It’s one of the greatest new-wave songs of all time, and whether you went out and bought the single back when it came out, or you know it from that famous scene in Reality Bites, The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ is a classic tune. Now, English rock titans Royal Blood have stepped up and delivered an absolutely superb cover of the track.

BBC Radio 1 has been delivering loads of great covers recently, with their Live Lounge sessions serving as a sort of spiritual cousin of triple j’s Like A Version. Why, a few weeks back we saw Thirty Seconds To Mars pay tribute to an array of lost musical legends, and then the Foo Fighters delivered an absolutely smashing cover of AC/DC’s ‘Let There Be Rock’. Needless to say, the bar is set pretty high, but Royal Blood managed to knock this new cover right out of the park.

Taking to the BBC Radio 1 studios today, the English rock duo performed a rocking version of ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’ from their new record How Did We Get So Dark?, in addition to The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’. The band said goodbye to the ’70s guitars and cautious playing, and instead delivered a raucous, pounding version of the tune, complete with backup singers, that honestly has the ability to be released as a single in its own right.

In fact, the group’s cover was so good that plenty of haters of the original took to the YouTube comment section to express their surprise at the quality of the tune. “I fucking hate this song with a passion but Royal Blood is too bad ass,” wrote one commenter, while another spoke for almost everyone when they said “Royal Blood are fuckin’ legendary.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Royal Blood have stopped by the BBC Radio 1 studios to deliver an amazing cover, with the duo adding their own flavour to The Police’s ‘Roxanne’ back in 2015. Needless to say, with the group’s penchant to cover new-wave hits of the late ’70s, we’re already counting down the days and wondering what will be on the agenda for the next time they hit up the studio.

Meanwhile, in related news, researchers have actually discovered that if you are indeed a fan of the original version of ‘My Sharona’, the chances of you being a psychopath are rather low. While that may sound like a headline ripped straight from The Onion, there’s actual research available to back that one up. No word yet on how the heaviness of Royal Blood’s cover will affect findings though.

Check out Royal Blood’s cover of The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ below.

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine