“I was just moving around and somebody was like, ‘you strut around a lot’,” noted The Struts singer/guitarist Luke Spiller. “From then on, we knew we had a great name. We couldn’t believe it hadn’t been taken.”
Spiller, who had been playing in bands since his teens, teamed up with guitarist Adam Slack. In 2012, bassist Jed Elliott and drummer Gethin Davies joined to form The Struts.
The U.K. band toured Europe extensively opening for the Rolling Stones in Paris (2014). Not surprisingly Spiller was referred to as “the musical love child of Freddie Mercury and Mick Jagger.”
“Everybody Wants,” The Struts debut studio album, led to a U.S. tour. “Could Have Been Me,” the album’s lead single, landed in the Top 5 on the U.S. Alternative and Active Rock charts.
In 2016, they opened Guns N’ Roses in San Francisco where they debuted their single “Put Your Hands Up.” They went on to open for The Who, Rolling Stones (again) and Foo Fighters who said The Struts were “the best opening band we’ve ever had.”
“Young & Dangerous” rolled out in ’18. Like “Everybody Wants,” the album landed mid-pack on the Billboard 200 and Rock Albums chart.
“I felt like it was really important to make this second album somewhat depart from the first one,” shared Spiller. “Not a departure musically, I didn’t want to go completely left. I think it’s important to give people more of what they fall in love with.”
The “Strange Days” album contained the ballad title track, recorded with pop singer Robbie Williams and “Another Hit Of Showmanship” featuring The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.
A pair of non-album singles followed – “Low Key In Love” with Paris Jackson and “Fallin’ With Me.”
Next came The Struts’ fourth album “Pretty Vicious.” The November ’23 release held the single “Too Good At Raising Hell.”
“This record showcases each individual member’s strengths,” stated Spiller. “It’s some of my favorite music, hands down, we’ve ever conjured up. It’s the record everyone’s been waiting for.”
