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With their new album Easy Cover due on 23 April, Scouting for Girls have announced a UK tour for the Autumn. The band regrouped during what should have been a summer of festivals to create a joyous album of 80s covers alongside some incredible new tracks, and an optimism that 2021 can be everything that 2020 was not.

Among the dates calling into Ipswich, Reading and Coventry, Scouting for Girls will be at Exeter Corn Exchange on 25 October.

Generation-bridging anthems

The indie-pop trio (Roy Stride, Pete Ellard, and Greg Churchouse) have been friends since they were five. Their 2007 self-titled debut went on to become triple platinum and birthed the generation-bridging anthems of She’s So Lovely, Elvis Ain’t Dead and Heartbeat.

80s

Their 2019 tour was their biggest yet, and a stellar 2020 had been lined up. However, 2020 had other ideas! Scouting For Girls initially responded by surrounding themselves with sources of comfort and escapism – the music and culture of their childhoods in the 1980s.

Not serious or clever

The album Easy Cover – a pun-tastic title on 80s pop-tastic Phil Collins Easy Lover, was almost titled Scouting For Girls Just Wanna Have Fun as it perfectly encapsulated the spirit of both the album and the band’s legendary live shows. Originally intended as a rather sedate acoustic EP the first recordings were discarded as trying a little too hard to be something different, clever or even dare we say it, a bit serious. As frontman Roy Stride put the project back on the shelf he reminded himself that Scouting for Girls should never try to be serious or clever.

Serious cheering up

Then came lockdown and for the first time in ages Roy found himself with spare time and an empty studio. In need of some serious cheering up, he reopened the recording sessions, envisaged playing the songs live and stripped away anything that was either too earnest or pretentious. The result is a fun indie pop reimagining of some of the biggest songs from the 80s. A decade that had it all, from fantastic unashamedly pop masterpieces to incredible indie-alt bands.

Joyous

Easy Cover is a joyous celebration of that golden era of music with Scouting For Girls revisiting their favourite childhood musical moments, from Tears For Fears, The Waterboys, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and much more.

“We’re not trying to do justice to these songs! That’s impossible. We’re just trying to have fun and take them out on the road to give people the night out they deserve after 2020!”

It’s not just covers. Roy was soon inspired to write some original material inspired by the decade. Upcoming single I Wish It Was 1989 (“An anthem for 2020!”) and album closer and new single Xmas In The 80s (“A nostalgic longing for when Santa was called Father Christmas) are already set to be Scouting fan favourites and show Roy’s unique songwriting at its very best.

In 2021, the band will also take to the road on their longest tour yet.

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS – 2021 LIVE DATES in the South West includes Barnstaple, Frome, and Exeter