We caught up with Alex Spencer earlier this year ahead of his first headline tour… His new single “Clouded Thinking” is out now!
ALEX SPENCER – THE INTERVIEW
THE JOURNALIX: How did Alex Spencer end up here?
ALEX SPENCER: Hard work, graft, persistence and simply enjoying every moment of it. You never know what’s gonna happen in this industry, so I think the thrill of not knowing what’s next and what’s to come – that’s what drives me to keep going.
HEADLINE TOUR
THE J: You’re heading out on your first headline tour, are you more excited or nervous?
ALEX SPENCER: I’ll be honest, I’m so excited for it. I find it mental that I can play headline shows to my fans around the UK. It’s such a reward to hear the crowd singing your own songs back to you and even better in cities you’ve never even stepped foot in. I can’t wait. The thing about touring is, you’ve really gotta take care of yourself as you can get run down really easy by not eating or sleeping well, which can affect shows. But touring is amazing, I’m lucky to be able to tour with some of my best friends and favourite people so that makes the journey 10x better.
THE J: Have you played Gorilla before?
ALEX SPENCER: I’ve never played Gorilla, which is crazy that I’m headlining there for the first time and it’s nearly SOLD OUT! I first went to Gorilla in 2021 to watch The Lathums, which is crazy because I supported them last summer, so it’s really cool that I’m headlining there now.
THE J: And do you have a favourite Manchester venue? (this question will appear in a future feature we have planned)
ALEX SPENCER: My favourite venue in Manchester is probably the Albert Hall, I think it’s a beautiful venue with such amazing energy when it’s packed out. Buzzing to be playing there in May supporting The Sherlocks, hopefully I’ll headline there in the next couple of years!
FIFA
THE J: Your song ‘Nightmares’ appears on FC25 soundtrack, are you a gamer?
ALEX SPENCER: I’ve never been a crazy gamer to be honest. I’ve only played when I’ve gone round to my mates house for a cheeky 1v1 on the game but I’ll be so honest, since I wrote my first song back in 2021 and I listened to Sam Fender’s ‘Play God’, it‘s been my absolute dream to have my song in FIFA. It got me tearing up that my dream actually came true and I got my song on FIFA – it’s iconic!
THE J: And how has it been for exposure featuring on such a global platform like that?
ALEX SPENCER: It’s been insane, I’m so grateful that my song has been able to reach audiences all around the world and people from all different ages too. It’s the best marketing anyone could ask for, I believe it’s given me a nice foundation to build off and it’s helped me get my name out there.
FOOTBALL
THE J: Dare we ask which football team you follow?
ALEX SPENCER: I’ve been a Manchester City fan since the day I was born. My dad’s been following the club since he was a kid so it runs in the family. I was lucky to be able to work a lot with Man City back in the early days of my career, performing for the City squad at the celebration party back in 2021. One day I hope to play the Etihad.
THE J: Are you worried you’ll forever be associated with football culture or is that a fair call?
ALEX SPENCER: I don’t think I’m associated entirely with football culture. It definitely played a part in my journey in the early days and it’s cool, but it’s not something I plan to build my brand and music around.
WRITING
THE J: Your song ‘Wake Me Up’ is an optimistic track about your youth, do you always draw on such personal experiences when writing?
ALEX SPENCER: Yes, I love to write about personal concepts around my youth and past experiences. I’m living in my youth right now actually, so I’m always getting great inspiration from real life while also experimenting with many different concepts.
THE J: Is it true you taught yourself guitar?
ALEX SPENCER: Yeah! I first picked up the guitar in 2016, I think, when my dad got a guitar for his birthday. He’d play the same songs over and over and it got tiring… So I decided to give it a go myself!
MANCHESTER
THE J: Where in Manchester was it that we might have seen you busking?
ALEX SPENCER: I played my first ever busking set on Piccadilly Gardens outside Boots and McDonald’s, then worked my way up the ranks to Market Street outside the Arndale, and also around Selfridges area during Christmas time as it was rammed with people.
THE J: You travelled the world with your parents as a child, what were the circumstances of this?
ALEX SPENCER: We travelled around Asia for my parents’ work and it was the best experience I ever got. I went to school in India and met some friends for life, and picked up a lot of inspiration for my songwriting.
THE J: And what makes Manchester so special to come back to?
ALEX SPENCER: Manchester is my home and I’ve grown really close to it. It’s the best place for music, there’s so much culture and history there. I want my name to go down in history in the Manchester music scene!
THE J: Can we expect a full backing band on this tour or will it be an acoustic set?
ALEX SPENCER: I’ll have the full band with me. It really brings the set to life and my band are all my best mates. We have Will on the drums who started playing with me in 2021 when we played our first ever gig at Off The Square in Manchester. Harrison is an exceptional pianist who started playing with me in October 2023
when he got in touch via Instagram, and Annabelle plays bass in the band; we met at college and she has an incredible voice! Having such a great relationship the band makes our live set 10X better.
THE FUTURE
THE J: How close are we to a full debut album?
ALEX SPENCER: That’s a secret… All I’ll say is I’m working on it and you’ll get it when the time is right.
THE J: What does the future hold for Alex Spencer?
ALEX SPENCER: I wanna keep doing what I’m doing but bigger and better. This is my dream; I’m gonna keep releasing bangers, hopefully keep gaining traction from national radio like Radio 1, keep growing my name, selling out bigger shows. I’d love to tour worldwide; start in the UK, then Europe then America then the rest of the world. Hopefully I’ll play some more festivals this year and one day headline the big Glastonbury!