Photo Credit: Ben Gibson

We sat down with Manchester rising star Alex Spencer to chat about his new single ‘Clouded Thinking’, his favourite shows to date, the inspirations he carries with him into releasing music and where he see’s himself in the next ten years.

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What is your favourite song to play live and why ?

Alex: “I think live it’s always been ‘One Way Ticket’ because its the most upbeat one and at every gig you hear everyone singing the lyrics every single time. They scream it at the top of their lungs and the crowd gets mad for it. I love playing ‘Waiting for the Change’ because together it is our strongest track we have been playing it together for the past 3 years but ‘Clouded Thinking’ or my new song ‘Where Do We Go’, which is a bit more electronic and a bit like a Circa Waves, Two Door Cinema Club indie-pop vibe, is one of my favourite tunes to play live recently because it is something fresh”.

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Who were your music inspirations growing up ? 

Alex: “Growing up I used to listen to a lot of my dads music. Oasis, The Stone Roses, The Beatles, The La’s. Over the years having my own music and meeting new people, I started discovering Sam Fender and Catfish and the Bottlemen when  I was about 14. I heard my first Sam Fender song and it changed everything for me. I started discovering more music and listening to more bands in the scene and then I guess my music knowledge started developing. I started listening to more genres of music and I was also inspired by my mates because they didn’t know indie music, so I started listening to artists like Dave and Loyle Carner, and I take so much inspiration from them because even though it’s rap the lyrics are still insane”.

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How have you found the release of your new song ‘Clouded Thinking’ ?

Alex: ”I wrote this song over a year ago around April 2024 and its been in my set since last summer, so I’ve been playing it every summer since the last and when I play it, everyone always comes up to me and asks me why it hasn’t been released. It’s been going down so well, I started playing it on tour and every night of the tour people were loving it. At my Manchester show at Gorilla, I told the crowd they need to learn it and everyone sang it at the show and then from there I’ve been teasing it the past few days and getting it stuck into peoples heads because its catchy. Out of all my singles, I think it’s the one that has gotten off to the best start. I’ve worked really hard towards this and I’m learning from trial and error from the past and how to put out a song and market it.”

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What gigs are you most looking forward to playing this year ? 

Alex: “I have worked out I have got about 12 shows from now until the summer and I’m most excited for TRNSMT which will be insane and Neighbourhood Weekender. I am buzzing to be on the same as artists such as Wunderhorse and Dizzee Rascal. I’m playing the Albert Hall with The Sherlocks soon, that should be good fun and then I’m just playing little festivals across the country just trying what I can to get my name out there”.

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What are your biggest aims for the future and where do you see yourself in 10 years ?

Alex: ”My 18 month plan is to carry on doing exactly what I’m doing. Keep growing my fan base and build it up, I have loads of songs that I’m writing and so many bangers in the bank waiting to be released over the next couple of years. I want to play bigger festivals and bigger gigs. My dream is to be in the position where I can just tour the world with my band and my friends. Headlining Glastonbury is my dream as it is for most artists and my biggest dream is to tour South America. In 10 years time I want to headline the Etihad, that is my dream. I’m a big City fan, I’ve been going to the games since I was little and I have been to plenty of gigs myself there like Liam Gallagher and Coldplay.”

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What is your favourite gig you’ve played so far ?

Alex: “It was a year ago today that I supported The Royston Club in London and we always say it was our best gig we have played. It is by far our best venue. It was definitely hard to top. After last week headlining Gorilla you just can’t beat a headline show like that. It sold out and the energy in the room was insane from the start. The crowd was singing all my songs but there will be many more like that coming in the future”.

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How did it feel to get your song “nightmares” on FC25 ?

Alex: “Honestly that was a dream come true. When I listened to my first Sam Fender song when I was 14 that was ‘Play God’ on FIFA and I knew that’s what I wanted to do, but I never knew how to. When we wrote the song and first got it demoed, the guy I was working with was telling me he could hear it on FIFA and then next thing I know we had done it and it was insane.”