Feel-good pop music is all the rage in Britain, with one band at the heart of the movement, writes JOANNA HUNKIN
KEY POINTS:
It was just over a year ago that Roy Stride wrote the song Glastonbury. It was the day after the iconic music festival and his band Scouting for Girls had played to a rather meagre, rain-soaked crowd of 50. In the chorus, he sings "I'll see you at
Glastonbury next year."
True to his word, he was back in 2008 - playing to a crowd of 30,000, who sang along heartily to the jaunty pop song, along with other tracks from the band's chart-topping debut album.
Looking back over the past year leaves Stride a little speechless. The fact he is sitting in a luxury hotel in Auckland is as ridiculous as it is exciting for the 29-year-old, whose sole aspiration in life was to be a musician.
"All we wanted to do was make music together, we just wanted to make a living off it. We never expected any of this," he says, spreading his hands towards the penthouse window, overlooking Auckland's waterfront.
"A year ago, our biggest gig was 100 people. This year, the last show we did was 30,000 people. We played to 55,000 people at the Isle of Wight Festival. We're just giving each other high fives all the time."
The band, comprised of Stride and his two childhood friends Greg Churchouse and Peter Ellard, officially formed three years ago, though the boys have been playing together for more than 10 years. Working part-time jobs to support their passion, the boys started burning their own records and selling them at gigs, which they set up themselves.
Then, randomly one day, a manager emailed them asking for a demo CD. Through him, the band scored a record deal, which led to their debut album release in September last year.
But it wasn't until the band's second single that people began to take notice - and began buying the album.
By February, the record was number one on the British charts and the band took flight as one of Britain's most in-demand groups. A quick look at their MySpace page shows a full concert calendar for the rest of the year, with gigs as far away as November already sold out.
"We've always worked really hard on creating the best live show. We want to be known as one of the best live bands," says Stride.
"It's not complicated stuff, we just put on a f***ing party. We make sure everyone who comes along sings and dances and has a real good time."
Their music - which is pure, unabashed pop - beckons you to sing along. Laden with big hooks and feel-good lyrics, the band is part of a growing trend in Britain that has yet to reach New Zealand's shores.
"There is a thing going which hasn't really escaped the UK at the moment, which is proper bands making pop music," explains Stride.
"We're a proper band. If you see us live, we're like a rock 'n' roll band. We've got guitars, we're loud, we play our own instruments and we write our own songs. But we love pop music."
Stride makes no apologies for the band's simple style of feel-good music and deliberately steers clear of media write-ups.
"I don't read any press because I don't want it to colour the way I write music. At the end of the day, it's pop music. We're not changing the world - nobody is. These songs are written for the man in the street."
Is that who the album's final track James Bond - which chronicles a young man's dreams of becoming the super spy - was written for?
Stride laughs as he peers around the corner, gauging his bandmate Pete's movements, before leaning forward and whispering, "Our drummer Pete, when they were choosing a new Bond after Pierce, he told this girl that he was an actor in the running to take over the role. That's where the song came from."
The track exemplifies the band's approach to both music and life. They're just out to have fun.
"We don't take any of the music industry seriously because, at the end of the day, it's all shit. We just have the greatest time. It's too much fun."
He says that now, but Stride admits it hasn't been the easiest journey and there were definite moments when he stopped and wondered what he was doing with his life.
"You do get to a point where you see your mates buying houses, having kids, doing proper jobs - and you're still earning minimum wage ...
"We just had belief and faith in the songs we had and the show we had. We just thought it could work. But we never thought of this."
LOWDOWN
Who: Roy Stride
What: Lead singer of British pop band Scouting for Girls
Album: Self-titled - debut album out now
Trivia: The band's name was taken from the original Scout's manual Scouting For Boys. According to Stride, it is a metaphor for growing up - from being a boy scout to discovering girls.
