The Great Leslie take on 21st Century Problems
Written by: Brooke Eboule
Though the reference may be lost on many, it’s only fitting that the Great Leslie are named after a debonair mid-century daredevil. Dapper, delightfully defiant, and dripping with talent, the London-based four-piece consistently delivers bangers that hearken back to an era when the music scene was rife with exciting new formula-breaking artists creating and combining entirely new genres and styles. Truly, The Great Leslie embodies the pioneering spirit of the 60s musical revolution, with expressive lyrics and hard-hitting, dancey, genre-defying tracks.
The guys’ names even sound made for rock stardom. There’s frontman Ollie Trevers, a lifelong creative with a master's in composition, a flair for the dramatic, and eclectic taste. The way he uses his impressive vocal range is not only a hallmark of The Great Leslie’s distinct sound, but it’s also a big part of what drew bassist Alfie Pawsey to join the band. A dedicated Bowie fan who has been in a number of groups since his teen years, Alfie does a lot of The Great Leslie’s production and is “really funky on bass,” per drummer Ryan Lavender. For his part, Ryan – a techy and creative by day – is a bit of a metalhead, and this influence can be heard in the loud and powerful drum lines that rev up so many of the band’s tunes. Rounding out the magic sauce that makes up The Great Leslie is lead guitarist Freddie Miles. (Admittedly, his is a stage name.) Raised on classic rock, German-born Freddie picked up the guitar when he was just 6 years old, and his masterful riffs and runs landed him in The Great Leslie not long after moving to the UK in 2020.
Initially formed during the “unprecedented” days of the first lockdown, it wasn’t until early last year that the band reached its final configuration, with the addition of Alfie. An evolving early lineup didn’t hinder the group from gaining traction, though. Debut single "Money" was selected as track of the week by BBC Introducing, BBC Radio’s influential – and much sought after – springboard for unsigned artists in the UK, via national radio play. Several of the band’s subsequent singles made it onto coveted Apple Music and Spotify editorial playlists, a notoriously difficult feat for independent artists. The Great Leslie capped off a highlight-filled 2022 with a spot on Tidal’s UK Indie: Best of 2022 compilation, then charged headlong into 2023 with the same gusto.
With their first EP, "The End and the Beginning," released in March, the band undertook a focused, cathartic exploration of a crumbling relationship… which also happened to be fabulously fun, sonically. Not even four months later, The Great Leslie exploded back into the forefront with the July release of the first single from a whole new EP. Though packed with danger- and doom-laden lyrics, the nihilistic eco-anxiety anthem "Burn Me Drown Me" is a raucous punk-infused good time, set off by just the right amount of glam rock melodrama. It took the contrast the band previously explored to entirely new levels and signaled an important milestone, as the band ventures deeper into the ethos of the music revolution of yesteryear, daringly broaching social issues through song.
Released in September, the "21st Century Problems" EP is a provocative, no-holds-barred look at some of the most important, most concerning, most divisive issues plaguing society today, including climate change, immigration and asylum, misogyny, and mental health.
We recently had a chance to chat with Ollie, Ryan, and Alfie about the new EP and their overall experience as an independent band. Here’s what they had to say.
NW: When you announced "21st Century Problems," you said you thought it was “time to stick [your] necks above the parapet” to talk about these issues that concern you. Why? Why now?
Ollie: It just felt like the right thing to do. Especially in a world where there’s so much political polarization and so many important issues that are being ignored. It’s important to be involved in that conversation, especially if you’re an artist. Why else would you be doing this if you don’t want to say something meaningful? I’ve wanted to write about more serious things for a long time, but I wanted us to popularize ourselves as much as we could before taking on bigger things, to come from a point of strength instead of just going straight in.
Alfie: Unfortunately, I grew up around racist bigots and misogynists. I had a monster of a father and people around me trying to program me. I knew from a very young age that it was wrong. I just hate things being divided — people being divided by hate, just because someone’s told them they should feel that way. At this point especially, we’re at a really difficult time.
Ryan: Basically, we have an obligation to say these things because we’ve got a little following going. The first single was about climate change and that’s been all over the news in the last few months because of [the wildfires in] Hawaii and Canada. It’s so prevalent at this very moment. We have a duty to talk about these things because it’s our future and it’s our children’s future.
NW: These songs are so fun, it’s almost shocking when you realize what they’re really saying. What makes music a good vehicle for social commentary and change?
Ryan: In the news, there’s always a distraction from the main problem and there’s so many things going. 10 seconds and it’s on to the next thing. The next problem is occurring. Music really helps you channel that attention.
Ollie: Music also makes hard conversations more palatable. What we talk about in every song is difficult even though the songs are fun. I don’t want it to just be something nice for people to listen to. Yeah, it’s good music and it’s cool and fun and dancey, but I want people to listen to the words and take them in, really internalize them. If everyone’s doing that, it’s not going to agree with everyone. You never know, it might change people’s minds.
NW: Do you think there are risks involved in speaking out on these kinds of issues?
Ollie: There’s always risks when you talk about something that might get an adverse reaction from bigots and idiots, but I don’t think that’s a justifiable reason to not talk about certain things. Weirdly, I hope that it does eventually reach ears which it will annoy. When things are to the point of catastrophe, I think it’s remiss of anyone to put their head in the sand.
Alfie: I feel like a lot of artists are afraid to say something, afraid of ruffling feathers. I think there’s good reason for what we’re doing. There’s no point in being afraid of the reaction. If you’ve got something to say, say it.
NW: As a band doing it all on your own, is there anything you think would surprise the average person about the reality of your experience?
Ryan: Aside from the cost involved, just the amount of admin work, the grind involved at a personal level. It really is hard work for a band to grow in the modern technology landscape and of course, you’ve got all the different social media platforms. And we all still have to do our day jobs, unfortunately.
Ollie: We are doing the job of a record label, except we don’t have any of the contacts. It essentially means we’re all running two jobs.
NW: If not more! There are so many specialized skill sets involved in recording, producing, marketing, and distributing music. How have you gone about learning how to do everything that’s required?
Ollie: It really is just a question of how many years you have been doing this for. You slowly learn all the stuff you have to do.
Alfie: Everyone’s come across different ways of doing things, different people to work with, to utilize all of what everyone’s got to offer.
Ryan: It’s about being smart, really, and taking advantage of everyone’s skills. We will each do different bits of admin stuff because those are bits we might actually do for our day job in another form. Like, I make the videos. Freddie’s really good at bonding with people, put him on social media.
NW: With all the time you need to invest in the band, what have you had to sacrifice in other aspects of your life?
Ollie: I’ve just given up on certain relationships because at the end of the day, this just takes up too much time and that’s all I want to do. I don’t look at it as a sacrifice, though. If it’s something you love, it’s not a sacrifice. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else than going on tour and playing gigs all the time. I think the sacrifice is having to do other stuff.
Ryan: Yeah, the fact of having to work to pay for it.
Alfie: This is something we all want, to be able to make a career and live a decent enough life doing what we love doing. As they said, the sacrifice is having to do other shit in order to be able to do this. That can often be quite disheartening. We have to invest so much into this, but it’s worth it. When we’re together and we’re rehearsing and gigging and touring, there’s no better feeling. To be honest, I’d happily pay for that.
NW: You’ve accomplished a lot as a band in a fairly short amount of time. Are there any achievements that really stand out to you?
Ryan: The easy answer would be playing with Franz Ferdinand, but I think I’ve begun to realize how many songs we’ve done together now. I’ve been in bands before, but I’ve never been in a position where we’ve had that much music out. I think that’s a pretty incredible feat, to be honest. Or feels like it, in any case. Feels weird that they’re my songs, not like I’m learning covers or anything.
Ollie: Franz was amazing. I was terrified playing in front of that size of crowd, but when I came off, there was nothing I’d rather do. Just going on tour and gigging is incredible. I swear to God, every time we play it just gets better and better. But my answer will always be the latest release. That’s just what all of our energy and our love and attention has gone into. "21st Century Problems" is my proudest achievement with this band.
Alfie: Not so much of an achievement as an amazing experience — just what we did at Abbey Road. We recorded a live album with all our previous material up to the point of this new EP. Nothing compares to just having that one day recording in studios where you’ve had the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, anyone you could name, having all stood where we stood. And to come out of that with an amazing body of work that we will have forever. Unbelievable.
NW: Aside from the songs on the new EP, what one song from your catalog would you recommend to someone who is experiencing The Great Leslie for the first time?
Ryan: "Liquid Spells" is a good starter. It sort of encapsulates the newer sound.
Alfie: Probably "Wait Around." I feel like it instantly draws you in and there are so many different, interesting sections to it. So much movement. And it’s just a really interesting style, a bit more funky, almost verging on electronic. There’s a lot of layers, a lot of soundscapes.
Ollie: I think "Can’t Touch" because it’s such an epic fun, dancy track. The development on that song was really something else for me. Me and Alfie went in to do the background vocals and when Ryan and Freddie heard it when it was mixed together, it was like shit, this is so good. That song has so many levels to it. It’s a great example of what we’re about.
Showing no signs of slowing down, The Great Leslie has another three concept-driven EPs planned for next year. Ollie said we’ll surely see more political and social themes in future releases. Meanwhile, The Great Leslie isn’t limiting their commentary to lyrics. They’re increasingly outspoken on social media, too. You can find them on Twitter: @TheGreatLeslie_ and Instagram: thegreatleslieband.