Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr Is As Cool-As-Ice

On the night of 7 of December 2023, Mike Kerr—the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands in the UK, Royal Blood—stood on the Spark Arena stage regally, dressed in all black, and looked almost prophet-like to his thousands-strong kiwi fans. The lights shining gold and white behind him gave him a certain divine aura. Kerr raised his arm in a Freddy Mercury’esk pose. He had total control on his revellers. Royal Blood—consisting of Kerr and drummer, Ben Thatcher—had walked out onto the purple-hued stage moments before, with an oozing confidence about them both.
As I sat at the side of the arena (having been too scared to enter the mosh-pit that had formed on the Floor) and watched the band onstage I was reminded of that very morning. I had been invited to sit down with Mike, face-to-face, and interview him about their one-off Auckland gig. I was as nervous as anything when I got to the hotel (getting the opportunity to meet a rock icon) and shook like a leaf. He, on the other hand, just as he was onstage, was as cool-as-ice.

So it was no surprise that the screams and shouts from the fans squeezed in Spark Arena before him would’ve broken the sound barrier, for sure.

‘Auckland!’ he shouted into the microphone, ‘we f**king love you!’

Mike had in fact told me that he was very excited to play for his Auckland fans again, after so many years being away from these shores. So in him saying that he loved us all rang true.

Neither introduced themselves as most bands would. As their first song blasted from the speakers—rich in thudding basslines and pumping drum smacks—’Mountains At Midnight’ was a perfect little taster for what was to come for the next hour-and-a-half of Royal Blood hits. One of the lines ‘bouncing off of your walls, on the mountains at midnight’ resonated strongly with us all. We were certainly doing just that. Bouncing as close to the mountains of midnight (or was that feeling of total devotion to the music?) as we all could be.

Royal Blood’s show then was hit after hit. Banger after banger. Much head-banging was done by the adoring crowd (and myself). Mike sang his heart out and the audience was gifted with the tracks we all know and love. Songs like ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Typhoons’, ‘Boilermaker’ and ‘Out of the Black’ were highlights of the set definitely. Ben played the drums with enough energy to power a small village. By god, that man’s arms must’ve started hurting.

When they initially burst through the music scene in 2014, Royal Blood amassed millions of fans worldwide from the get-go and it’s only grown since. Their singles, ‘Figure It Out’, ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’ and ‘Little Monster’ instantly became anthems for the masses.

Royal Blood have released four studio albums thus far, garnered many awards to their name and have been continuously booked high on the bill for every big festival you can name. Whether it’s Ben’s insane drum playing, smacking at snares or creating the grumbling drum build-up fans have come to know, or Mike’s use of his iconic bass as a guitar, Royal Blood’s sound is one that will stick around for years to come. This was all evident during their Auckland concert. They had come to Auckland’s Spark Arena prepared, cool-as-ice, typical-Royal Blood style, and didn’t hold back at all.

How does it feel being back in New Zealand?

Yeah, good man. It’s been a long time. Things have changed. We’ve made two records since we were last here. I was 26 then and now I’m 33. A lot of life has happened. I feel like I’ve got a lot of catching up to do with our fans. Our show’s different too—it’s evolved a lot. We’re just really excited to be playing a show here and reconnecting to our fans.

Whereabouts is New Zealand on your touring schedule for you?

This is the start of the New Zealand-Australia leg. This is day one of that. But honestly we’ve been on the road since April and we haven’t stopped. We’re at the end of a long year of touring as well. I know this is going to sound cheesy, but we saved the best ‘till last. We love coming to this part of the world. It’s freezing and miserable back home, so this is a nice change.

Do you have any other plans for your New Zealand stay, or is it just the show tonight?

You know what, I actually got here a week ago. I visited the South Island and went to Queenstown, Fiordland, Milford Sound. It blew my mind.

You and Ben have both literally taken the world by storm as Royal Blood. What would you personally say sets you guys apart from the rest?

Oh, I dunno. I don’t know if that’s for me to say! I think when the band first released ‘Out of the Black’ [in 2013], we sorta felt like there was nothing going on—nothing raw, nothing heavy, nothing ‘singer/songwriter-driven’. We approach making music in a way to stand out, honestly. You don’t necessarily have to be good, you just have to be different.

You’re touring Royal Blood’s latest album, Back To The Water Below at the moment. From when you first concocted the idea of creating this album to now, has it grown into a different beast for you?

I think whenever we tour a record, it doesn’t necessarily change the feel of it, but it does become obvious what is going to be a part of the show. I think there’s a division that happens. You’re left with a collection of songs that feel very much belong in the studio and there are the ones that suit being played live. Back To The Water Below feels like the most diverse sounding record we’ve made. If anything has changed, it’s that. Sounds become clearer to me as time’s gone on. There’s sort’ve like a divide—almost like two halves to it.

You excited to play to your Auckland fans tonight?

So excited. I think this new album and even stuff from Typhoons was very different to songs we were playing last time we were here. We’ve got a more dynamic show. Tonight is going to be fun, for sure.

Were there any challenges when you were creating Back to the Water Below that you had to overcome?

The initial challenge was that everything sounded very different. I think that continuity and cohesiveness can sometimes be overrated. It felt like at the beginning we were sorta going the wrong way about it. Songs like ‘Shiner In The Dark’ and ‘The Firing Line’. Those songs sound like they’re from two different bands. That was one of the biggest challenges. The way we overcame that was to just not necessarily think about it too hard. Suddenly, it became clear that it was the time in the band’s career where we can decide to do both. It also made us feel like we were in charge—because we are in charge—we make the f**king rules.

Does touring your albums (like Back To The Water Below) feel like the final stage for you guys? After touring will you move onto the next thing?

Yeah, it feels like the closing of a chapter, for sure. After touring we’re no longer anchored to any arrangements and that’s it. I think this record felt way more live-friendly and didn’t feel like such a burden. The album Typhoon was a real challenge. We’d made a record thinking the world was going to end. I think we were on the glass-is-half-empty side of the pandemic. I remember we were both like: the world is gonna end, touring is never going to happen again, so let’s just make a f**king disco record…with 18-players worth of layers on. Then people were like: ‘it’s going to be okay!’ and we were like ‘oh my god!’. So yeah, we made this album so it was realistically played live.

Would you call yourselves a predominantly live band, then?

Oh yeah absolutely. That’s the reason we do this career. It’s the reward. It doesn’t get old. No matter my mood, as soon as we start playing I’m just snapped into a different state of mind. I think it feels like a challenge and that’s why I’m always coming back. I can walk off stage and pin-point the things that I could’ve done better. That’s the thing. I think if I walked off every time thinking I’d nailed it, I don’t think I’d be doing this anymore.

From a creative perspective, and being able to make those rules, what does the process look like?

I would be embarrassed if anyone saw it! It totally looks like two people who haven’t learnt anything. It looks like two full-grown men who don’t know what to do. It looks like two fishermen have gone out for a laugh, made rods themselves, used shoe-laces for their lines. It looks like a lot of stabbing in the dark. There really is no process, that’s where I’ve landed. It’s about the belief. Trusting that ideas will form and crystallize. It’s about showing up and controlling things you can control. We wait around for things that resonate, and when it does start resonating we jump on it. Sometimes that thing will start bullying you, but you just have to bully it right back. Eventually, it does just kick your ass and goes: ‘actually, we’re going this way’.

For the show tonight, do you have a pre-show ritual that you’ll do?

Not really…I’ve kind of rid myself from pre-show rituals. It’s sort’ve like being held hostage every night, you know. It’s easy to become obsessive about things on tour. I do warm-up my voice, but I don’t call that a ritual.

If you could have a word with the 2013-version of yourself, when you and Ben were first starting Royal Blood, what would be the advice you’d give him?

It’s always paradoxical because I feel like there’s part of you that wants to be overly judgemental of the process. But that, in itself, would ruin the process. So I’d say nothing…I feel like the only way to learn these things is through suffering. So I’d just watch him suffer. Let him bleed!

What’s your definition of creative success?

I think it’s the ability to control the time doing what you love.