Scouting For Girls at the Mem Hall, courtesy of Sound Knowledge

From the minute Scouting For Girls walked on stage at the Marlborough College Memorial Hall on Sunday night, it was obvious it was going to be a fun evening. It’s not just their music that’s upbeat but lead singer Roy Stride, bass guitarist Greg Churchouse and drummer Peter Ellard are such good friends, their love of a good time together is projected on to the audience. 

They launched straight in to This Ain’t A Love Song, a single from their second album Everybody Wants to Be on TV. “We’re starting with something everyone knows, which is more for us than it is for you!” Explained Roy, who was on sparkling form from the off. Next came the first single and title track from their new album These Are The Good Days released on March 27th. But before he explained how the album came about, Roy wanted everyone to know how happy he was to be back in Marlborough.

“I’ve been looking forward to this show for a long time,” he said to a huge response. “Many of you hopefully know we have been coming back to Marlborough from the very beginning. We played at Sound Knowledge for the first album and met Roger (Mortimer) and we come back every single album. We filmed a video here (for Christmas in the Air) and had the very best time. So today we wanted to do something a bit special.”

The band played some of their new album as well as a few older songs and they also sent drummer Pete out “like Jeremy Kyle” so that the audience could ask some questions. However Roy said that releasing an album called These Are The Good Days at a time when the world is not at its happiest, had been quite a challenge. “I’m not going to lie, it’s been quite a tough sell,” he laughed. “But that was kind of the point. Last year I had the chance to move to America; I had a publishing deal to do some writing out there. And when we moved there, we got caught up in the LA wildfires. The house we were living in got burnt down. So we were in a hotel room – me and my wife, two kids and three dogs – and I was trying to find a good part out of it. But as I get older, the smaller I keep my life. I don’t look too much at the news, not trying to ignore but it’s in our face a lot. And if we just concentrate on what is important, life is still pretty sweet. That’s what These Are The Good Days are about. I feel like I’ve brought the mood down!”

It’s impossible for Scouting For Girls to bring the mood down. Their music is 100% feel good factor and for those at the gig, life was very sweet for the duration of the gig. Plus the banter between Roy and Greg especially is a constant source of entertainment. Next was I Wish I Was James Bond, then some questions and then Heartbeat. There was audience participation for a lot of the songs but especially Waiting For Your Love from the new album, to replace James Morrison’s guitarist Connor McDonald who helped form the track. “This is probably the rockiest song we’ve done as Scouting For Girls,” said Roy. It even prompted a couple to start dancing in the aisles. “I thought you were leaving!” Laughed Roy.

Questions for the band led to explanations about how they met, the name of their band, their favourite animals and sports, who they’d swap instruments with, their first gigs as well as a snippet of Glow and a full performance of their Christmas song as it’s one of the favourite songs they’ve written – not to mention the Marlborough connection. Who they’d like to collaborate with led to an easy plug for their 20th anniversary shows at Wembley Arena and Manchester AO Arena in February next year (the biggest shows of their career to date) when they’ll be supported by initial arch rivals now friends The Hoosiers. “Maybe there’ll be a Scouting For Girls Hoosiers thing,” pondered Roy.

They sang Stars Never Fade, inspired by the Oasis reunion and Elvis Isn’t Dead which fused in to a Can’t Help Falling in Love singalong. Then even more singing for the finale, which had to be their ever popular She’s So Lovely – when a lot of the audience got up on their feet this time, young and old alike. With two shows at 5pm and 8pm and audience members coming from London to Blandford to much more locally, the band pulls in the crowds. Keep coming back to Marlborough Scouting For Girls, they are definitely good days when you do!