Words: Darci Jackson
Photos: Izzi Glover
He’s fast becoming one of Manchester’s most exciting solo artists, and at just 18 years old, Alex Spencer is dreaming bigger and better every single day.
‘I’ve been buzzing for this, never thought I’d be doing an interview on the bus!’ he mused as we sat where all the cool kids sit, on the top deck back seats. Maybe made less cool by the fact it was a Bee Network 93 heading to Prestwich.
On our journey through the Rainy City, Spencer took us right back to where his career began albeit for someone so young.
‘It all started really on a family holiday in Thailand when I was around 10 years old, we’d travel around Thailand and Asia because of my parents’ work. Anyway, I met musicians from around the world and I’d been playing guitar a bit and singing. And I’d built enough courage just to get up on stage and sing a couple of songs and I don’t know, I just loved it.
‘When I got back to Manchester that summer, I started busking.’
He tells us how he busked around the city centre until he was around 13, before starting to write his own material.
Having travelled around Asia at such a young age, Spencer cites the sitar and the djembe as instruments he’s dabbled in. We reckon a sitar cover of Nightmares would sound unreal.
Having just hit a milestone in age, he’s a man after our own hearts for sure.
‘The first thing I did, I went to the pub.
‘But it feels weird turning 18 because obviously I’ve been doing this for so long and since the start I was always like ‘bloody hell, what am I going to be doing when I turn 18?’ I never knew I’d be doing music or writing stuff. It’s crazy, I feel old.’
Spencer already has a 2025 to shout about, having had his single Nightmares featured on the EAFC 25 soundtrack alongside the likes of Coldplay and Jamie xx.
He’s also released his first single of the year, Wake Me Up, a catchy, optimistic tune about the blurred lines between dreams ad reality.
‘It’s about being stuck in a dream and you want to be woken up to something better in a way.
‘When I write music, I like to change up my location, my environment, because I just write different things, I write better things.’
Spencer heads out on his biggest UK tour to date in April, culminating in a headline at Gorilla, which is edging its way towards a sellout.
‘I was telling my mates the other day and they were like ‘we miss your old gigs because we were all at the front,’ and last time they were at my gig, they couldn’t even get to the front because it was that packed. So, I told them to get there earlier!’
Spencer is never too far from his band who are with him every step of the way. Annabelle Mather (bass), Will Harvey (drums) and Harrison Crane (piano) are an incredible addition to the live set.
‘It’s a big jump but I think we’re ready for it.’
Having so many amazing grassroots venues in Manchester, makes it not only exciting, but also challenging to work your way up to the bigger stages.
‘We did 33 Oldham Street in 2023 or something and we’re already at Gorilla which is mega!’
And Spencer is quick to thank his roots in the Northwest for his journey to date.
‘If I’d never grown up in Manchester, I may not have been doing music. I had my dad helping me and supporting me from the start, I was into his influences, all the Manchester bands and even Liverpool bands from the 90s like The La’s, The Coral, all the Oasis and stuff so I guess that’s where it came around.’
But that’s not the only place he draws his influences.
‘I love all types of music. I listen to everything, from my indie rock stuff to rap and R&B. I really look up to Dave, his lyrics are just insane, and I can’t wait for his next album. And a lot of house influence is coming through at the minute, be ready for future tracks.’
The day when we get an Alex Spencer house track will bring the whole world to its knees.
‘I think this is the happiest I’ve been,’ he carried on saying.
‘I think I’m finding my sound slowly. It’s still developing but we’ve got the big UK tour, festivals to be announced soon and some more support tours and stuff like that. I’m just going keep getting out there.’
You can buy tickets to his upcoming tour here.