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The tale of The Struts is a highly unusual one. The UK born and raised glam rockers found fame across the pond before they did in their own country. Through the magic of radio play, the quartet were soon enough supporting the likes of Mötley Crüe in the US, as well as playing their own headline shows of 2,000 cap venues. Meanwhile, in the UK, they just about managed to sell out the 100 Club (350 cap) in London last year. That doesn’t mean that things haven’t started to pick up recently, however.
As is expected, the North American fame soon saw the UK also jumping on The Struts’ bandwagon. Kerrang! ran a few features on the group, most notably an ‘introducing’ piece despite the fact that The Struts have been in operation for a good ten years now and did already have a dedicated (albeit small) fanbase concentrated in places like London, and Derby, where the band began.
When they announced they would be playing a short string of headline shows back in the UK during their European festival run, the tickets sold out for all three shows on the very day they went on sale. It was hardly surprising given they’re currently the ‘band about town’, and the shows they were set to play were all in very, very small venues. To see what all the fuss was about, we headed down to their London performance at Camden’s Dingwalls.
The room was packed to the rafters and boiling hot, with fans eager to catch The Struts’ first UK performance in over six months. Their fanbase is fairly diverse, with teenage girls, but also 40-year-old men dedicated to the cause. Their similarities to bands like Queen and The Rolling Stones are likely accountable for the latter, but while The Struts undoubtedly pay homage to their influences, there’s also something wholly unique about their material and performances that has not been done before. Their very presence oozes confidence and glamour, from the way lead singer Luke Spiller owns the stage to the incredible licks that guitarist Adam Slack is putting out, there’s no denying that this is a band with raw talent and determination to get it right.
As the four piece descended on to the stage, deafening screams and cheers filled the room, the excitement of their fans was overwhelming. They’ve certainly picked up a few new followers since their last performance, but every single person before the stage was there for the exact same reason—to support a band so deserving of recognition, even if they haven’t previously received it from their own home country. 2014 marked the release of The Struts’ debut album, Everybody Wants, though due to poor sales in the UK the band decided to focus on making it in the US. Earlier this year they re-released the album, added a few new tracks and removed a couple they didn’t deem worthy, this time receiving excellent critique from both the US and UK press. Their performance at Dingwalls was made up solely of tracks from the re-release, most notably singles such as ‘Kiss This’ and ‘Could’ve Been Me’.
The set was nothing particularly unexpecte,d but was good all the same, with the encore turning heads as Spiller and co. performed a touching acoustic rendition of ‘Black Swan‘. Following on, the band finished with ‘Where Did She Go‘, a classic singalong, then took their bows in front of their adoring audience.
With the fact that they’re now on the up in the UK, we can but hope that The Struts decide to pay a view more visits back to their home territory next year. They’ve got the style, they’ve got the tunes, and now they’ve certainly got the attention.
