Melbourne rockers Kingswood reveal Angus Young’s dislike for Justin Bieber

KINGSWOOD failed to uncover the secret to rock’n’roll success when they toured with AC/DC but discovered something else on the way.

Rockers Kingswood reinvent themselves for second album After Hours, Close To Dawn. Picture: Supplied.

KINGSWOOD failed to uncover the secret to rock’n’roll success when they toured with Australia’s greatest rock export AC/DC on their Rock or Bust tour.

Instead, Alex Laska, Fergus Linacre and Justin Debrincat were informed by the wry Angus Young that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

“He told us that when they were young they had to ‘put up with Olivia Newton John ruining radio stations. Now you guys have to put up with that little c*** Justin Bieber’. He said it so casually,” Linacre says.

There is almost zero AC/DC influence on the band’s second record After Hours, Close To Dawn.

Melbourne rock band Kingswood.

However, there are a dizzying collection of nods to ‘70s icons from Elton John and Queen to Fleetwood Mac and The Police.

The piano of John, the vocal gymnastics of Freddie Mercury, the harmonies, the percussive drive of the Mac and the reggae and funk bass flavours of The Police anchor the ambitious collection of freewheeling, grandiose songs.

It is such a marked departure from their 2014 debut Microscopic Wars that their label boss reportedly at first thought it was a joke when the completed record was presented for release.

One of the resounding threads of the record is its lyrical theme. The ghosts of girlfriends past have inspired almost every track, from the opener Looking For Love to Like Your Mother.

Laska and Linacre admit they had some explaining to do in the lead-up to its release earlier this month.

“I am Taylor Swift. Every single song I have written is about some relationship,” he says.

But clearly they maintain some good relationships with some of those women as their photos are included in the artwork.

“Two ex-girlfriends and an ex-girlfriend’s mum,” Laska says.

“Relationships have inspired the music and that was very apparent for my songs and Fergus’ as well.

“The girl who Creepin is about, we’re very close and I’ve known her since I was 17. She asked what it was about and I told her it related specifically to our time together and when she went to America and how I would think about her when she wasn’t around.”

Linacre admits he upset one of his exes when he revealed the song was about their relationship.

“Because that song didn’t have a happy ending, she got upset. It didn’t help to explain it’s just an idea,” he says.

“I did once have a girl ask me to stop writing songs about her.”

As the pair have spent almost every day together since forming the band a decade ago, they are acutely aware of each other’s emotional dramas.

That knowledge helped keep them honest when they were writing for the second album.

In an era when authenticity is the songwriter’s creed, getting personal on a song gives it a greater potential resonance for the listener.

Kingswood was flooded with more than 100 audition videos for a guest backing vocalist. Picture: Supplied.

“We were very conscious of not hiding on this album, not just with the lyrics but also with the vocals, which are clear and direct,” Laska says.

Linacre adds: ”One of the rules Alex set in place when we were workshopping the songs was you had to be able to sing it in front of everyone without any embellishment.”

The album features some beautiful female voices and those will be replicated on tour by someone they unearthed during an online audition.

Kingswood were shocked to receive more than 100 videos of hopeful temporary band members.

“We were about to call up mates because we only got three emails on the first day,” Laska says.

“And then they started flooding in and it kept going. We just couldn’t believe it, these lovely people thanking us for the opportunity.”

After Hours, Close To Dawn out now.