Sunday 6th October 2013, I went to see Royal Blood at the Fruit in Hull. It was supposed to be a £3 entry fee, but, due to the lack of tickets sold in advance the venue decided to make it a free entry gig. Still, only 20 people or so showed up. What a difference a year makes.
From the first moment I saw Royal Blood, I knew they were going to be huge. Witnessing tracks such as 'Out of the Black', 'Come on Over' and 'Figure It Out' without being constantly pushed around and bruised was a moment I'll never forget. After the Brighton rockers set off two car alarms in Hull and smashed about 10 drumsticks mid-set I followed their rise from then on. From being around their 80th follower on Twitter I've seen Mike and Ben officially release their first single and release another and another until around December when they first began to recieve the recognition they deserve. People were hearing their name and their powerful yet melodic riffs began to sweep the nation. Royal Blood embarked on an early 2014 UK Tour, on which saw venues progressivley begin to sell-out and NME notice the duo. Following this, NME began to occasionally feature them within NME's Radar, which of course led to an ever-expanding fan base beginning to grow.
It wasn't until around early Spring time until the Royal Blood hype finally took off, they'd been waiting in the shadows like an over-due volcano eruption and finally they exploded. Being rewarded with air-play from the likes of Fearne Cotten and Greg James on Radio 1, as well as one-or-two page features in NME once again saw their fan base increase. But, the biggest moments in the careers of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher were still yet to come. Following the media hype of the duo growing, Royal Blood were announced on the line-ups of festivals world-wide, with Reading and Leeds and Glastonbury being the stand-outs. Being rewarded with a slot on the
NME/Radio 1 Stage at Reading and Leeds as well as the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury is an incredible achievement for any band yet for a band who nobody had ever even heard of a couple months prior to their announcment. Coinciding with these announcments was possibly their biggest yet. Arctic Monkeys had chosen them to support the band alongside Tame Impala and Miles Kane at their dates in both Finsbury and Marlay Parks in May. Many of the Monkeys fans flocked early to see the Brighton based duo whilst for others it was to be their first experience of Royal Blood, and for many, it weren't to be the last.
Following the supporting of Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood had projected themselves into the media spotlight and are still yet to step out of it. Other than the re-release of their previously released first single, 'Figure It Out', nothing other than the continous growth of Royal Blood's fanbase occured prior to the start of festival season. It was then, Royal Blood took to the stage for the first ever time at Glastonbury, sparking chaos within the John Peel tent as well as once again earning plenty more new plaudits for their revitalisation of the British rock n'roll scene. Reading and Leeds followed, but prior to this, the announcement of the highly anticipated debut album from Royal Blood. Mike and Ben announced at the start of August that their debut album, 'Royal Blood', were to be released on the 25th of the same month. Pre-orders spiralled out of control and following their emphatic sets at both Reading and Leeds saw Royal Blood reach the number one spot in the UK Album Chart. Selling over 60,000 copies in it's first week. Royal Blood then followed their incredible debut with the announcment of their third tour, of which sold out nationwide within 2 minutes. The front cover of NME then beckoned along with a huge feature on the Brighton rockers emphatic rise to fame. All of this and it hasn't even been a year yet.
Royal Blood live at the Fruit in Hull - Sunday 6th October 2013:
Posted by Charlie Ireland.
RIFFED x