The Royston Club are a four-piece band from Wrexham, North Wales made up of Tom Faithfull (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Ben Matthias (lead guitar and main song writer), Dave Tute (bass) and Sam Jones (drums). After becoming friends at secondary school, Tom, Ben and Dave started playing together in 2017 due to their shared passion for playing indie music, then added Sam on drums in 2019 to create The Royston Club.

The lads' musical idols vary taking inspiration from The Strokes, The Libertines, Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys. 

When asked about the unique name of their group, frontman Tom Faithfull said “the name of the band comes from a gentlemen’s club in Wrexham. I saw it and thought ‘oh that’s actually quite a good name for a band.’” 

In 2023 they released their debut album Shaking Hips and Crashing Cars which came in at number 16. The debut album includes hit tracks such as Mrs Narcissistic, I’m a Liar, Mariana and Blisters. 

Speaking about the week leading up to the release of the album, Ben Matthias said: “Despite loving it there was a large feeling of anxiety when releasing the album. You spend all this time and energy creating something deeply heartfelt and personal and you have no idea how it will be received. All I do is try and be vulnerable with my music and put everything I have into them.”

The Wrexham band have become relatively popular by doing a live cover of Taylor Swift's ‘You Belong With Me’, recorded at the Blueprint Studios in Manchester. 

“We’re Swifties” Tom says, laughing. Ben agrees. “We were just looking for a song that people who don’t usually listen to our music. Taylor Swift has some rabid fans, so we just tried tapping into that.” 

The Royston Club have several well-known tracks now among fans. “I don’t really have a certain way I write my songs,” Ben tells me. “To be honest, I just have a notepad and an acoustic guitar: I see what I can come up with and then take it to the lads.” Tom is quick to interrupt. “He’s actually really soppy,” he jokes as Ben rolls his eyes and looks embarrassed. 

Their most popular track is ‘Mrs Narcissistic’ with over six million streams on Spotify. Ben says the song is about: “Lyrically, ‘Mrs Narcissistic’ refers to the conflict of emotions felt in a failing relationship when you realise the other person has all these flaws. However, you realise you’d still ‘risk it all for them’.”

‘Cherophobe’, my personal favourite track, is a more stripped back ballad compared to the usual high energy guitar riffs. When asked about the meaning behind the song Ben described it as “a protest song.” He continued: “It’s a plea to the people in positions of power to show some accountability for their actions. Too often their costly mistakes go unpunished and are forgotten about the following week without so much as an apology. This lack of concern and empathy is infuriating and abhorrent." 

The Royston Club have had a brilliant 2024 performing at Kendal Calling, Liam Gallagher’s Malta Weekender and an upcoming UK tour. “It’s been a great year for us, and we can only hope for bigger and better things.” said Tom.

In August, the band released their latest single ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’ - a song that has been an instant hit with fans. 

Ben says the song “is meant, at its core, as a cry to the person I was falling in love with at the time. It’s about that point in love when you want to spend every minute of your days and nights with that person but ultimately can’t be sure where the relationship is going.

"I try to come to terms with that in the chorus, admitting ‘I’ll fall gently in this grove, in the patch where nothing grows’ if the love isn’t ’necessary’. It’s an honest account of my viewpoint at the time and hopefully one many can relate to.”

This week, they have also been announced as the first Sound City 2025 headliner in Liverpool. “It’s a great honour to be asked to headline what was one of our first festivals as a band,” Tom says, smiling. “We now live in Liverpool and see it as a second home so it’s always good when we get to gig there.”

The band are now signed to Run on Records, part of the Modern Sky family. The Royston Club are already working on new music to be released. “We’re really motivated at this moment in time,” Ben continues. “We’re no longer a new band so the pressure is on to write some great music. We set the bar high with our debut album and we’re hoping to do the same again. We can’t say too much yet but it’s coming.”