British band The Struts to play Gainesville show

The past 15 months have been a career whirlwind for U.K. rock band The Struts.

In that time, the band has traveled to the U.S., signed with Interscope Records and released its debut album, “Everybody Wants.”

The four-piece rock ‘n’ roll outfit will be performing its only show in Florida at High Dive on Friday, according to High Dive’s website.

Originally from Derby in Derbyshire, England, the band consists of Luke Spiller on lead vocals, Adam “Addo” Slack on guitar and vocals, Jed Elliott on bass and vocals and Gethin Davies on drums.

Even though the group is native to the U.K., The Struts do not get nearly as much attention back home as the band does here in the U.S., Spiller said. The band hasn’t had any radio hits in the U.K. for the last five years.

“I don’t give a s--- about England anymore,” he said. “Until they start playing our music, I don’t give a f---.”

Spiller described the band’s sound as an evolving entity, using some contemporary examples to illustrate his point.

“It’s kind of like the sophistication of Queen with the swagger of the Stones, mixed in with some ’70s glam aesthetic,” he said.

Spiller, a founding member of the band, discovered this influential music in his mid-teens. When he started to listen to bands like Queen and the Rolling Stones, he was inspired to start the group, he said.

While most people would expect fans of the band to be edgy adolescents, 48-year-old Michelle Crews from Glen St. Mary, Florida, defies all odds. The stay-at-home mom has been listening to the band for a year now through the recommendation of her 17-year-old son and her 25-year-old daughter.

“It’s happy music,” she said. “I see myself being a lifelong Struts fan.”

Crews went to see The Struts perform in Jacksonville, Florida, in May. While at the concert, she gave the band a necklace and a note telling the band members she thought they were going to be big stars. When Spiller read the note, he called Crews over to the stage and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She kissed him back.

Living with fibromyalgia, Crews spends a lot of time feeling ill. She said going to a two-hour concert is the biggest thrill she allows herself. Over the years, Crews has seen the likes of Billy Idol, Elvis, Paul McCartney and Duran Duran.

She will be traveling to Gainesville to see The Struts perform again this Friday.

“I’m counting down the days on my Julian Lennon calendar,” Crews said.

Spiller said he is committed to ensuring the band works hard making music that will change the world one song at a time.

“We have to be better,” he said. “I’m not satisfied. I want to be bigger; I want to be better, and if I don’t do that, then I think I just might jump off a cliff.”

Perhaps one of the more eye-catching traits of The Struts shows are Spiller’s wardrobe changes. There are no set costumes, just pieces of flamboyant clothing Spiller combines to create unique outfits for each performance.

Spiller even started a clothing design project called Beautifully Strange Clothing before everything started heating up in the U.S. for the band.

This project was one that he wanted to have as a creative outlet for himself, but since touring began August 2015, he hasn’t had the time to properly design clothing with fabric, patterns and mannequins, he said.

Instead of the hassle of designing clothes while on tour, Spiller has taken up a pastime of do-it-yourself projects.

One type of easy on-the-road project Spiller said he likes to do is drawing designs on acoustic and electric guitars with permanent markers.

“I can literally just grab some paints and pens and go at it with the guitar,” he said.

Even with Spiller’s unique style on stage and creative pastimes off stage, he said the band is primarily focused on music.

“The look just goes on top of that,” he said. “We’re a music group, first and foremost, and everything else is kind of decoration.”

In regards to his own looks, Spiller has been compared to Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler and even Freddy Mercury.

“It’s in our nature to categorize people and pigeonhole them,” he said, “and I guess I’m just kind of hoping over time that people maybe see me for me.”

Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show starts at 10 p.m. Ticket prices are $15 to $18 at ticketfly.com and the box office at High Dive.