INTERVIEW: The Speedways
Discussing The Speedways' First Ever U.S. Tour In Early November
The Speedways are heading to America for the first time ever to do an East Coast tour with The Whiffs.
That’s big news for fans of modern power pop since both bands are at the forefront of the genre’s current resurgence—The Speedways leading the charge from London, while The Whiffs keep cranking out should-be-hits in Kansas City, Missouri.
When it comes to hooky, high-energy rock and roll, it’s hard to beat The Speedways latest studio album, Talk Of The Town (2022), and The Whiffs’ Scratch ‘N’ Sniff (2023). The Speedways also recently released an impressive career-spanning compilation called Triple Platinum in advance of the U.S. tour.
“This East Coast tour is a big deal for us, of course. We’re even gonna have a rehearsal for it!” said Matt Julian, front man for The Speedways. “The plan is to see how this one goes and then look at the possibility of a West Coast run next year. We’ll see.”
If you live anywhere near the handful of lucky cities on this short tour, you definitely don’t want to miss out. Both bands are stacked with undeniable songwriting and musical talent, but they’re also known for their rock and roll live shows.
“The Speedways are at the 5 year mark and feel it’s either now or never. There are no expectations or targets—we know we’ll be taking a bit of a loss—but life has to be about doing stuff like this otherwise we’d just get stuck,” Julian said. “I’m excited about it and kinda daunted too!”
I caught up with Julian as he made the final preparations for The Speedways’ U.S. live debut to discuss some of his biggest American influences, how The Whiffs tour came together, and what they’ll likely be listening to in tour van.
Matt Julian Interview
I was very excited to hear about The Speedways doing a US tour. How did it come together?
Matt Julian: We’ve been talking about it for a while but obviously it’s not the easiest thing to arrange. We’re doing it as a labour of love I guess.
Our biggest audience in terms of record sales (and streaming now too I think) has always been America since I first made Just Another Regular Summer in 2018, so there is some method to the madness.
I originally contacted a few people for advice and it was actually Tim from Dig! Records who suggested it might make sense to do a tour with The Whiffs.
Todd O’ Phonic has been involved too and we’ve had loads of help from our friends in bands like Baby Shakes, Ravagers, Civil Rats, Mala Vista, etc.
The Speedways and The Whiffs strikes me as a dream bill for fans of modern power pop. What are a few of your favorite songs by The Whiffs?
Matt Julian: Yeah, it should be a great show! Like you say, it’s a pretty cool bill for the modern power pop scene.
We’ve often said that ‘Shakin All Over’ is one we wish we had in our repertoire! I’m a sucker for the Byrds’esque stuff they do so well, so songs like ‘She’ and ‘Please Be True’ are right up my street. I really like ‘Romeo’ from the latest record too.
We should compliment each other pretty well on the tour I reckon.
Matt Julian: The Speedways released the Triple Platinum in the run up to the this tour. What can fans of the band expect from this collection?
Matt Julian: Once we decided back in the Spring that we were definitely gonna go to the USA we wanted to have a new product to coincide with the shows. It was a bit much to have a new album worth of songs ready and we’ve already done a covers EP so it made sense to do a first 5 years collection.
Obviously, it’s a bit tongue in cheek—and I get the feeling our ‘self awareness’ is very well hidden—but life’s too short to not be proud of your own band.
All the tracks are re-mastered with a few re-mixes and radio edits thrown in. I listened to it all the way through the other day and I thought ‘fuck, we’ve got some great tunes!’
So yeah, expect 12 great tunes!
Some of my favorite tracks on Triple Platinum are the full-band re-records. What was it like revisiting those earlier tracks?
Matt Julian: Thanks. Yeah, the idea of re-recording the older songs was to freshen them up and turn them into ‘real’ Speedways recordings. We chose the songs we play live the most often so they would immediately have that energy and familiarity.
They sound a lot more fleshed out and everyone has their stamp on them. Really pleased with how they turned out. We knocked them out live in the studio pretty much.
I still find ‘Just Another Regular Summer’ difficult to sing because of the memories it holds, but I think that’s why people enjoyed it in the first place.
We’ve done a video for ‘In Common With You’ which was always one of the most popular songs on the first record.
The Speedways do a fair amount of international touring around Europe. Why is now the right time to tour America?
Matt Julian: ‘Regular Summer’ was about regrets and wishing I could have done something differently. It’d be a shame to look back at The Speedways and say ‘it was ace, but we should have gone to America’…
Who are a few of your favorite American bands/artists of all time? Why?
Matt Julian: Well, I could be here all day! …Buddy Holly immediately springs to mind. I love all the great rock and rollers but Buddy Holly set the blueprint for my other U.S. heroes—Ramones, Tom Petty, Roky Erickson, Bob Dylan. In my weaker moments I think I have a spiritual connection to Buddy Holly, but then Joe Meek thought that too and that didn’t end well!
Chuck Berry is the reason I wanted to learn to play guitar. Ronettes, Phil Spector and all the ‘Girl Group/Brill Building’ stuff. Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Dion DiMucci, Chrissie Hynde, Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements, The Jackson 5, The Temptations—Motown full stop...Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, Alice Cooper Band, Bay Area Thrash Metal, KISS, Stevie Nicks, Carl Perkins, Stray Cats, The Carpenters, MC5, Arthur Alexander, Blue Oyster Cult, Lana Del Rey, The Byrds, Dionne Warwick, The Cars.
I’m literally just listing into oblivion now—but you get the idea!
I can’t really explain why I love any of them. I just do. American pop culture has consumed my life I guess, but so has English pop culture…and I think that sums up The Speedways sound!
If I got in the van with The Speedways on the American tour, what would I be listening to?
Matt Julian: We actually have a Spotify playlist called ‘In The Van With The Speedways’. We regularly get in metal moods so expect to hear Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne blasting out on the road to Zaragoza. Lots of soul, punk, hip hop, ‘80s pop, hair metal, Smiths/Moz, Dexys, The Jam, Hanoi Rocks.
Forever Changes by Love and Sam Cooke’s Live at the Harlem Square Club are the two full albums that get regular plays. In fact, power pop doesn’t get much of a look in haha! Kinda like how Slayer only listen to the Eagles and Steely Dan on the tour bus!
⚡️💥 Support Independent Music Writing ⚡️💥
The second volume of our semi-annual music journal features some of today's best music writers and the most talented modern musicians:
Ryan Allen on The Ties That Bind Hardcore Punk & Power Pop
Tyler Asay on the Philadelphia Power Pop Scene
Eric Beetner on Kate Clover's Bleed Your Heart Out
John M. Borack on The Muffs' Legacy
Walter Chaw on the Pretty Flowers
Nadja Dee on Fountains of Wayne
Marko DeSantis on Uni Boys
S.W. Lauden on The Replacements' Lasting Influence
Allen Lulu on Kurt Baker: The Spain Years
Aidil Rusli on Southeast Asian Guitar Pop
Other bands quoted and covered in this issue include Sloan, Young Guv, Supercrush, Extra Arms, Couple, Best Bets, the Speedways, The Tisburys, 2nd Grade, Hurry, Billy Tibbals and many, many more!