His 2023 debut EP, ‘One Step Forward’ was quickly followed by another, ‘There’s Gotta Be More’, leading to radio and press exposure and a gateway to a global audience - the soundtrack of the EA Sports FC25 game.
Alex has honed his performance skills quickly, playing festivals including Sound City and Neighbourhood and supporting The K’s, Jamie Webster, The Lathums, Jake Bugg, and Miles Kane.
Alex took some time out from his preparations for his upcoming UK tour to tell us about his story, his influences, his dreams and those special moments that make it all worthwhile.
Who’s to blame for getting you into the music industry?
My dad got a guitar for his 40th birthday when I was 10 years old. He’d play the same songs over and over again, and when I say the same ones, I mean it got boring! The whole house got tired of it so, obviously, I picked it up. I’d been playing a little bit, my parents used to work around Asia and on a family holiday I met musicians from all around the world, session musicians who had toured with massive artists like Pink Floyd. Meeting them had a huge impact on me.
That inspired me, and when I got back to Manchester, I started busking at age 12. From that, I built my stage presence. Busking on the streets is the hardest way to talk to the crowd, so I really built that craft around me. Then one thing led to another - I signed a record deal at 16. Social media played a huge role too, connecting me with people all over the world. My travels inspired my songwriting, and that’s how I got into the music industry. I’ve met so many people and learned that, at this stage, it’s about who you know. Being nice and making connections - that’s the industry now.
The musicians you met around the world - what was it about them that inspired you? What did you see in them that made you think, “That’s what I want to do”?
They loved what they were doing. It was amazing to see. I wanted to be around them all the time - jam, practice, play. It was really inspiring. I met a Japanese jazz guitarist in Thailand who owned this cool little open mic bar. He was insane - he taught me all the scales, and I’d jam with him. Watching how he played, how he lived through music, it was inspiring.
Who’s helped you most on this journey? To get from being inspired, to busking, to where you are now?
Probably my mum and dad. They’ve been there for me from the start. My dad managed me at the beginning, he had some experience in the music industry and he had my best interests at heart, he was just there for me. My family has always been my biggest support.
Also, meeting the right people at the right time. When you’re busking, you meet all sorts of crazy people who you would never meet otherwise - people from record labels, managers, people from the US who manage huge artists. You never know who’s walking past. But ultimately, my family has been my biggest support. I wouldn’t be here if my dad hadn’t got that guitar.
Thinking about your music and writing, who have been your biggest inspirations?
It started with my dad’s influences - Oasis and The Beatles. For my 12th birthday, this family at an open mic night gifted me a book with every single Beatles song and all the chords. My goal was to learn as many as I could, their music is insane! So The Beatles were a big inspiration at the beginning.
Then I got into artists like Sam Fender, Catfish and the Bottlemen - indie artists, particularly Northern artists whose writing resonated with me.
During lockdown, I was really inspired by Manu Chao, a French-Spanish artist whose music is incredible. I also listen to everything from rap to grime to hip-hop because the lyrics are amazing, people like Dave, Bakar, Dave is a big inspiration, his writing is amazing. I take a lot from that. But in terms of who I see myself being like, Sam Fender is a huge one. I’d love to support him one day.
You were discovered while busking on the streets of Manchester, what actually happened?
When I started busking I was out there every weekend with my guitar and little amp, just carrying it around the streets. So many people walked past me every day. Social media was powerful - one day, a woman filmed me and sent it to a friend who owned a record label. He messaged me saying, “Young Alex, we love you, let’s have a meeting.” It all led from there.
A couple of months later, I met the woman who filmed me. It was a full circle moment. Being in the right place at the right time can change everything, things can happen.
Busking helped me build confidence and stage presence. I also made a bit of money, which funded my journey - I paid for all my recordings with busking money, meaning I own all my masters, which puts me in a great position. But the best thing was the confidence. It gave me my stage presence - when I perform, I engage with the crowd, talk to them, bring my personality into it. That makes a big impact for the people watching, it makes them feel more ‘in it’.
You mentioned the power of social media. A lot of musicians now use it to get noticed - posting content to go viral or auditioning for TV talent shows. But it sounds like that wasn’t your approach, as if you were doing it just for the love of it?
Exactly. I wasn’t doing it to get noticed or make money - I just loved playing. My dad’s mates were sharing my stuff on Facebook, getting behind me and supporting me and that helped build a little community.
During lockdown, my fanbase started growing, and people really got behind me. I started writing a lot then. I got approached by talent shows like ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘The Voice Kids’, but that wasn’t my route. I grew up watching them, but in the long run, it’s not the way forward for what I want to do. I didn’t want to just have my minute of fame. I wanted to do it organically - start from the bottom and work my way up.
One of the things you’re currently known for is having a song on EA Sports FC 25. How did that happen?
That was mental. For my first EP, FIFA picked up one of my songs, ‘One Step Forward’, but nothing came of it. I was gutted.
For my second EP, there was a track called ‘Nightmares’ - everyone said it was an indie banger, perfect for FIFA. FIFA loved it. I wrote part of it in Spanish, which resonated with them. They made an offer in March or April but didn’t confirm it until September.
One day, I was on the bus to college, and I got the call, “Alex, you’ve done it, your song is on FIFA.” You can’t understand how excited and happy I was! Since I wrote my first song back in lockdown, I used to listen a lot to Sam Fender and he got his song on FIFA and that’s all I wanted. Sam Fender, Declan McKenna and Catfish and the Bottlemen had all done it. It felt massive.
It’s the best marketing I could have asked for. People all over the world are listening to my music now. My goal is to go international - Europe, America, Asia - so this was huge. It didn’t make me loads of money, but the exposure was massive. It’s given me a nice start.
Do you think gaming is starting to influence the music industry?
A bit, yeah. Music and gaming cross over nicely. FIFA is a perfect example - people recognise songs from old FIFA soundtracks years later. It stays with them. Music’s everywhere now and gaming is 100% coming along with it. Music is just the biggest thing in the world!
You’ve got a tour coming up. How are you feeling?
I’m so excited. The nerves are kicking in, but it’s going to be amazing. It’s my first headline tour, playing for my fans across the country. It’s going to be fun and I’m going to give it my all.
Bristol will be cool, Newcastle I’m really excited for. But the big home town show in Manchester at Gorilla is basically sold out - it’s going to be so fun. There are so many surprises and I’m bringing my band, who are all my best mates. We’ve got a nice team and it’s going to be so cool, we’ll get so much content for socials and the set is going to be amazing.
There’s another nice full circle moment midway through the set when the band leave the stage and I just do an acoustic song on my own. I tell the story that this is where I startedm just me and my guitar busking on the streets and its a nice little journey.
What’s involved in putting a tour together? It sounds very different to busking!
I have my team - my management, my agent, they all said “let’s do it!” It was just time for me to do a headline tour. They book everything, but there’s still so much to sort out. My dad is tour manager, my mum’s selling merch - it’s a real team effort.
There’s a lot of last-minute stress, and there’s not much profit in it at this stage but it’s fun and it’s the best thing ever with so many people involved. I’ve learned that preparation is everything.
From that first day busking in Manchester to now, where do you hope this journey will take you next?
I just want to keep growing. Bigger headline tours, support tours that introduce me to new audiences, more radio play. Hopefully, Radio 1 plays my new single next week. Festivals, international tours, Europe, America, Glastonbury.
I want people to hear my name and music everywhere. Just building momentum and staying busy. It’s a dream so just keep doing it, staying busy. I love the journey, and it’s going well.
Do you think one day you’ll be inspiring someone else to start their music career, like those musicians inspired you?
Definitely. I already get messages from people saying I got them into playing guitar or writing songs. Seeing people cover my songs is amazing, it makes me really happy to see that. Everything’s about the full circle moment.
What advice would you give anyone aspiring to get into the music industry?
There are actually people out there noticing what you’re doing. If you do it enough and you love it enough, you can get lucky. When I was busking, I had no expectations which is crazy because as I get older, my mind’s always expecting stuff but when I was younger, I just wanted to play, I was playing just for the fun of playing.
Expect no expectations. That’s cool, I never thought about it like that!
Peter Freeth
Image: Kyle Roczniak
Alex Spencer’s tour dates:
Bristol: Mon, Apr 7 @ 7:00PM Louisiana, Wapping Rd, Bathurst Terrace, Bristol
Birmingham: Wed, Apr 9 @ 7:00PM Hare and Hounds, High Street, Kings Heath, Birmingham
London: Thu, Apr 10 @ 7:00PM Camden Assembly, 49 Chalk Farm Rd, London
Leeds: Mon, Apr 14 @ 7:00PM Brudenell Social Club, 33 Queen's Rd, Leeds
Glasgow: Tue, Apr 15 @ 7:00PM King Tut's, 272A St Vincent St, Glasgow
Newcastle: Thu, Apr 17 @ 7:00PM Cluny 2, 36 Lime St, Newcastle
Feel the noise Festival: Sat, Apr 19 @ 7:00PM Wulfren Hall, Wolverhampton
Manchester: Fri, Apr 25 @ 7:00PM Gorilla, 54-56 Whitworth St, Manchester
Sound City 2025: Sun, May 4 @ 2:00PM Liverpool
Neighbourhood Weekender: Sun, May 25 @ 7:00PM Victoria Park, WARRINGTON
Alex Spencer supporting The Sherlocks: Sat, May 31 @ 7:00PM Albert hall , Manchester
Together Again Festival: Sun, Jul 27 @ 2:00PM Bolesworth Castle, Cheshire
Newton Festival: Sat, Aug 2 @ 3:00PM Mesnes Park, Newton Le Wollows
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