{"id":64885,"date":"2020-09-07T09:54:58","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T08:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=64885"},"modified":"2020-09-07T09:54:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T08:54:58","slug":"the-struts-robbie-williams-release-strange-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/09\/the-struts-robbie-williams-release-strange-days\/","title":{"rendered":"The Struts & Robbie Williams Release ‘Strange Days’"},"content":{"rendered":"

British glam rockers The Struts released their stunning new single \u2018Strange Days\u2019<\/a> on September 2, featuring the incomparable pop legend Robbie Williams. It received its world exclusive first play on BBC Radio 2 and is the title track from the band\u2019s upcoming third album, out next month. You can pre-order the album here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A magnificent, sprawling and string-laced duet, it\u2019s a tender-hearted epic that offers incredible solace in the most chaotic of times. The song came about \u2013 along with the rest of the ten-track album \u2013 as a result of the band\u2019s enforced lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic but started out as an idea lead singer Luke Spiller originally had on a tour bus last summer. It then took on a life of its own as a result of a chance encounter online.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI was doing Quarantine Radio and Robbie hit me up out of the blue asking if we could talk,\u201d explains Spiller, referring to the Instagram Live show launched by The Struts in the early days of lockdown. \u201cWe ended up Face-Timing for about two hours the first time we\u2019d ever spoken, talking about life and music and UFOs and everything else you can think of. I asked if he\u2019d like to work together at some point, and while we were making the album he graciously let us come over and record him singing on his front porch.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Robbie Williams notes,<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe did a vocal for a wonderful song that has been gifted my way. It\u2019s been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to listen to this man sing. It\u2019s great to be a fan of someone and then a part of this recording. It\u2019s like having a hero here and I genuinely mean that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Struts and Robbie Williams performed \u2018Strange Days\u2019 on Soccer Aid for UNICEF live on ITV last night, September 6, and took place at Manchester United\u2019s Old Trafford ground. Soccer Aid for UNICEF started in 2006 and is the world\u2019s biggest charity football match and has raised over \u00a338million for UNICEF, with 2019\u2019s event raising a record breaking \u00a37.9million.<\/p>\n

The new single follows last week\u2019s surprise release of the track \u2018Another Hit of Showmanship\u2019, which features Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes and centres on another poignant vocal performance from Spiller, who deftly channels the tension between giving in to temptation and rising above your demons.<\/p>\n

After laying down the initial version of the track, Spiller reached out to Hammond, for whom the band opened on a series of 2018 solo shows.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201c\u2018Another Hit of Showmanship\u2019 reminds me of being at a club night called Ramshackle years ago at the O2 Academy in Bristol, where they\u2019d play bands like The Libertines and Razorlight and Scissor Sisters, and of course The Strokes,\u201d says Spiller. \u201cI hit up Albert out of the blue and told him, \u2018We\u2019ve got this song, and I\u2019m so excited to see what you would do with it.\u2019 As soon as he got his hands on it, he took it to a whole different level\u2014it really just shows why he\u2019s so brilliant at what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And these two tracks are just some of the spectacular delights on offer on the Strange Days album. In an organic turn of events for a band massively embraced by some of rock-and-roll history\u2019s greatest icons\u2014a feat that\u2019s included opening for The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2014Strange Days finds The Struts joining forces with not only Robbie Williams and Albert Hammond Jr, but also\u00a0 Def Leppard\u2019s Joe Elliott and Phil Collen on the hip-shaking stomper \u2018I Hate How Much I Want You\u2019.<\/p>\n

And on the band\u2019s heaviest track to date, the fierce and filthy anthem \u2018Wild Child\u2019, the four-piece of Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies, are super-charged by the blistering guitar work of Rage Against The Machine\u2019s Tom Morello.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere the explosive \u2018All Dressed Up (With Nowhere To Go)\u2019 unfolds in snarling power chords and exquisitely cheeky lyrics while the beautifully weary \u2018Burn It Down\u2019, finds The Struts slipping into a bittersweet mood, serving up a slow-burning ballad that sounds straight from the sessions for ‘Exile on Main St’. The sole cover song on ‘Strange Days’, \u2018Do You Love Me\u2019 sees The Struts updating a fantastically sleazy track first recorded by KISS in 1976.<\/p>\n

The ‘Strange Days’ album came to life over the course of a charmed and frenzied burst of creativity this spring. After getting tested for COVID-19, the band all moved into the Los Angeles home of Jon Levine, a producer who worked extensively on their acclaimed second album YOUNG & DANGEROUS. Within just ten days of couch-crashing at Levine\u2019s house, The Struts had laid down nine original tracks alongside their masterful cover of the KISS B-side: a lean, mean body of work that amounts to their most glorious output to date.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt was so much fun to make a record this way instead of getting everything done in between touring, working with multiple producers in multiple countries,\u201d says Spiller. \u201cWe were all just burning to capture that excitement as much as we possibly could, and at times it felt like the songs were literally just falling from the sky. It was undoubtedly a magical ten days for us\u2014and I hope when people hear the album, it gives them a taste of that magic too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer (Panic! At the Disco, Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Marr), the result is a powerhouse album that lifts The Struts\u2019 glammed-up breed of modern rock to entirely new and wildly thrilling heights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British glam rockers The Struts released their stunning new single \u2018Strange Days\u2019 on September 2, featuring the incomparable pop legend Robbie Williams. It received its world exclusive first play on BBC Radio 2 and is the title track from the band\u2019s upcoming third album, out next month.<\/p>\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":64886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,21455,9,21453,21445,21446],"tags":[26008,3078,144,77,370,700,26007,14694,15539],"class_list":["post-64885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-new-albums","category-new-releases","category-new-singles","category-reviews","category-single-reviews","tag-duet","tag-laurabeth-evans","tag-new-album","tag-new-release","tag-new-single","tag-robbie-williams","tag-soccer-aid","tag-strange-days","tag-the-struts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/the-struts-strange-days.jpg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-gSx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60606,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/03\/ronan-keating-duets-with-shania-twain-robbie-williams-nina-nesbitt-and-more-on-new-album-twenty-twenty\/","url_meta":{"origin":64885,"position":0},"title":"Ronan Keating Duets With Shania Twain, Robbie Williams, Nina Nesbitt, And More On New Album ‘Twenty Twenty’","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"06\/03\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the best-loved singers of our generation Ronan Keating reveals a truly extraordinary gang of guest vocalists from all walks of musical life to duet on his new album, \u2018Twenty Twenty\u2019, out on Decca Records on 1st May.","rel":"","context":"In "Concerts"","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/RONAN-KEATING_PRESS-IMAGE2887.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/RONAN-KEATING_PRESS-IMAGE2887.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/RONAN-KEATING_PRESS-IMAGE2887.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/RONAN-KEATING_PRESS-IMAGE2887.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83527,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2023\/08\/the-struts-new-album-pretty-vicious-soon-to-hit-shelves\/","url_meta":{"origin":64885,"position":1},"title":"The Struts\u2019 New Album, \u2018Pretty Vicious\u2019, Soon To Hit Shelves","author":"Declan Hafey","date":"10\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, on August 9th, British rock band The Struts announced the release date of their upcoming fourth studio album, \u2018Pretty Vicious\u2019 - releasing on November 3rd, the new piece will be their first since October 2020. The platinum-certified band have been hard at work since the beginning, touring with legendary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DC8C9D2D-E506-4250-9E2B-3A301A96DDB0-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DC8C9D2D-E506-4250-9E2B-3A301A96DDB0-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DC8C9D2D-E506-4250-9E2B-3A301A96DDB0-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DC8C9D2D-E506-4250-9E2B-3A301A96DDB0-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DC8C9D2D-E506-4250-9E2B-3A301A96DDB0-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":84258,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2023\/09\/country-singer-songwriter-robbi-atkins-leaves-warm-and-long-lasting-impression-with-debut-album-a-good-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":64885,"position":2},"title":"Country Singer Songwriter Robbi Atkins Leaves Warm And Long Lasting Impression With Debut Album, ‘A Good One’","author":"Lisa Hafey","date":"25\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Released on September 9, 'A Good One' is the debut album from Texas country music artist, Robbi Atkins.","rel":"","context":"In "Album Of The Week"","block_context":{"text":"Album Of The Week","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/album-of-the-week\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Robbi-Atkins.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Robbi-Atkins.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Robbi-Atkins.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Robbi-Atkins.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Robbi-Atkins.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47331,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2019\/02\/emma-bunton-video-for-new-single-baby-please-dont-stop-out-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":64885,"position":3},"title":"Emma Bunton Video For New Single ‘Baby Please Don’t Stop’ Out Now","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"27\/02\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Emma Bunton has today released the sensational first track from her brand new album, 'My Happy Please'. 60s style new single, 'Baby Please Don't Stop', is accompanied by a gorgeous music video.","rel":"","context":"In "New Releases"","block_context":{"text":"New Releases","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/new-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SHOT_09_449.jpg?fit=1200%2C829&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SHOT_09_449.jpg?fit=1200%2C829&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SHOT_09_449.jpg?fit=1200%2C829&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SHOT_09_449.jpg?fit=1200%2C829&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SHOT_09_449.jpg?fit=1200%2C829&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54371,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2019\/09\/robbie-dylans-releases-debut-4-track-ep-was-it-easier\/","url_meta":{"origin":64885,"position":4},"title":"Robbie Dylan\u2019s Releases Debut 4-track EP \u2018Was It Easier\u2019","author":"Lisa Hafey","date":"10\/09\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert Dylan Plecher, known professionally as Robbie Dylan, has released his debut EP, 'Was It Easier'.","rel":"","context":"In "EP Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"EP Reviews","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/reviews\/ep-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Robbie-Dylan.jpg?fit=478%2C717&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41205,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/10\/the-struts-announce-nashville-residency-at-basement-east-december-10th-11th\/","url_meta":{"origin":64885,"position":5},"title":"The Struts Announce Nashville Residency At Basement East December 10th & 11th","author":"Lisa Hafey","date":"11\/10\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Struts will release their new album, 'YOUNG&DANGEROUS', on October 26th, via Interscope Records.","rel":"","context":"In "Concerts"","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/struts.jpg?fit=607%2C607&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/struts.jpg?fit=607%2C607&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/struts.jpg?fit=607%2C607&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}