The Evolution of Luke Spiller

In case you missed it, Luke Spiller, frontperson of British rock group the Struts, released a solo album earlier this year—and it’s an absolute stunner. Titled Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine, it’s an orchestral, theatrical masterpiece that lays bare Luke’s soul. Crafted alongside ubiquitous guitarist-producer Jason Faulkner (St. Vincent, Beck, Air) and Jon Levine (Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, Drake), the songs carry the drama of a Bond theme, the storytelling grandeur of Elton John, and the exploratory spirit of the Beatles at their most adventurous. Yet, he was dropped from his label less than a month after the album’s release.

“I’m keeping a stiff upper lip, old school British attitude,” Luke says over the phone. “Clinging to the proverb that ‘all bad things happen for a good reason.’ Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. It’s quite frustrating because I poured my heart and soul, and an incredible amount of energy, money, and time into something…that I thought people were going to really connect with.”It’s easy to picture Luke when hearing his friendly voice. Whenever he’s out and about in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, he cuts quite the figure, prompting the question: “Who is that guy?” Then you realize—“Ah yes, that’s Luke from the Struts”—a bona fide rock star in both the classic and timeless sense of the term. But one who’s outgoing and affable, who makes eye contact and is generous with his smiles. He connects in real life the same way he does on Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine.

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“Every artist goes through their own journey,” he says. “Some people find their true, authentic voice straightaway. That’s what legends are made of. They’re amazing anomalies. Other people, it takes them a minute. I’m the latter. It’s taken me all this experience and time and living enough life to draw genuine inspiration and find my own way of writing songs that comes natural to me.”

Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine is a portal into Luke’s life—one through which listeners can visualize the memories and moments that shaped him. It may not align neatly with the Struts’ glamour, outrageousness, and party vibes, though there’s certainly a place for all of that. Over the course of 10 years, four albums, and countless tours—another of which kicks off in July—the band has hit many milestones and developed a devoted global fan base. But Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine is where Luke is now.

“Authenticity and honesty are not things that are written or instructed, you feel them,” he says. “With the Struts, we’ve definitely had moments, but I wanted to make something you’d be able to feel is real. I’m already working on a follow-up record. I’ve got some great ideas and a great vision to where this all can go next.”

Meanwhile, Luke shares the 10 most essential items he keeps around his Los Angeles home.

Yellow 1974 Mercedes-Benz 450SL

I’ve had many loves in my life, but one of the most long-lived is my love for classic cars. I have this beautiful yellow 1974 Mercedes-Benz 450SL, which is my absolute pride and joy. I got it right after I made the move to L.A. in 2020. I had a friend in Miami who runs this classic car shop and classic guitar showroom called Walt Grace Vintage. I was like, “I’m moving to L.A. and I’m not going to be driving around in a Toyota hybrid.” He sent me a bunch of videos and pictures of this beautiful Mercedes. I’ve seen them around L.A., but I’ve never seen a bright yellow one. It was beautiful and rare. It had been kept in the collector’s showroom for the best part of 20-odd years, so it was in fantastic condition. Before I got it shipped to me in L.A., I fitted a sound system that rounded up to about $10,000, which, at the time, felt right. It’s the perfect car for L.A. I can ride around with the roof off. If I’m having a bad day, or I’m under an extreme amount of pressure, I can take it out in the valley, where I’m living, and if it’s golden hour and the sun’s coming down and I’m listening to great music, I have these genuine moments of gratitude, thinking, “The 16-year-old Luke would be very proud of you right now.”

Acoustic Guitar

I live in an apartment building and about three years ago, one of my neighbors said, “I’m going to be leaving. Would you be interested in this acoustic guitar I have?” He brought it around, and it’s this really beautiful old Spanish guitar with nylon strings. It was built in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and it’s just battered. The action on it is absolutely terrible. I’ve never considered myself a guitar player, but I know enough to write music and figure out chord progressions. But over the last couple of years, I have written some great moments and great songs on it. I work with Taylor Guitars and all sorts. But this one’s got a little bit of magic to it. It’s the only guitar that I felt I’ve had some sort of emotional relationship with. My spare bedroom is my office and where I do a lot of my writing. It has a nice view. I sit there and hold the guitar and think. It’s become quite the companion. Maybe that’s the lesson to be learned: If you show your instruments love, you shall get some in return from them.

Vanity Table

People might be thinking, “Oh gosh, a guy having a vanity.” I’m not like any other guy. It’s a very dainty, cute-looking vanity, one of those with the elegant legs, and it’s got the folded three part mirror and all these little drawers and compartments. It sits in my bedroom, and if these mirrors could talk… The many hours I spend getting ready if I’m going to be hitting the town. It’s where I spend an awful lot of time doing my hair. It’s got all my products. It’s got my platter of Tom Ford perfumes. I have a signature smell, which is a mixture between two of them that I’ve loved over the last few years. My lovely vanity is great, and it’s always a good talking piece. I’ve had experiences of people coming around and being completely convinced that I’m living with a woman because of the decor in my house, including women who are like, “Is your wife living here?”

Piano

When I went back to the United Kingdom for the best part of a year when COVID happened, I rented out this beautiful, scenic cottage, a 3-minute walk away from my parents in the countryside. It was where I began to write a lot of my solo record and take it seriously. I absolutely love the piano I have here in L.A. It’s a Yamaha Clavinova keyboard in a baby grand shell, so it looks aesthetically pleasing—which, I’m sure you can imagine, is what I’m all about. I ended up buying the exact same piano and having it in Devon in the United Kingdom, because I love this one so much. It feels like a piano, but the great thing is, I can plug it into my laptop, and I can use it as a MIDI instrument, which is super helpful. I’ve got all the octaves of a grand piano, which is rare, so it’s really good for creating ideas. Sometimes I’ll sit there with a microphone and headphones, and I play the piano through my laptop, wash myself out with loads of reverb and get soaked up in it. It’s definitely something that I couldn’t live without.

Electric Kettle

The other day, I was a little bit high and I was thinking my electric kettle is the ancestor of ChatGPT, which is like my loyal servant. That’s where my head goes when I spend hours and hours on my own. I consume an unholy amount of coffee, which is good for when I’m getting prepared for a tour and I’m running a lot during the early afternoon. That kettle is one of my most loyal companions. It’s never broken, touch wood, and I absolutely love it. If the dishwasher and kettle go off at the same time, it’s like this chorus of electronic birds. It’s quite funny.

Cocktail Chair

I have this dainty lavender cocktail chair. I love cocktail chair vibes and I’ve got quite a few, probably way too many for the size of my place. This one, gosh, the amount of hours I’ve sat in it, it’s literally my writing chair. Where I rest my arms has worn away I sit in it so much. I ponder, write, get angry with myself, get very happy with myself, and do all my business in it. It’s grooved perfectly to my buttocks, which is great. It’s wobbling as well. One of these days it’s just going to break, but I can’t bear to let go of it.

JBL Bluetooth Speaker

This little JBL Bluetooth speaker, which has practically seen the entire world with me. Obviously, it’s great when I’m on the road, but it’s also great here. This might sound a bit weird. I have a good sound system when I want to really listen to music, but if I’m writing bare bones ideas, I’ll set it up in the other room or in the hallway, and I’ll attach it to my phone when I’m recording voice memos and I’ll sing into my phone for two or three minutes, just exploring an idea, then I’ll put it on and I’ll play it back far away so I can’t hear exactly what I’m doing. It’s a great way of hearing things that might not be there, but you think have happened. It’s been a great tool for me to carry on writing. And when I’m shooting music videos, it’s the only speaker I’ve ever used. You’d be surprised, directors and content creators never think of playback, so I always bring it just in case, and they’re like “Oh thank god you brought a speaker to mime to,” and I’m like, “Yeah, you’re fucking welcome.”

Walk-In Wardrobe

My walk-in wardrobe, as you can imagine, is extremely colorful and has loads of different vibes. I take my clothes very seriously, and I enjoy keeping it neat and tidy and picking things out. It’s inspiring, and again, going back to 16-year-old me, you are able to see the evolution of style I’ve had. I’ve got things I owned in 2014, 2015, which were very androgynous. Then I’ve got things that are more refined, and a lot of custom suits, tailor-made, which I really love. There’s nothing better when you enter the rock crowd, and you’re there in a two-piece or three-piece suit, and everyone’s there with Motörhead T-shirts and leather trousers. I’m bringing a bit of English refinement.

On Running Shoes

I spend so much time in my running shoes, especially when I’m preparing for a tour. When I’m out with the band, I will do an hour and 20 to 40 minutes a night, singing. It’s very important that I keep up with my cardiovascular stamina. They’re great for assisting me to a life on the road, which can be very, very tough if you haven’t prepped for it properly. A few times I have not prepared for a tour, I’m struggling, and I just hate myself so much those first two weeks. These are basic black ones, but I’ve never had a running shoe quite like them. I always get blisters, but I remember when I first got them, I was like, “Gosh, I could go for miles and miles and miles.” I daydream in those shoes on the treadmill. I think of a lot of ideas. It’s helping me get out of my own head as well.

Television (+ Ugly Comfy Sofa)

It’s a duo. The ugly, comfy sofa was left by my old housemate. A lot of the furniture I have looks brilliant, but isn’t necessarily very comfortable. I set up this nook in my apartment where I have the TV perfectly adjacent to this old sofa. When I’m back from being on the road and I’m giving myself permission to be lazy or recoup my thoughts and energy, I’ll spend the first week on that sofa not doing a lot. I’ve napped on it. I’ve spent hours chatting to friends and family on it. I’ve partied on it.

A lot of people say don’t watch television if you want to remain productive. I think it depends what kind of mindset you have. I’ll always be sitting there with a mind that’s thinking, “What can I get out of this? Is there going to be a phrase that somebody says?” Or if I’m watching a music documentary—which I love, I love all music docs, I subscribe to as many streaming services as possible just for the original documentaries because there’s always something to learn. I’m always fishing. I’ve discovered so much great music through documentaries and great stories and great lore and been heavily inspired by all things documentary, including history. I’m a bit of a World War II obsessive and I love hearing all the stories. But even actors and directors and artists, I’m always watching some sort of documentary, and I’ve always got my phone out writing notes. I remember seeing a documentary on George Best, the famous football player, and there was a phrase he said: “I can get along with love, liquor, and song.” I completely stole that and put it in my song, “Devil In Me.” 

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