Interview With: Scouting For Girls

Indie pop trio Scouting For Girls exploded in the mid-00s to become a major best-selling British band. Led by songwriter Roy Stride, they rocketed to stardom thanks to huge hit single "She's So Lovely". The song was featured on their No. 1 self-titled debut album, which has since reached treble platinum certification after selling over 1 million copies in the U.K. alone!

Together with bassist Greg Churchouse and drummer Peter Ellard, Scouting For Girls have released a further six records, including Top 20 albums Everybody Wants to Be on TV (2010), The Light Between Us (2012) and Still Thinking About You (2015) – plus their Easy Cover compilation of cover songs.

Scouting For Girls are currently back in the studio working on their next LP with the coming weeks seeing them take over Uttoxeter Racecourse for a special show before appearing at Neighbourhood Weekender – the perfect choice for fans of pop and indie. Then later in the year, they play support for Olly Murs and you can catch them at Hardwick Festival which rocks the North East in August!

CLICK HERE to book your tickets for Scouting For Girls with Gigantic.

We were lucky enough to chat to Roy in the studio as he was putting the finishing touches on the new album. We spoke to him about the glory days of being the fresh new faces on the scene, and how life has changed as he’s grown older on the road – and what we can expect from their exciting shows in 2023!

Hey Roy! What are you up to?

I've been in the studio, we're finishing off a record at the moment. I'm literally finishing off the album and trying to make it sound like an album, work out what songs go where and bits at the end. So yeah, it's good.

But do you have a specific sound or direction in mind?

It's kind of a bit more modern pop bandy. Like One Republic sort of meets our song "This Ain't a Love Song". That sort of vibe… but it's a bit of a mishmash. I've always tried to create these amazing sonic journeys, where it all feels like one cohesive album. And then when a song comes on, and I'm like “That is a banger!” that has to go in, then that changes it all!

I always try and make it work as like a journey and a body of work. But I'm very open to the fact that people just listen to songs now. I'm not going to let go of a great song because it doesn't quite fit in an album when the number of people are gonna listen to that album all the way through in that order is going to be far less than the ones who are just going to come in and find the single and then find everything else.

Have you noticed a big change then, from the start of your career? That streaming has changed the way people listen, or how they consume music – if you want to call it that?

Totally! Our continued success now is based on the fact that we were one of the last album bands and that first record sold a million CDs, actual plastic CDs! And so, loads of people have a memory of that being in their car, and driving on holiday and listening to the whole thing.

And that just doesn't happen now. And because that doesn't happen, it's much harder for bands to break. So that's why I think we are continually playing big festival stages, because we're one of those bands that people do know a lot of the songs too.

Looking back at those days, it seemed like you guys shot to national attention overnight but I’m sure there was a lot of hard work getting there. What’s it like being THAT band that is suddenly everywhere?

It was a massive shock. It was our 15th anniversary since we released our first album last year. And we've been playing together as a band for 15 years before that point, before [the first album].

We’d given up any thought of ever making any money, or living, or being musicians. And so, in 2007 when it came out and 2008 when it went mental, it was the best, absolute craziest, best couple of years we'd ever had up to that point in our lives. It filled every dream we ever had.

I actually enjoy life even more now, because I’m probably even more grateful for it and I’ve grown up a bit more. And I feel like now even a better songwriter and a better frontman. And I'm better at the things which I do, even if we're not as massively successful. But those years, they're as fun as you'd want them to be.

What was the craziest sort of rock and roll excess thing that you did back?

Driving into Glastonbury, through the fields in the back of a bus going straight on to the second stage in front of 60,000 people. And we're coming off and then all the drinks. Back in that bus, which is like a limousine, straight to an airport, flying to Australia, doing like a TV show in the morning. We landed, and we went all the way through the night partying, until we turned up at that TV show. We're doing breakfast TV in Australia, turning up having not been to bed for like two days. I'm half Australian, my aunts were in the audience. There were just so many moments like that. And it was just so fun.

And just doing all those things for the first time. The first time you hear yourself on radio, then the first radio session, or meeting Chris Evans! We sort of grew up on TFI [Friday] and then getting drunk with Chris Evans… Every single dream we ever had as a band – playing a sold-out gig, then playing sold-out Shepherd’s Bush, then playing like sold-out Wembley – everything just happened. And then you tick them off, it was a real blaze. It was so fun.

Awesome! And talking about taking pride in your songwriter, you were almost an Ivor Novello winner. It must have been such an accolade to be nominated.

It was for Most Performed Work. And my manager had said “We've got this in the bag. I've done all the data, and you've won this!” So, I'd literally planned the whole speech and everything. I was there and fucking Plan B won with the song “She Said”.

To make matters worse, not only did I not win the Ivor Novello, and I have a terrible speech lined up, but he went up and gave the most incredible moving speech all about giving back to the community, which he came from in a dark place. And any money he's made, he's going to go back into like helping these kids discover music. It was such a good speech that my wife, who was there supposed to be supporting me, was crying. I’m just sitting there bitterly watching him. It was wicked. That was an amazing event actually.

It sounds like you’ve done everything there is to do! How do you keep setting challenges for yourself and keep your career fresh for you?

If you just buy a house, which you can't really afford, and massive mortgage payments, it always is quite a good thing. (laughs) I don't know. I'm joking!

I love making music, and I still have that desire in me. I still think that we can write the biggest song that anybody has ever heard. I think lots of songwriters think that. I still think we're amazing live and I still love playing live. But as a songwriter and a producer, you still are excited about that next song and that next one or the next one. Whether it's for me or for someone else, and that really drives me.

The last couple of years, I've been very much focused more on just enjoying the moment and the very current moment and not worrying about what's gone before. Everything that happened before with us is irrelevant and not worrying about what's going to happen in the future. Doing everything right in the present moment. And like trying to create the best thing you can do right now and just sort of being present and enjoying it.

It sounds like you’re employing a lot of mindfulness. Is working in music that stressful? Does it take its toll on your mental health?

To begin with, it was super stressful. The first time you do radio and TV shows you think is SO important. And I look back on it and it's all utter bollocks, you know? It all is. And I think for a couple of years, in those crazy years, they were mad highs, but I was really worried about things going wrong or forgetting the words on TV.

I think now, like you say, mindfulness. I’m back on a real journey, since you know, the last couple of years about that sort of aspect of my life. It's made me sort of look back on everything I've done in some way, and sort of realise how amazing it was, but also how it really bears very little relationship to what's happening now and what's going on, right?

I very rarely get nervous now about going on stage, even in front of thousands and thousands of people, or even in front of very few people. Because everything that could have gone wrong, over 15 years has happened. I split my trousers open in front of 10,000, to falling off a stage, to playing when nobody turned up.

But seeing every moment for what it actually is. And live now, it's been this amazing thing the last year just all about connecting with the audience and connecting with the energy that's in that room. And playing these songs people love and really connecting with that love and just bringing the whole energy up. So yeah, I'm just loving it at the moment.

It sounds like you’ve been on such a big journey and grown up on stage. Are any of those experiences going into the new record or something you’ve put to music?

Not really. I think we're one of those bands where everybody knows the name and knows "She's So Lovely". They don't actually know very much about me that most of know nothing about me, most people wouldn't recognise me in the street for even at the height of our fame.

At the very biggest, the paper man (in) the shop opposite my flat, the guy always said “You really look like someone!” And then he said to me, after a couple of months, he said “You look like that singer from the band who do "She's So Lovely" and I said “Oh god, I get that all the time”. And so that has never been a big thing with us.

But this record, it's quite an honest record and quite stripped back. Some real honest emotions in there. Relationships and love and being a dad and my kids. You know? Real things. 

Is it difficult striking that balance between family life and a career on the road?

Yeah, I think it always is. We joke that it's like a weekend job, because from May to September, we're away every weekend, usually playing two or three festivals. And then we're around in the week. But, I don't think I haven't had a two week holiday for 15 years with my family.

I love doing what I do, and I love being away at the weekends. But family have definitely missed having a dad around for those sort of things, and having a Dad on the weekend in the summer. And so, you definitely miss that. But then I'm around to take them to school a lot of the time, and also our success is sort of very UK based. So, I'm never away, rarely abroad. Every job comes with those sort of… there's always a balance isn't there?

It’s clear your love of music shines through in everything you’re saying. And your last record Easy Cover was a collection of covers. How did you pick which songs to include on it?

It was a combination of the songs that meant a lot to me as a kid. It started off just doing lockdown and being combination of fear and boredom. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was one of the first songs I ever remember hearing. It was my dad who played it to me. And it was the last band I saw before lockdown, took my dad to see Tears for Fears he'd never seen them before. And so, we went see them, which is a really nice sort of circular moment. We didn't obviously know lockdown was coming. So that that was why we chose that.

And we chose some songs, which we loved. And some songs which we were able to play because a lot of songs we love are really complicated. Lots of chords and chord changes!

Next month sees you play a headline show at Uttoxeter Racecourse. What can we expect from that?

We have a really fun festival set, which is all full of our biggest songs. It's all about getting the crowd involved, just making sure everyone goes home with a smile on their face. As I said, like, it's all about going on stage and giving a real part of ourselves, really trying to get in with the energy of the people who are there. Playing all our big songs and lift the place up!

We'll be playing a couple of new ones. We always have a couple of covers in there. We've got this AMAZING guitarist with us at the moment, who is insane! Which has literally just taken up our live show like another 20% So it's gonna be a banging year of summer shows.

Racecourse shows are always amazing because everyone's hammered and already well up for a party by the time you come on. The people there are drunk, (either) really happy because they've won loads of money, or just need to forget about how much money they've lost. So, whatever happens you’re onto a winner – or not!

And after that, it’s festival season. Where are we going to see you play this summer?

We've got a couple of the big ones. So, we've got Neighbourhood, we've got Isle Of Wight, we've got Bestival – I think down in Dorset. And we've got Foodies Festival as well, which is sort of around the UK, which is a much smaller scale; half food and family stuff. And then we pop up at like six o'clock in the afternoon. play for an hour and everyone's home in bed by eight. It's lovely. Yeah, we’re around the country this summer!

You strike me very much as a festival band. Which have been your favourite to play?

Favourite festival? I've always loved Glastonbury. That's one of the reasons I wanted to be in a band. If you’ve never been to Glastonbury have to go at least once because it's the most mad place you've ever been to. We played it last year, (it was the) 10th time I'd gone and because I've not been there for four years; I go out and the sun shining and you're like “Fuck me! There is no better place in the whole world than Glastonbury!”

And the B festivals. They were always fun. They were big for us. And also, I love any festival that’s on a beach as well – or racecourses! I love a racecourse set. When you can plug in to this energy that's already there. It's already bubbling away there. They're always good.

What else will Scouting For Girls be up to this year?

We’re doing the Olly Murs tour. We're supporting him all the way through Easter and then our album will be our new album out in October and then a tour towards the end of the year.

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