No one in the sold-out crowd at Notting Hill Arts Club moshing to London indie rockers French Dogs would have guessed it, but the singer-songwriter on lead guitar is more used to wielding a hockey stick.
In fact, Will Calnan is an elite athlete and British Olympian who on Sunday, barely a week after that gig, will be playing for England against Japan in the World Cup qualifiers in Ismailia, Egypt.
With a new album out in May, after a small European tour in Paris and the Netherlands, it is hard for the 29-year-old to juggle his two obsessions, let alone tell anyone else how he does it.
“Particularly as a professional athlete, it’s quite foreign explaining to people what I do,” says Calnan. “Some think I lead a double life and I am starting to believe them.”
Trying to schedule gigs is no easy feat alongside his hockey day job on a centralised programme at Bisham Abbey. In April, the five-piece band will play several Record Store Day events before their European tour. All this amid Calnan’s club side, Surbiton, playing in the Euro Hockey League finals at Easter and the culmination of England’s domestic season. Then, after the album release in May, Calnan could be back in the Netherlands for the men’s World Cup, the four-yearly showpiece outside the Olympics.
Calnan first met French Dogs frontman and singer, Ben Spencer, at Kingston University, where the social side outweighed their hockey exploits. They bonded over Jamiroquai and The Verve, with Richard Ashcroft being a particular inspiration.
When the pandemic set in, they picked up their guitars and Calnan started writing narrative-driven songs. They have now played nearly 20 London gigs, including a sold-out show at The Troubadour, ahead of their biggest year to date.
“It is working, but it’s hard to organise gigs and the stars have to align a little bit with my weird schedule,” says Calnan. “We want to take ourselves more seriously, but not too seriously.”
‘It’s quite foreign explaining what I do. Some think I lead a double life and I am starting to believe them’
‘It’s quite foreign explaining what I do. Some think I lead a double life and I am starting to believe them’
Will Calnan
It is hard to stay still at a French Dogs gig, where fun and energy run amok. From the opening bars, there are loyal fans moshing at the front, while their infectious sound harks back to the guitar-driven indie of yesteryear. “Some are born as a frontman and I am just happy standing next to Ben with a guitar,” adds Calnan, who also provides vocals. “The confidence of writing your own songs and then belting them out on stage is quite a strange concept.”
In his day job, Calnan made his debut for England in 2018 before earning his 100th cap ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Great Britain were fancied there for a first gold since 1988 but came unstuck against India in the quarter-finals.
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The match should have turned when Indian player Amit Rohidas raised his stick and elbow and connected with Calnan’s face during a midfield battle for the ball. Only four red cards had been issued at Test-match level since 2013, but India’s 10 men, under constant pressure in their own circle, held out for three-quarters of the match to win in a penalty shootout.
“It’s strange to think how that game could have gone, but credit to India,” says Calnan. “There were chances for us to take it. It was an amazing game, but I look back on the Olympics with fond memories and I’m glad I was there.”
After Paris, assistant coach Zak Jones replaced Paul Revington, who had employed a Bazball-esque attacking mentality. Revington had taken England to the 2023 EuroHockey final, although a first major title since 2009 still eludes England or Great Britain on the men’s side.
The “fast and furious” Paris cycle saw Calnan move abroad for a season in The Hague playing Dutch club hockey, revered as the best in the world, before he found himself questioning his commitment to the rigours of the international game.
“I wasn’t able to explain why I wanted to do it,” Calnan says. “Making my family proud was one of my main motivators and enjoying it. My parents want me to just keep my feet on the ground and the last few months have been great for me.”
Top-ranked England should progress through the eight-strong World Cup qualifiers, initially also against Egypt and the United States in their group, before matches against the other group (Austria, China, Malaysia, Pakistan), with the leading three securing tickets to this summer’s event. They were forced to qualify after a below-par EuroHockey Championships last summer after Calnan failed to make the squad.
“There is no bullshit – ultimately it’s a results-driven game,” says Calnan. “It’s about getting back into the mindset and spending time in an uncomfortable place as that’s where you prove yourself. There are good signs and I still think we can do something special.”
Hockey is no rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, while his lyrics are shaped by coming-of-age tales of friendships, love and relationships. “Guitar music is coming back in a big way,” says Calnan. “There is nothing better than seeing bands live. There is a scene out there and we are just trying to build our little following.”
The Eurostar will be a likely option for England’s trip to the co-hosted, dual-gender World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, but French Dogs will take the well-trodden route as an emerging indie band for their European shows.
“We can’t quite afford the Eurostar, so there will be five of us in the back of a van,” he says with a smile. “At least I won’t have to bring a mouth guard.”
Photograph by Kristof Van Accom/AFP via Getty Images & Olly Bromidge