There are no successful musicians who haven’t gone through their tough times. Playing to empty clubs, getting booed off stage and being broke every day are just rights of passage to musicians and to be fair, their lives pick up a great deal after this phase. Before the help of online mediums of promoting music became available to bands and artists this initial phase of earning your chops use to take between three to six years of constant touring and releasing of independent music before bands could make it big but, nowadays this period has been shortened to two to three years with artists being able to get their music to record companies and the public way faster and easier than before. But Royal Blood became Britain’s biggest rock act in ages in just over a year. Why such a short period? Advertising.
Royal Blood formed as a British alternative rock duo in 2013 and in the year of 2014 released their debut album Royal Blood which charted at number one in the UK charts allowing them to play festivals and venues that only some hardened bands like Catfish & the Bottlmen were finally getting to play after years of touring. Royal Blood were fortunate enough that they have a fan in Arctic Monkey’s drummer Matt Helders, they were even more fortunate that Helders decided to wear one of their t-shirts on stage when the band headlined the pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 2013 (see below) which was broadcasted to millions who noticed the drummer’s choice of top that night.
The drummer’s fashion choice for the night helped shine a light on the emerging talent that was Royal Blood and allowed them to gain success which otherwise would’ve taken many more months if not years of restless touring and releasing of music. Let’s just be glad that the accidental advertising helped shine a light on a great talent.
By Daragh O’Leary
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