“We got a record deal on the Tuesday, quit our jobs on the Friday and started recording on the Monday,” comments lead vocalist Roy Stride on his band’s rapid launch into the music industry.
But don’t be fooled – life hasn’t always been easy for the UK based band Scouting For Girls. Previous to this one fast-paced week there were ten gruelling years where Stride, along with bass player Greg Churchouse and drummer Peter Ellard, did everything in their power to make themselves known to record companies. They sent out demos, but to no avail.
Instead of admitting defeat, the trio decided to start promoting themselves through MySpace and word of mouth. “If you’re good enough, people will start coming to you,” declares Stride. The guys also came up with the ingenious idea of starting up their own fan club called Wolfcub where upon joining members would receive freebies such as stickers or pins. It’s not much, but apparently it was enough for people to start joining and ultimately fall in love with the light-hearted pop of Scouting For Girls.
In mid-2007 they brought out their EP It’s Not About You in the UK to rave reviews. It fast became to highest charting EP in UK history, making the boys determined to go back into the studio to create a debut album. The result is their self-titled album that was released here in Australia on 28 June. In a time where artists are choosing to write songs about their horrific upbringings and drug experimentation, Scouting For Girls prefer to look on the bright side of life, writing about childhood crushes on TV presenters and comical break ups with girlfriends.
“We love songs that people can sing along to,” Stride confirms. It goes some way to explaining the band’s fascination with festivals, having played Glastonbury twice already since their record deal last year. “Our songs are perfect for festivals; they go perfectly with the sunshine. We try to create the same vibe at our own shows.”
Stride knows full well that his band could at any moment disappear, due to the ever-changing whirlwind that is the music business. That’s why he prefers to just have fun and not take life too seriously. “It’s a dream come true. Sometimes you just have to take a moment, you know?”
After all, it was only one year ago when Stride was working as a phone salesman, bragging to fellow employees that he was in a band. At first they were impressed but after a few years his workmates started to feel sorry for Stride, thinking that he was in denial as to how good his band was. One of the highlights of Stride’s career so far was having the opportunity to invite his former workmates to a Scouting For Girls gig, so he could prove to them that all those years of hard work had at long last paid off.
The lead singer and songwriter is determined to stay doing what he has worked so hard for, even quitting smoking earlier this year so he could concentrate on his health and not further damage his singing voice. “This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do since I saw Suede perform when I was a young kid. I remember going home telling Greg that we have to do this – we have to start a band.”
Scouting For Girls were in Australia earlier this month thanks to a petition created by a Wolfcub devotee. Although they where only here for a few minor shows in Melbourne and Sydney, Stride is adamant that the band will return in September of this year. Apart from wanting to come back here for promotional reasons, Stride also has relatives in Townsville, as his mother and her side of the family are Australian. “Let everyone know that we will return later on in the year and that if they like our music they should join our fan club,” he advises.
