Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
12:00 AM 3rd October 2024
arts
Review
The Struts Team Up With Barns Courtney On Tour
The Struts
Photo: Graham Clark
Eight years ago, during a homecoming gig in a small Derby club, I predicted that The Struts would achieve stardom. While their star has not risen as far as it could have, how do you measure success in popular music in 2024?
If being able to perform in any given city in America and Europe and guarantee a sold-out audience is any gauge to go by as opposed to big album sales, then The Struts have been triumphant.
Returning to their homeland, the band is currently on a double headline bill with Barns Courtney. Besides both acts having big rock numbers, the common denominator here is being able to entertain an audience in style.
When many of the audience members at the o2 Academy in Leeds would normally be finishing off their evening meal, The Struts had the unenviable task of being the first act to arrive on stage at the unusual time of 7.10pm.
The challenge, however, becomes easier when you have a back catalogue alongside new songs, which always sound better when performed with a little audience participation. This is made even more convincing when frontman Luke Spiller is in charge.
By the third song, Spiller is already sweating profusely. As the band gets to
Put Your Money On Me, Spiller is down amongst the crowd with charm and swagger intact. As they close with
Could Have Been Me, there couldn’t have been any band finer to grace the o2 Academy stage.
Barns Courtney
Photo: Graham Clark
Barns Courtney and his band faced a challenging task as they followed one of the most underrated British rock bands in history. Courtney has a classic rock voice—and the songs to match. With a touch of Michael Hutchence, the late INXS singer, mixed with the stage presence of The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Courtney was a ball of energy who never stood still. Mix that with the rock star poses of guitarist Andrew Martin, and the combination is a winning one.
Inviting a fan up on stage to play their big track,
99, was a memorable moment, though it was closing number Fire that ignited a spark with Courtney himself singing amongst the fans. If anyone thought that rock music was on a deadly slope, tonight proved otherwise in a brilliant and defiant showing.
The tour continues on 4th October: NX, Newcastle