ShareRoy Stride, (seen here in the centre), an English musician, songwriter and producer chats with Kevin Cooper about his love of Rock City, his friend Olly Murs, opening for Sir Tom Jones and his forthcoming 2024 appearance at the Weekend Festival in Nottingham.
Roy Stride is an English musician, songwriter and producer also known for fronting the multi platinum UK band, Scouting For Girls.
He has combined worldwide single and album sales in excess of fifteen million and his songs have featured on three American number one albums, three UK number one albums and have been streamed on Spotify over two billion times. He has also been nominated for one Ivor Novello and four Brit awards.
With Scouting For Girls he has written and produced four top ten albums and four top ten singles in the UK. Their self titled debut album topped the charts in 2008 and sold over a million copies, yielding three top ten singles; She’s So Lovely, Heartbeat, and Elvis Ain’t Dead. Their follow up song, This Ain’t A Love Song reached number one for two weeks in 2010.
He has written and produced records for a diverse range of artists including 5 Seconds Of Summer, Jax Jones, One Direction, Callum Scott and The Vamps.
Whilst busy promoting Scouting For Girls appearance at the Weekend Festival in Nottingham, he took some time out to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.
Roy good morning, how are you?
I’m really good thanks Kevin, how are you today?
I’m very well thank you and before we move on let me firstly thank you for taking the time to speak to me today, I appreciate that you are very busy.
Not a problem, it’s a pleasure to be chatting with you once again.
And just how is life treating you at this moment in time?
I have to be totally honest with you and say that life at the moment is pretty good. We are having such an amazing summer, full of festivals and live shows which really has been a lot of fun actually. We have, in fact, played some of the biggest shows that we have ever played, and the best shows that we have ever played. I feel really lucky actually as 2024 really has been a cracking year for us.
On the subject of best gigs, tell me about your experiences of Rock City?
I have to say that Rock City is most probably in my top five venues in the world for us to play. Nottingham and Rock City really is a special place for Scouting For Girls. We are always busy; we love playing up there at Rock City and I personally feel that the more we play the better we get. It still feels as though we are picking up fans all of the time. So, what can I say, bring it on, we love it (laughter).
The last time that I saw you here in Nottingham was when you recently opened for Olly Murs at the Motorpoint Arena. How was that?
We did, we opened for Olly which was great fun. It is always lovely being on tour with him. He was signed to our record label, Epic, a couple of years after we released our very first album, and I have always looked upon Olly as my younger but far more successful better-looking brother (laughter). It really was nice of him to take us out on tour with him. It really was great fun, great crowds.
I’ve interviewed Olly a number of times and what comes over to me is that he doesn’t quite accept or realise just how good he is.
Yes, I would totally agree with that. He is a really humble guy, in so many ways. I think it’s funny because whenever I see him, he always reminds me about how before he had X Factor, he used to play our song, She’s So Lovely in his set when he was singing in the pub (laughter). I feel that there is still a part of him that is still that pub singer. I think that is why he is so successful. We were both in our mid to late twenties when we got our big breaks, and I think that when you have waited around for ten years trying to get a break, both of you have done a hell of a lot of work, you have done a lot of the ground work to know just how to perform live, but also you are truly grateful for it.
Because you have grafted for it for ten long years, a whole decade, I feel that you appreciate every last moment even more. Personally, I most definitely felt just how many twists of fate and pieces of good fortune that I had picked up along the way, being in the game for so long, sometimes means that you make your own luck. So yes, I totally agree with what you say. I feel that Scouting For Girls are better live now than we have ever been and I have to say that I think Olly is too. It’s quite interesting because I recently saw him supporting Take That in stadiums, and it felt like Take That were supporting Olly (laughter).
Whenever you are supporting a bigger act, especially an act that you love, first of all you want to make the show good; you want to make it really good for the fans. You want everyone to have a really good time and get the crowd warmed up for Take That. Also, you really want to steal their fans, so you do raise your game (laughter). I have watched some video footage of Olly at the Take That show and he really has done that. He really was working hard on that tour. Watching the footage, I have to say that I truly believe that he is better live now than he has ever been in his life. He really is so good.
I was fortunate enough to review and photograph Olly at The City Ground here in Nottingham opening for The Gary Barlow Trio, and I have to totally agree with you, he was fantastic.
I feel that Olly and me both come from a very similar place, and I suppose Gary Barlow and Robbie (Williams) as well who is, in my opinion, the greatest front man that there has ever been. Back in the day when Robbie played Knebworth it truly was phenomenal. Olly has always looked up to Robbie as I have always looked up to Olly. We all come from that world of entertainment and being a showman, we are all trying to put on a show for the fans. For me, with Scouting, it is not just about playing the songs that people love, it’s about being that showman, being the front man and getting people involved in what it is that you are doing.
For me, it’s all about making it into a show, it’s not just about playing the songs, for me it’s all about the connection between me, the band, the crowd and it’s about trying to create as much love, excitement and fun in that room or that field or that stadium, as is humanly possible. That is what I love doing, I absolutely love it.
You have mentioned festivals together with your fondness for our fair city; on Saturday 21st September 2024 you are headlining the Weekend Festival in Nottingham. Are you looking forward to that?
Yes, I am, I really am. It is truly amazing, and it is so lovely to being playing a festival that we have never played before in one of our favourite cities. Toploader are on before us, and we have played a few shows with them over the years. I managed to catch one of their shows earlier this year when we played a festival with them and you have to agree that they have got one of the greatest feel good songs of all time with Dancing In The Moonlight. I have to say that their set is really good, they have got some cracking new songs, plus they do a couple of amazing covers.
I have loved watching Toploader and they really do raise their game. It really is truly amazing to see just how their show has progressed. I really can’t wait to be back up there in Nottingham. You really do have some of the best fans in the country. As I said earlier, Rock City is one of my top five venues in the entire world. The crowds in there are always incredible. I always get nervous now about playing Rock City simply because so many of our shows in there really have been so good. Whenever we go there, I always say, “well it can’t be better than the last time” and it always is (laughter). It’s the passion for live music plus there is something magic about that venue. You mentioned that you are a photographer, who have you shot recently?
I recently shot Sir Tom Jones in Derby, and I have to say, despite his age, he really can still do it.
Amazing, we supported him last year and it really was fantastic. It was super rock ‘n’ roll; he turned up in the swankiest Bentley that I have ever seen, he pulled up to the side of the stage, he got out straight onto the steps of the stage, did his show, came off stage and he was off (laughter). What was funny about that was that was that he had blocked us in and we couldn’t go anywhere (laughter). That meant that we had to watch the show, and I have to say that his voice is still incredible. He is still an amazing show man, he still had women throwing their knickers at him which was absolutely brilliant. How was he when you saw him?
I have to be totally honest with you and say that he was absolutely fantastic.
He really is a living legend. We did a TV show with him back in 2008 and it was one of our first big TV shows. We came off a weekend of touring, so our tour bus turned up, we fell off the tour bus into a drunken hung-over heap, and our makeup artist looked at us, shook her head saying, “I have absolutely no idea as to what I am going to do with you” (laughter). The show was called Something For The Boys and it was in aid of testicular cancer. We actually felt like competition winners because there was Boyzone, Will Young, Enrique Iglesias, and there was Tom Jones. All of these amazing artists were all suited and booted and then there was us, in jeans and t-shirts and we looked as though we had just wandered onto the stage (laughter).
Because we had got there so early, we were able to watch all of the sound checks. We watched Tom Jones’ sound check and he didn’t even need a mic. His vocals were so incredible, we felt as though we were in the presence of something amazing. He has just got that. You don’t get that all the time, some bands you see, and you feel like they could be your mates, I think like that with Olly. You would love to go for a drink with them, you would love to have a nice conversation with them, but sometimes when you see something like that, you really are in the presence of greatness. I really get that with Tom Jones. There was that big debate about will he or won’t he play Deliah.
Tom made this big issue out of it, and spent some time talking about it. He was telling the audience that in no way does he condone violence, bearing in mind that the audience was largely female and over the age of 60, desperate to hear Deliah. I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be a shame if they didn’t get to hear it’ and guess what, he played it (laughter). It is all down to what the audience expects. You get some artists like me, Olly, Gary and Robbie who like to give the people what they want. That is very much what we are like. Then you get some front men and artists out there who just give the people what they want to give them whether they want it or not, whether they like it or not.
I have always had a huge admiration for that although it has never been right for me. I get the buzz from creating those feelings, it’s not about me showing off what songs I have done, or not even trying to see my songs, for me it’s all about trying to give the audience the best night that I can. Having said all of that, for some artists it is clearly very different; it’s them showing what they can do, and I find it interesting just how those two things collide. Some of my favourite artists go on one side whilst some of my favourite artists go on the other.
A prime example of that was when I finally got to see Van Morrison. He played for fifty minutes and there was no Brown Eyed Girl or Moondance.
(Laughter) he is at the very other end of that spectrum to Olly Murs (laughter). Having said that for me, if you have written Brown Eyed Girl and Moondance you can do whatever you want for me (laughter). Did he do Days Like This?
No (laughter) people were going absolutely ballistic. They were saying to me, “we have come along to listen to him play three songs and he hasn’t done any of them” they really were not happy. To be fair he did mumble his way through Have I Told You Lately.
God, he really is so good (laughter). Van’s band is pretty slick and there is a rumour that if you mess up in Van’s band you are out straight away. My old tour manager used to manage Van Morrison albeit very briefly and he said that you simply didn’t mess around with it. Van knew exactly what it was that he wanted, he did what he wanted to do, and his shows could only be one hour’s drive from the airport (laughter). He simply did everything to suit himself. Fair play to him, as he really is such a huge star. The guy is a genius and fair play to him.
The last time that I felt like I was in the presence of greatness was when I finally got to see the late Peter Green at the Robin 2 in Bilston. He really was amazing.
Wow, I never did get to see Peter but his early work with Fleetwood Mac is truly amazing. The Robin 2 now that really is another great venue.
I love it over there and I have just booked to see P.P. Arnold later in the year.
Really, I will have to have a look at our schedule to see if I am free as I really would love to see P.P. Arnold.
On that note let’s quickly get back to Scouting For Girls (laughter). You have mentioned the Weekend Festival, just what can we expect?
As it is a summer festival, we will hopefully be bringing up there to the good people of Nottingham some sunshine together with good vibes. We will be playing all of our big songs, plus we will be playing some new songs from our latest album The Place We Used To Meet which came out last year. Our festival set is going down so well this year and if you haven’t seen us yet this year then you are going to love it.
You have played Nottingham many times now, what do you think to our fair city?
That’s easy, I love it. We have had some amazing times up there in Nottingham, it’s the place that claims to have the oldest pub in the world isn’t it, The Trip To Jerusalem, which if my memory serves me well, is built into the rock which Nottingham Castle stands on. When our band finally got signed to a record label, we had a stag do there (laughter). Some of our friends were studying at Nottingham University so we used to come to Nottingham just before the band took off so every time that we come back, we know just where the good places to stay are so yes, all of the band are big fans of Nottingham. We have played most of the venues in Nottingham, Rock City, The Arena and even the Royal Concert Hall back in 2010 so we really do love playing in Nottingham. I love the tram system; it really feels like it is bringing the city to life, it really is such a great city.
Which do you prefer playing, the larger outdoor festivals or the smaller more intimate gigs?
That’s easy; I love everything (laughter). Anytime that I am performing I love it. We do different shows, if we are playing to one hundred people, if we are playing to two thousand people or we are playing to twenty thousand people it will be a different show, a different experience, I just love the moment. I love being out there on stage, I love that connection with people. I find it great playing at festivals during the summer, there is something truly magic about that. I’m loving that.
You have mentioned the last album, The Place We Used To Meet. A lot of the fans said that it was your best work to date, would you agree with that?
Yes, I would, I would most definitely say that. It is definitely the best album that we as a band have put together, as an album for many years. I think that this album has got the best collection of songs which make it work as an album. We worked really hard on it and I am super proud of it. It’s funny because once you have released a big album, a really massive hit album; generally they are the only songs that stream. But I have to say that the songs from this album feel like they belong in our top ten streamed songs. I think that proves that the quality was there. So, yes, I would totally agree with that.
You are seven albums in now. Just how hard is it for you to put a set list together?
Being totally honest with you, it really is so hard. I spend hours putting together a set list. It’s funny because my wife always jokes and says, “you always play the same songs” (laughter). We will always play She’s So Lovely and Elvis Ain’t Dead, in fact we will always play four of our biggest songs, whilst the rest of it is completely different. We try to take people on a journey, and on the last tour the journey went all the way back to our bedrooms where we started playing when we were teenagers. It took us all the way from there to Tokyo; that was the last tour. I always feel that the set list is so minutely managed. I really work hard on taking people with us, the songs have to be balanced in order to take the audience with us, and it truly does take hours. It’s awful, it’s like trying to do a crossword puzzle.
Is there any new material on the horizon?
Do you know what, there is. We are currently working on the next album, which is a really lovely, heart warming, feel good album. The Place We Used To Meet was a real album full of longing, nostalgia, loss and looking back. The next album is all about enjoying the present moment and being very grateful. I feel that it is going back to the real Scouting For Girls nostalgia but joy like. It really is a real feel good album. I am just writing it at the moment. We are going to have choirs, strings and a horn section, and it is going to be a beautiful, feel good bonanza. Having said all of that, it most probably will not come out until 2026 but in answer to your question, yes, there is a new album coming.
Do you have a working title?
No, not yet, but if I told you then I would have to shoot you (laughter).
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I would have to say that three times headlining Rock City has to be up there. Playing Top Of The Pops has to be up there. Touring Japan and meeting my wife there, that was a double-edged sword type of thing and that is what the song Glow on our album is about. To be honest for me, the real highlight almost twenty years on, is still doing what I love for a living with my three oldest friends, for me, every day is a highlight.
If there is a good side, then there must be a downside so what would you say has been your biggest disappointment?
I would most probably say just how unlike rock ‘n roll backstage at a gig really is (laughter).
Because the personal in the band have stayed the same for 19 years, has that made the unit stronger?
Yes, it has and I really do mean this when I say that we are like a family. We really are so close, it’s ridiculous. Our touring party has remained pretty much the same over the last decade; front of house, our guitar tech, our tour manager, they really are all like family. There is a very strong bond.
Are there any regrets?
No, I never have any regrets.
In your opinion who does streaming benefit?
I love streaming (laughter). On my phone I have got every single song that has been written in my entire life. Every song that has been written in the last two thousand years is on my phone. I personally feel that streaming is incredible. Streaming actually rescued the music industry from piracy. I feel that you either embrace it or you die as there is no other way. If you were an independent artist there are so many ways that you can monetise your music. You get people into your music by giving it to them and letting them stream it. Then you can monetise it in so many other ways, you can play live, you can sell merchandising, fan clubs, the face of selling music has changed beyond believe.
Thirty years ago, you never made any money out of playing live; artists made their money out of selling CD’s but now things have changed. I absolutely love streaming. I agree with you when you say that the money earned at this moment in time isn’t exactly fair. However, in many ways it is fairer than it used to be. The good thing is that it is getting transparent now, you see how many streams you have and that’s how much money you make. Spotify make this amount of money, and the artist makes that amount of money. It really is as clear as day. If you can sell your music for more than that then sell your music for more than that but that is what the market value of it is. I love streaming (laughter).
What was the first record that you bought?
That was Tears For Fears Sowing The Seeds Of Love.
Who did you first see performing live?
That was Suede at the Watford Coliseum.
What was the last song or piece of music that made you cry?
That would have been White Wine In The Sun by Tim Minchin.
What is currently on Scouting For Girls live rider?
(Laughter) where the hell did that come from? I’ve stopped drinking so there is a lot of sparkling water. Having said that, there is still a lot of drinking going on, tempered with Whiskey and wine together with a hell of a lot of chocolate. There is a bit of everything really.
On that note Roy let me thank you once again for taking the time to speak to me today it’s been a pleasure.
Thank you, it really has been lovely to talk to you once again Kevin. We will see you up there in Nottingham at the Weekend Festival. Please do drop by and say hello.
Tickets for the Weekend Festival are now on sale
