swept my other leg underneath me. I fell on my back, and the band found it so funny that they could barely keep playing. The tempo suddenly went out the window because everyone was crying with laughter. That was probably one of my worst moments on stage. If you’re going to make a fool of yourself though, you need to entertain at the same time. It feels as though there’s some kind of redemption there.

The best

The Struts x Harley-Davidson – Road to NYC (Part 3 - Live From Pier 17)

In terms of putting on a real spectacle and giving the ultimate show, it would be the first time we played Pier 17 in New York City. It’s a rooftop venue that overlooks Brooklyn Bridge, and it’s beautiful. It’s outdoor, so you have to go on a bit earlier, and you end up playing during the sunset. For that show, we were sponsored by Harley Davidson. There was this big idea that I was going to begin the show by riding a Harley onstage, so I had to learn how to ride a motorbike on my days off. It took me over a month of practicing, but on the night, I ended up pulling it off. We had pyro at one point, there was a chopper filming us, and the whole thing was pretty monumental. After the show, a chap who was very high up at Harley Davidson at the time came up to me and basically said, ‘You did such a great job, we’re giving you a Harley Davidson’. So, I ended up getting my own Harley at the end of the gig. It was great because I knew how to ride it by then!


The Struts bring their tour to the UK in September and October. Find tickets here