In spite of it all, 2020 saw the rise of alt-rock band The Great Leslie; the four-piece from London who’ve laughed in the face of lockdown laziness and given us catchy singles such as ‘Money,’ ‘I Know You Know’ and ‘Out of My Hands’ as a big f*ck you to last year’s attempt at a music industry setback. Moving into the New Year, the band teases fans thirst for more with releases from their Live at The Summerhouse EP, flaunting live recordings of the band’s earlier songs including ‘Saucy, Naughty Rubbish’ and ‘Beddable’ so far, revealing not only the progression in their sound from the start of their career to the start of this year, but proving that one thing’s for sure – The Great Leslie has always been about having fun.
These London lads are easily likeable; their lively social media presence shows members Ollie, Ryan, Jayson and Guillermo as artists who work hard on their music, but don’t take themselves too seriously, and consequentially, The Great Leslie have cascaded from our screens and gotten stuck in our heads.
Understandably their most popular song, Out of My Hands features captivating vocals from Trevers paired with introspective lyrics which will soothe the harshest of self-critiques and offers an understanding of human nature which any range of listeners will find reassuringly relatable. In addition, the distinguished guitar hook and build up from subdued acoustics to an unleash of instrumental emotion during the chorus assembles a rightfully catchy tune. Meanwhilst, Money has us rocking along with a swagger to the bassline and I Know You Know boasts of rhythm and riffs with a rock n’ roll influence.
No doubt after such success during a considerably tough year, The Great Leslie will attract audiences across the UK in the year ahead as we predict this is a band determined to out-do themselves during live performances and put on shows leaving audiences breathless and desperate for more.
Ollie Trevers touches on inspiration, songwriting and the year ahead for The Great Leslie.
Where did the name The Great Leslie come from? Any inspiration from The Great Race, by any chance?
That’s exactly where the name came from! It was actually my brother’s (our manager) suggestion. It’s one of our favourite films of all time; there’s a lot of nostalgia attached to that film. Anyway, The Great Leslie was on a long list of possible names and just happened to be the best of the lot.
I’m getting both classic rock n roll and indie vibes; which artists’ would you consider the band’s influences?
We have taken influence from so many different artists such as Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf, Elvis Presley, Joni Mitchell…the list is genuinely endless, and every time I’m asked that I always throw in a few new artists as there’s no specific influences that have shaped our sound. We write the songs, we develop them and we make them our own. So it is fair to say that there are rock n roll and indie vibes in our music, along with a whole lot of other stuff as well!
With 2020 being so successful, what are your plans for 2021? Do you have an outline for the release of an EP, album or tour or do you think it’ll be another pretty unpredictable year?
We have plans to release another six singles throughout 2021. It’s hard to say exactly when that will happen, and even harder to say what else will happen this year. Of course we hope to gig and tour everywhere we possibly can, but life in general is already unpredictable without having to second-guess what will happen next during a global pandemic.
What’s your song writing process? Do the lyrics come first, or the music?
Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes it’s the music first and other times I might try to write both at once. It really isn’t something that I’m too stringent about as ideas can form from anywhere, whether they be lyrical or melodic. I just write around any good ideas I might have and then see what the rest of the band make of them.
How do you resolve disagreements following the creative process?
Disagreements during or following the creative process are resolved by trying out everybody’s ideas, regardless of whether you think they will work or not. Then, if we still disagree, we record us playing all the different options and leave the song to rest, as it is easier to be objective when you’ve had time away from an idea. If we still disagree after all that, then we either come up with more potential solutions or let it rest for longer, as it wouldn’t be right to move forward with a song if one of us isn’t happy with it.
You have brilliant social media presence. How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
It’s difficult for me to make that determination as the Internet has existed for my entire life. I believe the Internet was originally a tool for communication, and in that sense it has been very positive for the music industry as you can listen to music that you otherwise would not have heard.
Also, using the Internet as an artist allows you to push your music out to the entire world. You can legitimately get a worldwide audience from the comfort of your bedroom, which is ludicrous when you think about it.
But like everything in life there are downsides, such as streaming platforms. Not that I have anything against the concept of streaming music, but I do take umbrage with the people in charge of these big corporations that pay artists next to nothing each time their songs are played using their platform.
So yeah, the Internet is neither wholly good or band for the music industry, it’s just different from what it was.
What would you say about the evolution of your sound as band from your earlier songs to now?
I’d say that the direction we have now is clear and what we had before was no direction; not that what we were doing was bad, it was just the period where we were trying to find what we have now found. It was a bit like looking for a map that will eventually lead us to a pot of gold. We’ve now found the map.
At the beginning I was writing music that was more post punk, and then I was writing more folk/psychedelic, and now we have our alternative, upbeat sound.
What was the inspiration behind the lyrics of Out of My Hands?
Out of My Hands was one of those songs that just came to me. It didn’t require any planning or thought, I just started singing and playing the guitar and it came out. The more I sang and played, the more I realised what the song was about. I think when something like that happens you have to just put it down to your subconscious saying what it needs to say. I suppose in that respect the inspiration behind the lyrics was myself and a yearning to be honest about who I am, warts and all.
2020 has been a year of reflection. Do you have a hobby you turn to in order to rejuvenate your creativity? In addition, do you think the events of this year have affected the sound of your music?
I have a lot of hobbies, some I am hoping to do more of this year as they do rejuvenate my creativity. For example, I like to draw, I like to paint, I like to write stories etc. I think having other artistic outlets allows your mind to rest but at the same time feeds into your other creative ideas.
What changes would you like to see in the music industry? Do you think the music industry has been neglected, the future of the music industry?
I would like to see more power given to the artist in terms of royalties from streaming platforms. At the end of the day it’s a moneymaking industry and it makes a hell of a lot of money every year, regardless of global pandemics, and that money needs to be equally distributed. The music industry obviously wouldn’t exist without music; the power should lie with those that give the industry life.
I think the music industry and all entertainment industries have been neglected this year. It’s been particularly difficult for performers, and of course venues, as the nature of the virus means anything involving close contact can’t take place. The government should be supporting artists and venues far more than they have, as far as I’m concerned. I just hope that coming into 2021 things will start to look up. I think people have come to realise how precious freedom is, and with that in mind will be going out as much as they can as soon as they’re allowed to, which will be a positive outcome across the board for all live entertainment.
What have you learned from 2020 you’ll be taking into the New Year?
I have learnt a lot from 2020 I suppose, but two things in particular have stuck in my mind:
The first being that no matter what is happening around you, you can always be doing something. There’s always a way in which you can better yourself and push yourself forward. For example, we had a lot of gigs and possible tours lined up in 2020, and obviously we didn’t get to do any of them, so instead we wrote and released more music. Now we have more material than we would have had.
The second thing is the acceptance of life’s unpredictability. Life was just as unpredictable before Covid-19; it just so happens that we’re now all in the same boat, which is a rarity. Normally we all have our own issues to deal with, and now we all have this collective issue that is disrupting everything. This made me realise that no matter what form your problems may take, you will always have problems of some sort, so it’s best not to make plans well in advance and to live from moment to moment, and make every one of them count as you never know what’s around the corner.
Keep up with The Great Leslie on their socials…
Tuned In 
One reply on “Catching up with The Great Leslie”
very detailed , planned out interview:) well done
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