Kaiser Chiefs

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This article is about the band. For the South African football club, see Kaizer Chiefs FC.
Kaiser Chiefs

Background information
Origin Leeds, England
Genre(s) Rock
Indie rock
Alternative rock
New Wave [1] [2] [3]
Power Pop
Years active 1997–1999 (Runston Parva)

2000–2003 (Parva)
2003–present
Label(s) MCA Music, Inc.
B-Unique
Polydor
Drowned In Sound (first single)
Website www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk
Members
Ricky Wilson
Andrew 'Whitey' White
Simon Rix
Nick 'Peanut' Baines
Nick Hodgson

Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie band from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The group was founded in 1997 and consists of Ricky Wilson (vocals), Andrew 'Whitey' White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick 'Peanut' Baines (keyboards), and Nick Hodgson (drums). They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, a team which former Leeds United defender Lucas Radebe played for.[4] The band are well known fans of Leeds United, and on 24 May 2008 the band played a homecoming show at Elland Road stadium.[5]

The group's debut album, Employment, was released in 2004. It was primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970's,[6] and enjoyed international success with sales of over three million.[7] In 2005, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.[8] Kaiser Chiefs' second album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007), yielded "Ruby", a number one single in the United Kingdom.[9] They are now confirmed to headline the Friday night of Isle of Wight Festival in 2008.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early Years (1996–2002)

Three of the band members, Nick Hodgson, Nick 'Peanut' Baines and Simon Rix, met in the same class at St. Mary's School, Menston just outside Leeds at around the age of eleven. After leaving school, Rix and Baines went away to university in 1996 whereas Hodgson remained in the Leeds area, meeting both Andrew 'Whitey' White and Ricky Wilson, together forming the early beginnings of the band then known as Runston Parva, the name of the band derived from a misspelling of the small Yorkshire village called Ruston Parva. However, Runston Parva failed to gain a record deal. On the return of Rix and Baines from university, they reformed, changing their name to Parva and hoping that their musical career would go beyond the boundaries of Leeds. The band gained a record deal in 2001, but the label went bust soon after, leaving the band desolate and without any direction.

Eventually it was decided that the band would keep on aiming for a longer term record deal and started afresh with new songs and a new name: Kaiser Chiefs.The roots of the new name lay with former Leeds United captain Lucas Radebe who once played for South African football club Kaizer Chiefs.[10]

[edit] Employment (2004–2005)

The group's debut album Employment was released in March 2005, being primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970s.[6] The album was well received by music critics, described as "thrilling from beginning to end" and "quintessentially British, without pretension and most importantly, a whole lot of fun".[11]

It reached number two on the UK albums chart,[12] and was certified five times platinum.[13] In 2005, Employment was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album from the previous year.[8]

The first single released from the album was "Oh My God" in 2004, which reached number six on the UK singles chart when it was reissued in February 2005. In 2007, the song was covered by Mark Ronson and Lily Allen for Ronson's album Version. "I Predict a Riot" soon followed as the album's second release. In 2007, the song was ranked number thirty-six on the NME "Greatest Indie Anthems Ever" countdown.[14] The top twenty singles "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" and "Modern Way" followed in late 2005. The band opened and performed several of their singles at the Philadelphia Live Eight concert in 2005.

[edit] Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007)

Kaiser Chiefs' second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob was released in February 2007. The group recorded the album throughout the September and October of 2006 at Hook End Studio in Oxfordshire, England. The group took inspiration from Led Zeppelin and American rock music, and recorded over twenty-two songs.[15]

Unlike Employment, the album received mixed reviews from critics who found it to be "an album full of jukebox hits" and "predictable".[16] Yours Truly, Angry Mob reached number one on the UK albums chart and number forty-five on the Billboard 200 albums chart.[17]

"Ruby", the album's lead single, became Kaiser Chiefs' first UK number one single.[9] The song lyrics discuss an unbelievable relationship, and its musical style has been compared to Oasis' 2005 song "Lyla".[18] "Ruby" was featured on the 2007 video game Guitar Hero III.

"Everything Is Average Nowadays" was released as the album's second single, and reached number nineteen in the UK.[19] The album's third single "The Angry Mob", described by the The Sun as a "clever, accessible pop" song, peaked at number twenty-two in the UK.[20][21] The fourth single is "Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)", released November 12. Heat Dies Down is currently registered 9th on Apple iTunes' Driving Songs June 9th 2008

[edit] Third studio album (2007–present)

The stage at Elland Road stadium on 24 May 2008
The stage at Elland Road stadium on 24 May 2008

Kaiser Chiefs recently scrapped most of their autumn US tour saying they were too anxious to begin recording their third full length album: "We are just really desperate to write some new stuff," drummer Nick Hodgson told Billboard.com. "We don't know exactly what we're going to put out, but it will be next year [...] We're very keen on breaking the cycle of what normal bands do, which is album every two years and tour for a year-and-a-half and take six months to write," he continued. "Not only does it get predictable, it gets boring. A lot of our contemporaries do the same thing." During their UK arena shows in November and December 2007, they debuted three new songs. These may or may not be for their third album. New songs include 'Never Miss A Beat' and 'You Want History'. In May 2008, BRIT Award winner Mark Ronson confirmed that he is producing the band's forthcoming third album.[22]

Kaiser Chiefs planned to head to a studio in Leeds, England, before the end of 2007 to do some initial groundwork. The band's lone remaining American tour date was September 29 at New York's Beacon Theatre which took place as scheduled.[23]

On 24 May 2008 the Kaisers played a homecoming show at Leeds United's Elland Road stadium. Following in the footsteps of music giants such as Queen, support acts were The Enemy, Kate Nash, Young Knives and Friendly Fires.[24]

On 6 June 2008 at the Rock in Rio Lisboa festival they introduced a new song from the upcoming album, "You Want History".

Since then, two other tracks have been played live 'Half The Truth' and 'Cant Say What I Mean'.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Kaiser Chiefs discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Criticism from other musicians

Liam Gallagher of Oasis described the Kaiser Chiefs as "a bad Blur."[25] Ricky Wilson, however, claimed he "was chuffed to bits" to be on the end of one of Gallagher's famous insults.

Yours Truly, Angry Mob was criticised by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who likened it to Blur's album The Great Escape.[26]

"I've made two bad records. The first record, which is awful, and 'The Great Escape', which was messy. Kaisers' new record sounds a bit like The Great Escape in that it sounds a bit empty. Sometimes records are like that if you try too hard to repeat your success."[27]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kaiser Chiefs: Yours Truly, Angry Mob : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone
  2. ^ MySpace.com - Kaiser Chiefs - Leeds, UK - Alternative / New Wave / Pop Punk - www.myspace.com/kaiserchiefs
  3. ^ Employment : Kaiser Chiefs : Review : Rolling Stone
  4. ^ BBC South Yorkshire, Kaiser Chiefs Interview
  5. ^ Kaiser Chiefs play Leeds Utd homecoming show
  6. ^ a b Heather Phares. "Employment > Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  7. ^ "Kaiser Chiefs 2007 Biography". KaiserChiefs.co.uk. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Antony and Johnsons win Mercury". BBC. September 7, 2005. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  9. ^ a b "Ruby Music Charts: Kaiser Chiefs". aCharts.us. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  10. ^ BBC South Yorkshire, Kaiser Chiefs Interview
  11. ^ "Employment by Kaiser Chiefs". MetaCritic.com. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  12. ^ "Employment Music Charts: Kaiser Chiefs". aCharts.us. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  13. ^ British platinum certification for Employment. British Phonographic Industry. February 17, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  14. ^ "The Greatest Indie Anthems Ever - countdown continues". NME. May 1, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
  15. ^ "The Kaiser Chiefs discuss new album". NME. October 20, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  16. ^ "Yours Truly, Angry Mob by Kaiser Chiefs". MetaCritic.com. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  17. ^ "Yours Truly, Angry Mob Music Charts: Kaiser Chiefs". aCharts.us. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  18. ^ "Red Rags to Riches". NME. February 3, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  19. ^ "Everything Is Average Nowadays Music Charts: Kaiser Chiefs". aCharts.us. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  20. ^ "Single Review". The Sun. August 17, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  21. ^ "The Angry Mob Music Charts: Kaiser Chiefs". aCharts.us. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  22. ^ [1] Interview with NME Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  23. ^ Billboard.com
  24. ^ Kaiser Chiefs play homecoming show at Leeds United's stadium. NME.com (24 May 2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
  25. ^ 2005 interview with NME
  26. ^ GIGWISE, Damon Albarn Criticises Kaiser Chiefs New LP
  27. ^ No Rock And Roll Fun: Modern Chiefs is rubbish

[edit] External links

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Kaiser Chiefs
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