Rolling Stone Australia - May 2016

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Whenitcametohisfavouritebands

(see sidebar), Spiller watched every live

performancecliphecouldfind,study-

inghisheroes’moves,tryingtofigureout

how they did what they did and how he

couldpushitforward.Afewyearslater,

inafriend’skitchen,hegotthewordssir

rock & rolltattooed over his heart. As

thebandtookof,Spillerconnectedwith

Zandra Rhodes, who designed outfits for

MercuryandQueenguitaristBrianMay.

Soon, she began designing Spiller’s stage

clothesaswell–includingthatelectric-

bluetopheworeinL.A.

The Struts say “Could Have Been Me”

was inspired by a moment a few years

agowhentheyalmostlosttheirway.They

hadsignedabadrecorddealandwere

beingaskedtochangetheirlookandtheir

sound. “The label was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be

greatifyousoundedlikeBastilleandhad

afloortomtohitduringcertainsongs?’”

Spillersays.“Wewerereallyataforkinthe

road:‘Dowecarryondoingwhatwetruly

believe? Or do we get tempted into chas-

ingwhatothercontemporariesaredoing?’

“And we were like, ‘Fuck it, let’s make this

song even more obvious as to what we’re

about.’I’vealwaysstucktothesamething,

becauseIbelieveinit100percent.”

Led Zeppelin

“Zeppelin were quoting Tolkien

and seemed in their own

mystical world,” says Spiller.

“I’ve never really read books,

but this kind of fantasy rock

& roll thing was really cool to

me. I didn’t realise it could be

perceived as pretentious.”

The Darkness

“I soaked them up like a

sponge when I was about 15,

they set me up for a lot, but

it’s a sad story,” says Spiller.

“Too much blow and too

many wasted opportunities. I

don’t want to make the same

mistakes that they did.”

Slade

“They weren’t afraid to write

a pop song, and I love the

Northern twang they have in

their lyrics. Noddy Holder

was a really individual singer

with a rock & roll edge.”

Queen

“I adore Freddie Mercury, and

there’s so much freedom in

Queen’s music. They sound

almost like Victorian rock &

roll – to me, Queen was the

soundtrack I’d hear if I was to

enter the world ofDownton

Abbey.”

Thin Lizzy

“I bought a cassette of their

Whiskey in the Jaralbum when

I was a kid. They were like

Queen, but harder and more

manly. It was like Queen’s

tough cousin. I think that a

lot of people have just totally

nicked their sound.”

From Darkness to Zep: A Brit-Rock Journey

Mercury

The

Darkness

Phil

Lynott

of Thin

Lizzy

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