The Struts, coming to Levitt Pavilion, still playing what 'Everybody Wants' 10 years later

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — By the time The Struts released its debut album, “Everybody Wants,” in the United States in 2015, three of its songs already had hit the Top 25 on Billboard’s Alternative chart.

That was because the British glam-rock band's disc had been released in 2014 in the United Kingdom, and two of those songs — “Could Have Been Me” and “Kiss This” — both peaked at No. 2 there.

The Struts had similar success in the United States. The reworked “Everybody Wants” was a U.S. hit, reaching No. 15 on the Rock Albums chart.

Since then, The Struts have had three more rock chart hits — “Body Talks” in 2018, “Fallin’ With Me" in 2022 and "Too Good at Raising Hell" in 2023.

It was the opening act for The Rolling Stones and has relentlessly toured the United States.

But a decade later, “Everybody Wants” still stands as The Struts’ top achievement.

And now the band is on a tour to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

It stops 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks for a paid-ticket show in which it will play the entire album, as well as other songs.

Dirty Honey, whose 2019 song "When I'm Gone" hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart — making it the first unsigned band to do so — will open the show,

Tickets, at $46.65 for general admission standing, remain available at the SteelStacks website and the ticket office at 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.

'Finish the damned thing'

Before The Struts played Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in 2018, The Struts lead singer Luke Spiller said one reason “Everybody Wants” connected so well was that the group had a chance to re-do the album after its U.K. release.

Spiller said the band had no money when it recorded the disc in the United Kingdom, but when it signed with Interscope Records in the United States, the company let The Struts rework the album.

“We thought it would be kind of, like, a shame to throw away everything that we’ve really worked at and loved," Spiller said.

"So basically what we decided to do was, one, finish the damned thing."

The group added new songs "Young Stars," "The Old Switcheroo," "Merry Go Round" and "Only Just Called Away," which Spiller said he now "could never imagine not playing live, not having on the album."

But having a second run at “Everybody Wants” also delayed The Struts’ second album — “Young & Dangerous,” which wasn’t released until 2018.

That's even after The Struts started writing the new disc immediately after re-doing "Everybody Talks.”

The new songs on the re-released "Everybody Talks" were from the same writing sessions as those for the new disc, which produced the Top 20 Alternative hit "One Night Only."

The second single, “Body Talks,” went all the way to No. 12.

'Take things as far as they can go'

The Struts haven’t since reached the levels that “Everybody Wants” did.

A 2020 album, “Strange Days,” failed to chart in the United States and produced no charting singles.

The group’s latest disc, 2023’s “Pretty Vicious,” also failed to hit the U.S. charts, but two singles — the title song and "Too Good at Raising Hell,” reached the Top 20 on Rock charts.

The group’s latest single — a non-album track called “Can’t Stop Talking” — was released in November.

It’s the same hooky, hard-rocking style that made The Struts a hit in the first place — and started widespread comparisons to The Rolling Stones and Queen — especially with Spiller's flamboyant style.

In the interview, Spiller said he loved such comparisons.

“And I think it’s to be expected because, you know, I guess … I like to take things as far as they can go,” he said.

He said he was living out his teenage fantasy of pretending to be Freddy Mercury, Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and Bon Scott in the mirror.

“And now that fantasy has become my reality," he said.