Scouting For Girls shot to fame with their debut album which went to number one on the UK album charts, and have provided hit after hit ever since.
Now, following the release of a Greatest Hits album, the trio are set to embark on a massive UK tour. We spoke to Greg Churchouse about early beginnings and what to expect for Scouting For Girls after the upcoming tour.
How did the three of you meet and form 'Scouting For Girls'?
Me and Roy met on our first day of senior school when we were 11, and Roy and Pete met when they were about five or six, when they joined the Cubs together. We've known each other for a good few years now.
How was the challenge of getting into the music industry?
For us it was quite a long time. Me and Roy started off a band when we were about 14 or 15, started a covers band and plugged away, then decided we weren't actually that good at doing other people's songs - 'so let's just write our own songs so nobody can tell the horrendous mistakes we're making'. Literally did that for the next ten years, plodded away - we were a quite heavy rock band for a while, an indie band and then kind of settled on 'Scouting' in about 2005. From there we spent a couple of years honing our craft, writing our songs, doing some touring and then decided to utilise MySpace - which was the big social networking site at the time - to try and get some fans. Then literally we got ourselves some management at the end of 2006 and they managed to get us a deal within six weeks. It was quite a whirlwind from there.
Your debut album went to number one on the UK charts, how did that feel?
Very surreal - it really was. I think we released it in September and it went to number one in January, which was the first time since we got signed we actually got any time off - so all three of us were out of the country when it went number one, which was really weird. It doesn't really register, it's really weird, because we've been playing together for so long and been mates for so many, many years it still almost feels like a bit of a dream.
Your latest release was a Greatest Hits compilation, how did you come to the decision of releasing that over an album consisting of entirely new material?
I'm not gonna lie to you - it was the label. They said 'come on, let's do a greatest hits'. So we sat down and decided the best way to do it was put the singles on in chronological order - we've been very blessed with the support we've had from fans and from radio. We've ha dlots of hit singles so we just put them down on a record and there you go - Bob's your uncle!
You kick off your tour next month - what can fans expect from the show?
It's definitely the longest show, I can tell you that! We just started rehearsing it. It's gonna be classic Scouting For Girls - lots of fun, lots of singing along, lots of jumping up and down and having a good time - with a few little new surprises.
Can you tell us about some of those?
They're top secret! You'll have to come to the shows to find those out.
What are some of your favourite songs to prefer?
I suppose 'She's So Lovely', 'This Ain't A Love Song' are the two massive hits that everyone goes mad for but 'Heartbeat' is one of my favourites. Some of the more 'album tracks' that aren't so well known on the radio but our fans know and love - they're all so much fun to play and I think that's just down to the reaction we get - the guys out in the audience are always so amazing to us, it's a pleasure to tread out on stage.
What's next for Scouting For Girls following the tour?
Next we're gonna have a little bit of time off. We're gonna start working on a new album - spend a little time away, you can't come back after a Greatest Hits, within six months and put something new out. I think that's a little bit weird - so we're gonna take some time and see where we're going with the band and what kind of sound - 'cos the Greatest Hits is kind of like the end of a chapter, possibly, so we'll see where we're going next.
Scouting For Girls Greatest Hits Tour kicks off in November, and tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.co.uk
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