Fresh off the release of their new single The Afterglow, London-based rock collective KillerStar are riding a wave of creative momentum. Featuring musicians closely associated with David Bowie and building a reputation for electrifying live performances, the band are gearing up for the release of their second album this March, alongside a run of headline shows at the legendary 100 Club.

We caught up with the band to talk about the inspiration behind the new track, the shape of the upcoming record, and what fans can expect next.

Congratulations on the release of the new single The Afterglow - what inspired the track?

Its really about the energy and glow we feel after playing a live show or watching a fantastic concert. The buzz and energy of the crowd afterwards, spilling onto the street and hearing the excited conversation. We reflected on this after our last KillerStar shows and also after seeing a couple of particularly good gigs and coming out of the venue onto a buzzing central London street listening to everyone on a high after watching the gig.

For people just discovering KillerStar - does The Afterglow reflect the album as a whole? How would you describe the new record out on 20th March?

The Afterglow song represents our rockier side, but we also have our ‘artrock’ side on the album, with a couple of longer songs and also rock songs with a lot of hooks, quite anthemic.

 You received great reviews from your debut album - how did it feel to be recognised by such big critics in the UK media? 

Well, the cliched saying of we didn’t write the album with reviews in mind is true but having said that once it was released we hoped it would get a good reception because we were excited and proud of the work. So when we got the excellent reviews from the likes of Mojo, The Times and others it was really gratifying that they ‘got’ the music and what we were setting out to do.

The album features a range of musicians that have worked with David Bowie e.g Mike Garson, Earl Slick, Mark Plati - how did it feel coming back together again to record the album? 

Fantastic! We have bonded since the first album, with the subsequent live shows and recording of this new album. It feels like there is a lot of cohesion between the players on this record. We were also excited to have The Webb Sisters sing backing vocals throughout the album, they are outstanding and they fitted in really well. 

You’re returning to 100 Club for two live dates on 6th and 7th March - what can we expect from the gigs? 

Actually we just added a third night, March 5th, as March 7th has sold out. Well, the plan is to play the new album and some of the songs from the first album. So there’s new music to be heard. We hope they will be as exciting as our previous gigs there. The atmosphere and energy was incredible for those and the fans were so great. We will have the David Bowie alumni who played on the album with us again, plus another Bowie alumni Kevin Armstrong and Dom Beken from Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. Amongst others.

If you had to point people to one song on the album - what would it be and why?

Oh that’s a difficult one. We are so close to all of them.

What is the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome either personally or professionally?

Starting a new project inevitably has hurdles -  finalising the album,getting the music out there and building a following. But It’s the work you have to put in and we are excited to do it and are so thankful for the positive feedback for what we are doing.

What do you hope to achieve by the end of 2026? Will you be performing at any festivals this Summer?

This year is really all about releasing the second album, which we do on March 20^th. And the live shows in March. No festivals planned as yet. But lots of ideas and new things to come in 2026 for sure.

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and chief editor of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.