Scouting For Girls
Three years ago, British pop band Scouting For Girls stole our hearts and jetted off to the stars with them. The trio, fronted by the exuberant showman, Roy Stride, arrived with a clutch of contagious hits (She’s So Lovely, Heartbeat, It’s Not About You, Elvis Ain’t Dead) and one of the most successful number 1 debut albums (‘Scouting For Girls’ released September 07) in years, to become the biggest-selling new Brit band of the year. It culminated in 3 Brit Award nominations (British Breakthrough Act, British Single (Heartbeat), and British Live Act), multiple sold-out tours, and the three everyday guys from London emphatically became a home-grown phenomena.
Scouting For Girls spent 2009 back in the studio creating a second album of insatiably irresistible pop anthems, that marked a distinct leap forward for this much cherished young band.
If 2008 was merely an introduction, the welcome and greatly anticipated return of Roy, Greg, and Pete in 2010 sent them stratospheric.
Their second album ‘Everybody Wants To Be on TV’ entered the charts at Number Two and was followed by their Number 1 smash hit ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, which was nominated for ‘Best British Single’ at the Brit Awards and saw Roy Stride rise to the top of lists as one of Britain’s best songwriters. Now with over a million record sales, 4 Top 10 singles and sold out Arena tours, Scouting For Girls are set for another phenomenal year.
‘Everybody Wants To Be On TV’, Scouting For Girls’ fantastically fresh and exciting second album was no walk in the park for the three boys from Harrow. Friends since school, and a band for just as long, they entered the limelight merely weeks after signing to Epic Records back in February 2007. The eponymous debut was released just seven months later, and Scouting For Girls quickly became a British favourite. Such is the demand for more in an instantaneous world, that the difficult album number 2 was quickly proving tougher with every sold-out gig finished, and every record sold.
“We started 2009 with over 50 demos and hundreds of ideas - We could have done two double albums! But we were only interested in delivering the best. This meant spending an entire year ruthlessly scrapping songs, writing new ones, continually revising and reworking. I’ve never worked harder in my life. We were holed up in the studio for months, trying everything, every note, every lyric, every sound, we turned every stone. We’ve become perfectionists!
It is a record for and about the people; everyday people and their everyday emotions and observations. From the stadium-sized, soaring album opener, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, onto the insatiably infectious string-laden ‘Little Miss Naughty’, and into the irresistible pop juggernaut of ‘Famous’, with its chorus refrain of ‘We all want to famous – Everybody wants to be on TV” a pop statement for pop times.
Where ‘Everybody Wants To Be On TV’ differs from their debut album is its unshakable confidence, unflagging boldness and the sheer size and scope of its songs. It feels like a genuine step up, a record that loses none of the band’s early charm, but builds and expands upon it. It is real, honest, and as infectious as only they know how to be. A big record with an even bigger heart.
“It’s an upbeat record to sing, dance and have fun to, and we are very proud of that.”
The mega success of ‘Scouting For Girls’ was almost secondary to what the band was achieving in the live arena at the same time. Selling out shows across the UK almost before they’d even gone on sale (the last headline tour included two nights at the Hammersmith Apollo and another night at Brixton Academy, alongside a multitude of sold out arenas), the band were adding new dates in a market that was proving a sticking point for bands twice their size. The Brit Award nomination for best ‘British Live Act’ came as no surprise to the hundreds of thousands of fans that witnessed the band fill the festival fields and venues throughout the year, and to ever increasing capacities.
“Whether its 50 people or 50,000 we have always tried to connect with every single person in the room. If they’ve made the effort to spend their money and come and support you, we won’t allow one fan to go home and think that we were just alright. Alright is pointless, y’know?”
With the showmanship, cheek and captivating nature of a youthful Robbie Williams, Roy zips around the stage, a whirlwind of energy and charisma, ensuring that every single attendee joins together to become the band’s fourth member, a burgeoning choir.
“It makes things more interesting on the night if the fans get involved with our performances. Standing watching a band play their album is fine, but actually having a good night out where you feel like you’ve experienced something special is much more fun. We try and feel a connection with everyone, even the guys there to stand with their girlfriends. Surprises are good for the soul.”
This connection with their fans is something the band honed way before MySpace success stories became an everyday occurrence – speaking to every one of their fans online, sending them demo CDs, discount entry to their shows, and membership cards for their Wolfcub fanclub, it is no wonder they have stuck by the band and grown up with them. The fans are their lifeblood. And it’s their fans that they feel the pressure from on album two, such is their unwavering desire to please.
“It has to come from the heart or you get caught out.”
And such is Roy’s prolificacy, that artists from all corners of the world have approached him to co-write with them, knocking on the door of this ‘anti’ pop star to help guide them to the top of the charts. The boy-next-door is in serious demand, and the people’s band comes first.
“We have been in a band together for 10 years and we have toured for that long too, and we have been friends for even longer. This band is a testament to perseverance. We have not changed as people, and that is really important to us. We don’t buy into that whole media circus thing, we are here because of our fans and it is as simple as that.”
The phenomena of Scouting For Girls is already committed to a list of impressive facts and figures. Where the story goes next is where things get interesting.
Scouting For Girls new album, ‘Everybody Wants To Be On TV’ is out now, through Epic Records.