Photography by Sarah Quick

Scouting for Girls are a young London based band who are riding pretty high with a single that has been in the top ten in the charts for the past six weeks. Presently they are supporting Just Jack in a nationwide tour, which took in Bristol’s Carling Academy last Sunday night.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to see a band with genuine screaming girl fans, but there seemed to be a good number there on Sunday night who contributed to an excitable atmosphere. Scouting for Girls have probably become popular amongst this age group as their upbeat pop songs tell stories of their childhoods and the innocence and experiences of their youth. Lifelong friends, Roy Stride (vocals/keyboards), Greg Churchouse (bass guitar) and Peter Ellard (drums) formed the band in 2005 and have built from an originally strong web based audience that has grown into more mainstream one over the past year.

Stride took confidently to the stage on Sunday and in no time had the audience buzzing with his cheery enthusiasm and lively keyboard playing. Soon we were bouncing through songs about wishing to be James Bond (‘kissing all the girls, blow the bad guys away’) and how a childhood crush on Michaela Strachan had broken Stride’s heart. ‘He-man’ began with a few poetic lines, ending with the shout ‘I have the power’ and then into the song - keen to involve the audience, Stride encouraged everyone to join in with singing ‘Love, love, love’. They also performed their debut single ‘It’s not about you’ which gave everyone more excuses to join in. Although SFC’s sound is not a unique one, their infectious energy easily rubs off on the crowd and certainly gave those girls a good reason to exercise their lungs…

Well and truly warmed up, Scouting for Girls finished on a real high with their current single ‘She’s so lovely’. Undoubtedly a classic formula pop song, it’s catchy hook was ideal for another audience sing-along which Stride adapted towards the end to ‘Bristol’s so lovely’ which was obviously a winner with the audience (I feel for the band when they are trying to squeeze Wolverhampton into that line!). This was bound to be the best song of the night and it was impossible not to join in, wherever you were in the room. It was a very upbeat end to their set and put the crowd in a very good mood for the next band. More songs like that one please!