Gustav Wood, lead vocalist of British heavy metal rockers Young Guns, explains to Tim Hughes about his need for calm and quiet and reveals what really fires him up

Bombastic, anthemic and very loud, Young Guns are the archetypal rock band. So when I sit down for a chat with their frontman, I braced myself for half-an-hour of stoned anecdotes of crazy shows and wild, booze-soaked parties.

What I wasn’t expecting was an intelligent discussion of music, composition and touring, from a well-spoken eloquent North Londoner rejoicing in the name Gustav Wood.

“I’ve been sitting at my desk, writing,” he tells me. “It’s calm and quiet here - how I like it. It’s an oasis of calm - that’s one of the things that attracted us to this place.

“A lot of landlords are highly dubious about having five guys move in, but, truth be told, we are houseproud and get on with the neighbours.

“It’s such a privilege to be able to have fun and play live for a living,” he goes on. “But when I come back, I want to be normal - do the laundry and get back to reality.”

Gus, 31, and bandmates Fraser Taylor, John Taylor, Simon Mitchell and Ben Jolliffe, from High Wycombe, have been playing in anger for six years, their reputation for crashing riffs and melodic vocals earning them success on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tomorrow they play Oxford as part of a tour which follows their support for Don Broco on the Kerrang! Tour. It also heralds the launch, in June, of their third album Ones and Zeros, following 2011 debut All Our Kings are Dead and 2012’s follow-up Bones. It features new single I Want Out - a number one hit on the iTunes rock chart.

“I am just back from rehearsing and we are getting ready to go on tour,” says Gus, who is looking forward to reconnecting with UK fans, having spent much of their time recording and playing in America.

So was this life of rock part of some great vision? “No,” he laughs. “I certainly didn’t know I was going to be in a band. I got into rock from my older brother’s music collection and this only came about because of a chance encounter: I met a friend of a friend and it turned out to be John. I fell into the band.”

He adds: “It evolved naturally. This line-up has been consistent since 2009, but we have played music together for years. It has been a case of finding our feet.”

Their fame has been accompanied by a wider resurgence in all things rock.

“Music is cyclical,” he says. “Tastes evolve and change and hopefully the things you are interested in doing, come into fashion. Now that seems to be happening to rock music.

“Growing up, it was all dance-orientated, which was great, but rock was the music we played alone in our rooms.

“It speaks to people and has energy and passion. Now the spotlight has turned back onto rock; I hope it lasts.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in America, where tastes don’t fluctuate so much. It’s a bit different here, but we are very lucky we get to travel and do the things we do - and don’t need to work in a factory.

“Being in a band attracts certain character types. I’m not very good at an awful lot of things, but I do enjoy connecting with people – and that lends itself to being in a band.”

But come on . . . what about the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll? “The cliche of a rock band is archaic,” he ripostes. “That world is a completely different one to the one we know.”

“A lot of things happen on tour because people get bored of sitting around, but we don’t want to ‘suck’ by being drunk or hungover.

“Bands should concentrate on doing things people enjoy. Being creative is crucial to that. I want what I do to connect directly with the audience.

“I am not interested in saying we are going to take over the world. The most important thing is to challenge and satisfy oneself – and release music we think is good.

“We are proud to come out and play to people who’ve been with us for a long time. And we work hard at being the best band we can be.”

CHECK IT OUT
Young Guns play the O2 Academy Oxford tomorrow. 
Tickets are £12.50 from ticketweb.co.uk