Interview with We Three Kings: ‘There’s been a resurgence in this kind of riff-driven music’

Manchester-based rock ‘n’ roll band We Three Kings’ latest single ‘Savoir Fair’ came out earlier this month, telling the story of a dark and twisted night with mysterious consequences.

Going by the stage names of Rich Richards (vocals and guitar), Ben Benson (bass) and Pete Petersen (drums), their guitar-heavy sound and fuzzed up blues rock has drawn comparisons with The Black Keys and Rival Sons.

Richards and Peterson have been playing together for around 12 years, formerly in a band playing covers by bands such as Thin Lizzie and AC/DC. Benson joined them in March last year.

Benson got the inspiration for ‘Savoir Fair’ on his drive to their practice room: ‘I came up with this idea of a girl who puts you on edge, playing on the expression ‘savoir faire’ but thinking, well, what if Savoir Fair was a place and you’re being led into it, out of your depth?’

The song hints at a wild night out: ‘I met a girl at the Savoir Fair, fire in her eyes, bullets in her hair, she said, roll the dice, and take your chair, do you know where you are, this is Savoir Fair.’

All of their songs are written collectively, according to Richards: ‘A song could start with a guitar part or I’ll skit out some words. Sometimes they’ll stick, sometimes they don’t.’

‘It’s about a wheeler dealer character, it’s a bit Only Fools And Horses’

‘S’alright’, which they released earlier this year, has a completely different flavour. ‘It’s about a wheeler dealer character, it’s a bit Only Fools And Horses,’ Richards laughed. ‘It was the first time we did a role play kind of song, it was quite different for us.’

As the song goes: ‘Anything you want, yeah we got it, anything you need, yeah come and get it, what you really want, you gonna have it, even if you don’t, you gonna get it.’

They are currently working on two new songs, according to Benson: ‘We’re taking the time to generate new ideas’. They lament being forced into a hiatus between March and September this year because of the pandemic. One of their upcoming songs has the working title of ‘Walk Over You’: ‘It’s about being in a relationship when they have a hold over you but you’re going to take your revenge. The second song is more carefree, it’s about having a good time.’

Richards grew up listening to Oasis, whose songs he says ‘stand the test of time’, as well as New Order and Joy Division, citing ‘their idea of creating an aura around the band’. Benson is also a big fan of New Order and Joy Division: ‘A band that we all love is Rival Sons,’ he said. ‘They’re fantastic, we saw them in Liverpool. I also like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. I like bluesy, riffy music, that’s what drew me into this band because riff-based is at the core of what we do. Tyler Bryant is great, too.’ Richards chips in: ‘It’s encouraging to see more musicians like Tyler Bryant coming out, there’s been a resurgence in this kind of riff-driven music where they’re just enjoying themselves, whereas you used to feel that you weren’t supposed to enjoy yourself!’

Richards would have loved to tour with Jimi Hendrix: ‘He would have to be on there but you’re not going to come out a winner, are you?,’ he laughed. Benson goes with Rival Sons: ‘That would be a massive dream come true.’