{"id":7126,"date":"2025-12-03T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/luke-spiller-brings-us-the-christmas-song-nobody-asked-for-but-needed\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:00:00","slug":"luke-spiller-brings-us-the-christmas-song-nobody-asked-for-but-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/luke-spiller-brings-us-the-christmas-song-nobody-asked-for-but-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Spiller Brings Us \u2018the Christmas Song Nobody Asked for\u2019 (But Needed)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/image1.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"646\" alt=\"A scene from Luke Spiller's new Christmas song, a cover of Slade's 1973 holiday staple, \u201cMerry Xmas Everybody\u201d (Courtesy of The Syndicate)\"><figcaption>A scene from the music video for Luke Spiller&#8217;s new Christmas song, a cover of Slade&#8217;s 1973 holiday staple, \u201cMerry Xmas Everybody\u201d (Courtesy of The Syndicate)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Luke Spiller has had a year of \u201cachievements.\u201d<\/strong> He mentions the term twice during our conversation. Once in connection with his group the Struts, who celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their debut album, <em>Everybody Wants<\/em>, with a major tour. And once when speaking about his debut solo album, <a href=\"https:\/\/lukespiller.lnk.to\/LoveCigsWineAlbumWE\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine<\/em><\/a>. He\u2019s capping 2025 with <a href=\"https:\/\/grammymuseum.org\/event\/spotlight-the-struts\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cAn Evening With the Struts\u201d<\/a> at the Grammy Museum on December 8\u2014which is sold out\u2014and a trio of (also sold out) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lukespiller.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">intimate solo gigs<\/a> at The Sun Rose in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. In a fitting finale for 2025, Spiller\u2019s recorded a somewhat dark and gritty version of Slade\u2019s 1973 holiday staple, <a href=\"https:\/\/found.ee\/merryxmaseverybody\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cMerry Xmas Everybody.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Christmas song nobody asked for until they realized they needed it,\u201d he laughs over the phone a couple of days before its release. Spiller\u2019s choice is more intentional than it might seem on the surface. While Slade were a massive act in their native U.K., they didn\u2019t make inroads in the U.S.\u2014although, Spiller reminds me, Quiet Riot did very well with their covers of Slade\u2019s \u201cMama Weer All Crazee Now\u201d and \u201cCum on Feel the Noiz.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/12\/why-ella-eyre-isnt-an-international-superstar-and-why-shes-ok-with-that\/\">Ella Eyre Isn\u2019t an International Superstar\u2014And She\u2019s OK With That<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/12\/whats-it-like-to-be-old\/\">What\u2019s It Like To Be Old?<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/12\/for-azam-ali-music-is-where-she-goes-to-tell-the-truth\/\">For Azam Ali, Music Is Where She Goes to Tell the Truth<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cI thought by releasing this song here [in the U.S.], where my fan base predominantly is, I could introduce them to one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time,\u201d he says. \u201cI consciously wanted to make sure that it was tied into Luke Spiller solo world, hence why it\u2019s not this really big upbeat rock song.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<lite-youtube videoid=\"LLJVvWdJmZ4\" style=\"bottom: 0; height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; width: 100%; max-width:100%;\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Spiller\u2019s take almost makes \u201cMerry Xmas Everybody\u201d an un-Christmas song. The video, which is shot at the iconic Los Angeles River, the same sloping concrete location of the memorable drag race in <em>Grease<\/em>, could not be less Christmassy\u2014or less clich\u00e9. The only thing remotely holiday-ish about the video is Spiller himself, who rides his tricked-out lowrider bicycle around the grim urban area wearing a custom red velvet suit, a Santa hat, and a giant red bow around his neck.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s more Christmassy than a British guy in L.A. with fake snow?\u201d he chuckles. \u201cIt\u2019s got a good bit of humor to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fantastic to hear Spiller in such great spirits. When we spoke earlier this year for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/06\/the-evolution-of-luke-spiller\/\">\u201cThe Essentials\u201d<\/a> after the release of <em>Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine<\/em>, he wasn\u2019t in the most confident head space. After decades of making music, he had discovered a singular voice\u2014separate from what he does with the Struts\u2014with his astounding solo work. Years of graft and self-discovery went into the album\u2019s creation only for Spiller, and the Struts, to be dropped from their label in quick succession. It was quite a blow for Spiller, who put his entire being into the intimate and confessional songs on <em>Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine<\/em>. His validation came while touring the record.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1814\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/Luke-Spiller-Press-Photo-Photo-Cred-Jesse-Frohman.jpeg\" alt=\"Luke Spiller. (Credit: Jesse Frohman)\" class=\"wp-image-649617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/Luke-Spiller-Press-Photo-Photo-Cred-Jesse-Frohman.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/Luke-Spiller-Press-Photo-Photo-Cred-Jesse-Frohman-340x514.jpeg 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/Luke-Spiller-Press-Photo-Photo-Cred-Jesse-Frohman-768x1161.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/Luke-Spiller-Press-Photo-Photo-Cred-Jesse-Frohman-1016x1536.jpeg 1016w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/12\/Luke-Spiller-Press-Photo-Photo-Cred-Jesse-Frohman-498x753.jpeg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Luke Spiller. (Credit: Jesse Frohman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, I had no idea what to expect,\u201d he says. \u201cMy Spotify page has got between 25,000 and 27,000 monthly listeners, which is really modest compared to the Struts that has 2.6 million. I was like, \u2018Is anyone even listening to this music?\u2019 But from the get-go, each show was just incredible. 500 people a night, minimum. They knew every word to every single song, not just the focus tracks, and that was something to witness. It\u2019s the first small step to continuing to pursue this different side of my career. I can\u2019t wait to do more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spiller\u2019s positive experiences and creative fulfillment have had a rollover effect on his Struts bandmates. \u201cIt\u2019s actually improved my writing relationship,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I wake up now and I\u2019m in the mood to do a proper rock and roll song, I put on my Struts hat and start writing. When I get a bit more introspective, instead of having to discard that like I would have done previously, I now have a platform for those kinds of moods and songs. It\u2019s been a creatively liberating experience and it\u2019s brought the band closer together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, things are going so well\u00a0 that Spiller intends to complete two albums or EPs each\u00a0 year moving forward, one solo and one with the Struts. It\u2019s an ambitious plan to be sure, but, he says, \u201cNow\u2019s the time to fucking do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A scene from the music video for Luke Spiller&#8217;s new Christmas song, a cover of Slade&#8217;s 1973 holiday staple, \u201cMerry Xmas Everybody\u201d (Courtesy of The Syndicate) Luke Spiller has had&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3296,31,1281,117,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas","category-features","category-luke-spiller","category-new-music","category-pushly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}