Exclusive Interview: The Great Leslie

Tara speaks with UK dance rock indie band The Great Leslie. We talked about writing songs for their new EP, ‘The End And The Beginning’, how they got started, plans for more music, touring and lots more.

The Great Leslie is a metaphysical, Bond-like, Spartacus-esque being, originally in the guise of Tony Curtis in his crowning role, and now personified by four ex-cons sent down for indecent assault after, loudly, and in unison, passing wind in a cinema. Made up of Ollie Trevers on Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Ryan Lavender on Drums, Alfie Pawsey on Bass, and Freddie Miles on Lead Guitar, they have each attested that in another life they would be pirates if it weren’t for their crippling fear of water.

In 2022 they saw huge success across all of their singles, moving in a slightly different direction with their last three, ‘Feel Alive’, ‘Liquid Spells’, and ‘All Good Things’. With this new direction, all three tracks managed to land on the Apple Editorial playlist ‘New in Rock’, being added to the playlist across multiple locations around the globe. Their last single of the year ‘All Good Things’ went further, gaining a spot on a number of Tidal playlists, and performing so well that at the end of the year Tidal placed it on its ‘UK Indie: Best of 2022’. On top of this the band saw continued support from Jim Gellatly on Amazing Radio, getting played in both the States and the UK. ‘Feel Alive’ was crowned ‘Track of the Day’ by Gigslutz and This Feeling and received airplay on both Radio X and Kerrang! Radio from John Kennedy and Johnny Doom respectively. ‘Liquid Spells’ was played on BBC Introducing and XS Manchester, with them both lauding the tracks energy and rhythm. 2022 also saw other successes, with the band landing incredible support shows with old and new guard acts, playing sold out gigs with up and coming bands like MOSES, Two Day Coma and Late Night Honeymoon, and securing a career best with a support slot for Franz Ferdinand on their European tour, playing in front of thousands of people in Manchester at the O2 Victoria Warehouse.

While 2022 was a big year for The Great Leslie, the band have been on an upward trajectory since their very first release in 2020, launching their career when their first ever single was selected as BBC Introducing’s Track of the Week. From there, the band followed up in 2021 with a series of songs that all landed BBC Introducing support and a number of other ‘Tracks of the Week’. Eventually this resulted in the band being picked up by industry heavyweight the late Janice Long (formerly of Top of the Pops) on BBC Wales, who quickly became a constant supporter of the band, praising their energy and innovative song writing. That year they also secured their first plays from John Kennedy on Radio X, with him calling their single ‘Everything From Last Night’ an ‘instant hit’, and were able to get their track ‘Out Of My Hands’, featured on Channel 4’s show Sunday Brunch. By the end of 2021 they had racked up an impressive list of supporters from Kerrang! Radio, Planet Rock, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing, BBC Wales, Islington Radio and XS Manchester, to name but a few.
With the successes of their singles and the band’s ever growing fanbase, 2022 saw them decide to embark in late November, on a new venture, laying down their debut five track EP, titled ‘The End and The Beginning’.

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