| The Kooks | |
|---|---|
The Kooks at the Hurricane Festival, Germany 2006 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brighton, England |
| Genres | Indie rock, Britpop, alternative rock, indie pop |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Virgin, EMI |
| Website | www.thekooks.com |
| Members | |
| Luke Pritchard Hugh Harris Peter Denton Paul Garred |
|
| Past members | |
| Max Rafferty Dan Logan Chris Prendergast |
|
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001.[1] Formed by Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Paul Garred (drums), and Max Rafferty (bass guitar), the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty. Dan Logan was drafted in as a temporary replacement, until Peter Denton joined the band on a permanent basis in October 2008. Early in 2010 Pritchard announced the departure of drummer Paul Garred, due to a nerve problem in his arm.
A self-described "pop" band, their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium.[2] With songs described as "catchy as hell", The Kooks have experimented in several genres including rock, Britpop, pop, reggae, and ska, at times being described as "a less severe Arctic Monkeys".[3]
Signed to Virgin Records just three months after forming, The Kooks broke into the musical mainstream with their debut album Inside In/Inside Out (2006). The album was ultimately successful, achieving quadruple platinum status in the UK within a year and also overseas in the form of a platinum certification in Australia and two times platinum in Ireland. The Kooks found themselves entering into mainstream media attention, with the band winning the award for Best UK & Ireland Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 and picking up a nomination at The Brit Awards for the single "She Moves in Her Own Way".[4][5] With their follow-up Konk (2008) debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart, it recorded first week sales of 65,000, achieving gold status in both the UK and Ireland.[6] Their third studio album, entitled Junk of the Heart, was released on 12 September 2011.
Contents |
The original members of The Kooks all met as students at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music in 2003.[7] The inspiration to form a band came to Pritchard as he and Garred were out shopping for clothes one day in Primark. Speaking to MTV Garred said, "we had this vision on how we wanted the band to look and stuff—so we bought some clothes and these hats."[8] Sharing a love of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Police, and David Bowie Pritchard got Harris and Rafferty involved under the guise of a school music project.[7] Pritchard himself said "We got together just on a whim, really."[9] With no demo of their material Garred and Pritchard went in search of a gig, and according to Garred, they were able to book their first show simply because the manager liked their hats. "So we went in to get a gig, we don't have a demo, and this guy told us, 'Well, you can't get a gig if you don't have a demo, but I like your hats, so I'm going to give you a gig'", said Garred. However, the band was unable to make the performance as they were making their demo at the time.[8]
Taking their name from the David Bowie song "Kooks", they began rehearsing; Pritchard revealed the first song they ever played as a group was a cover version of The Strokes' song "Reptilia".[10] The Kooks recorded an EP demo, sending it out in search of gigs, they instead received offers from managers and record companies.[9] The band had only been together as a group for three months when they signed with Virgin Records,[9] after being spotted by the label at the Brighton Free Butt Festival in 2005.[11] In an interview with musicomh.com, Pritchard revealed "It was really quick how it all happened, we did a demo with a mate of ours in London, which we sent off to one guy to get some gigs, and he turned out to be a manager. He rung us up and it kind of went from there."[10] The members of the band have since revealed that they felt they weren’t ready at the time, "We were way too early to sign a record deal ... We were really young, we'd been together like two or three months, so we really didn't want to sign. But then we thought it's a really good opportunity and Virgin seemed like really cool people - they just seemed to really understand where we were coming from.,"[10] said Pritchard, who has also complimented the space the record label allowed for the band to grow, "They were patient with us and let us develop our style, whatever it is."[9]
After they had signed to Virgin Records The Kooks were reluctant to record an album straight away, stating a desire to focus more on their live performances and songwriting. The band has said embarking on their first live tour instead of recording an album initially helped them develop their style and sound. As Pritchard claimed, "We didn’t sit down with a blueprint. We just naturally developed and we didn’t try to shape or mould ourselves to anything."[12] As a result, they went into the studio with hundreds of songs from a variety of genres, and it took an "incredible amount of patience" from producer Tony Hoffer to shape the content into what would become the record.[9]
Following their first tour supporting The Thrills,[13] The Kooks recorded their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, at Konk studios in London in 2005.[14] Though media attention was dominated by the release of the Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not on the same day, Inside In/Inside Out recorded first week sales of 19,098. Later speaking to NME Pritchard would thank the Arctic Monkeys for "shielding" The Kooks from the press' scrutiny. "God bless the Arctic Monkeys because if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have been so shielded. We were so overshadowed by the success it (their album) because it was so monster and we crept in behind everybody's back."[15] Entering the UK Album Chart at number nine, it would eventually peak at number two for two weeks. Singles "Eddie’s Gun", "Sofa Song", "You Don’t Love Me", "Naïve", "She Moves in Her Own Way" and "Ooh La" achieved chart success in the UK, while "Naïve" and "She Moves in Her Own Way" put The Kooks in the top ten for the first time.[16][17]
Kev Kharas in his review for Drowned in Sound viewed The Kooks as "a less irreverent and more melodic Art Brut, swapping that band’s caustic wit for a far nicer type of honesty."[18] Kharas also noted traces of "emo" in the band’s style.[18] Allmusic's Tim Sendra noted that the band's direction was "heavily indebted to classic rock", in particular Thin Lizzy and the Dexys, ultimately though Sendra felt "the band sounds like the Kooks and no one else". Calling The Kooks "an important reminder that there are just as many mediocre bands in the UK as there are in the United States" reviewer Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone claimed the album was "utterly forgettable, shoddily produced retro rock that at its worst sounds like a Brighton-accented version of the Spin Doctors".[19] Brian Belardi of Prefix gave a positive review, describing Inside In/Inside Out as "An almost-perfect blend of '60s-style Britpop, '90s-style Britpop, and the post-punk of the new millennium".[2]
The album went on to be certified quadruple platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)[20] within a year and certified platinum across Europe by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[21][22] The success of their debut album brought the band into mainstream media attention, winning the award for best UK and Ireland act at the MTV Awards in 2006 and picking up a Brit Awards nomination for "She Moves in Her Own Way", in 2007.[4][5]
Rafferty left the band on 31 January 2008, after a series of absences due to illness and long-standing rumours about his place in the band; drug addiction was also quoted as one of the reasons for his departure.[23] Dan Logan, bassist with a local Brighton band Cat the Dog, was drafted in as a temporary replacement for Rafferty.[24] After the departure of Rafferty, the band had considered splitting up. Singer Luke Pritchard had told The Sun's Something for the Weekend that "Splitting does go through your mind. It's hard to let go of something you care about so much. We have fans to think of." Pritchard also discussed the possibility of Dan Logan joining the band as their new bassist, "It's been really strange for us but it's something that had to happen. Dan hasn’t joined the band properly yet. We're trying him out, but I love playing with him."[25] In the end, Logan did not join the band on a permanent basis, instead in October 2008, Peter Denton was drafted into the band and has become the permanent bassist.[26]
The Kooks released their second album, Konk, in April 2008. The record was named after the studio where it was recorded and produced by Tony Hoffer, who worked on the band's debut album, Inside In/Inside Out.[27] Prior to releasing the album, in an interview with NME, lead singer Luke Pritchard had claimed to have 80-90 songs written for the album, stating, "I want this album to be big……I've got an ego, I want the album to do well. I want our singles to come on the radio and for people to literally have their heads blown off by them".[28] Recorded over a total of seven weeks in London and Los Angeles Pritchard told NME the band had wanted more input into their second album. "Tony's a genius, but this time we wanted more involvement in the production," said Pritchard.[27]
Konk went on to debut on the UK Albums Chart at number one with first week sales of 65,901 units.[29] The album also spawned three top 50 hits including their highest chart performer to date, "Always Where I Need to Be", which peaked at number three. In the United States, it reached number 41 on the Billboard 200 and the album's first single, "Always Where I Need to Be", peaked at number 22 on the Alternative Songs chart. The album was certified gold in both the UK and Ireland. A second limited edition two disc version of Konk entitled RAK was also released. The name was taken from the London studio where The Kooks recorded seven new live tracks along with the Arctic Monkeys and Mike Crossey, producer for The Zutons.[30]
Allmusic said with Konk, The Kooks "explores pop and rock in all their glory,"[31] while BBC Music described their second album as "a little contrived with the recycling of old guitar lines and intros."[32] NME suggested the departure of Max Rafferty affected Konk's production, stating "Konk is the sound of a band in disarray, unsuccessfully attempting to hold things together."[33]
In April 2009, The Kooks revealed to BBC's Newsbeat that they were working on their third studio album. Frontman Luke Pritchard told Newsbeat, "We kind of barricaded ourselves in the countryside for a few weeks—stayed at some friend's who have a cottage in Norfolk." Pritchard recently revealed that over two weeks there, the band only managed to make one new song: "Eskimo Kiss" (Track 11). Drummer Paul Garred left the band in late 2009, due to a nerve problem in his arm, and was temporarily replaced initially by Nicholas Millard from the band Crackout, and then Chris Prendergast for live shows.[34] However, Paul returned for the recording sessions in late 2010, while continuing to not tour with the band, as Pritchard recently stated his injury "turned into a psychological thing". After hiring and firing new producer Jim Abyss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Adele) despite having some "really good sessions" together, the band returned to old Producer Tony Hoffer who gave them a "new direction" and they recorded the album in a more contemporary style to previously. In January 2011, Pritchard announced that they had recorded fourteen new tracks. The band announced via social media that they finished the final touches on 30 March. Finally, the album name was announced as Junk of the Heart (The title of the opening track) and tracklist details released, with a release date of 12 September 2011 for England. The album was produced by Tony Hoffer. The first single taken from the album is titled "Is It Me" in Europe and "Junk of the Heart" elsewhere.
Luke has often stated that his main influences include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Mason Jennings and The Everly Brothers. However, more recently he cited the most prominant influences during the writing of Junk of the Heart to be more modern artists such as Lykke Li, LCD Soundsystem, Air and Phoenix.
It's just like an idea, like a chorus, and then we just jam on it - it happens in loads of different ways. The best songs I find always come from the subconscious, like when you don't think. Not to be pretentious about it, but usually songs just blurt out rather than thinking about it. I never write lyrics and then do a song, I find that really hard - that's like a real skill..
Self-described "musical whores", The Kooks have drawn on a number of varied sources to create their indie pop sound. Listing The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Chris de Burgh among their influences the band have gradually developed both their song writing style and musical presentation over the course of their three albums.[10]
The band's debut album Inside In/Inside Out was touted as a typical Britpop record, owing influence to The Libertines, Thin Lizzy, The Police and containing elements of the 60’s Britpop movement.[2] Furthermore Pritchard’s lyrical style was compared to that of a "younger, less pathetic version of Pete Doherty's mush-mouth style".[2] The band themselves felt the album was not consistent in its direction. "The first record was definitely genre-hopping. [...] The first album was finding its feet, it was gadabout," claimed Harris in an interview with Nadine Regan for The Sunday Business Post.[12]
On the follow-up Konk, the band attempted to find a more mature and polished sound. Drawing on a much wider choice of material for the album (about 80 to 90 songs were written), the band began to incorporate more a hard-edged rock focus into their music.[35] Critics drew comparisons to the work of The Kinks throughout the album, it being recorded at the studio owned by Ray Davies.[36] Also noted were the band’s growing similarities in musical direction to The Fratellis’ and the Arctic Monkeys.[37] The band commented on the album’s style, "I think we've made a dynamic album," Pritchard said. "Every song has its own character. It's a good pop album."[27]
Since gaining mainstream media attention The Kooks have incited a number of rivalries with other bands, most notably with Razorlight and Arctic Monkeys. In an interview with NME in 2006, Razorlight's lead singer Johnny Borrell claimed that The Kooks were simply copying their style; furthermore he claimed The Kooks were creating singles simply for the purpose of gaining radio airplay. Borrell stated, "The Kooks sound like they’re rolling over and begging Radio 1 to fuck them."[38] In response, The Kooks dedicated their single "Naïve" to Borrell live onstage during their final concert at London's Astoria. However Pritchard, in an attempt to end the feud, spoke with Borrell at the Q Awards in 2006, to which Borrell replied "Who are you again?".[39]
In 2008, The Kooks revealed an ongoing dispute with Arctic Monkeys. The feud arose from Pritchard kicking Alex Turner, lead singer for Arctic Monkeys, in the face whilst onstage. Pritchard claimed that Turner had been attempting to disrupt his performance. "I had to kick Alex in the face after he tried to pull the leads out of my guitar pedals while we were on stage."[40] Pritchard spoke to The Daily Mail about his efforts to apologise for the incident later on. "I saw them recently in a studio and tried to patch things up. I asked Alex if he wanted to have a bit of a jam in the studio, but he just turned his back and walked away." Pritchard went on to describe the Arctic Monkeys as "arrogant" but conceded that Turner is "a genius musician, and a really talented song writer, but now we've got this beef. But he shouldn't have touched my guitar."[41]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [6] |
AUS [42] |
GER [43] |
IRE [44] |
ITA [45] |
JPN [46] |
NLD [47] |
NZ [48] |
US [49] |
US Indie [49] |
US Heat [49] |
|||||
| 2006 | Inside In/Inside Out | 2 | — | 75 | 3 | 28 | 74 | 25 | 24 | 165 | 17 | 3 | |||
| 2008 | Konk
|
1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 24 | 35 | 7 | 12 | 41 | — | — | |||
| 2011 | Junk of the Heart
|
10 | 9 | 6 | 41 | 23 | — | 6 | 30 | 68 | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [6] |
GER [43] |
IRE [44] |
NLD [47] |
NZ [48] |
US Alt [56] |
US Rock [56] |
||||
| 2005 | "Eddie's Gun" | 35 | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | Inside In/Inside Out | |
| "Sofa Song" | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2006 | "You Don't Love Me" | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Naïve" | 5 | — | — | 82 | 15 | 22 | — | |||
| "She Moves in Her Own Way" | 7 | 55 | 11 | 55 | 11 | 39 | — | |||
| "Ooh La" | 20 | — | 38 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2008 | "Always Where I Need to Be" | 3 | 66 | 15 | 43 | 40 | 22 | — | Konk | |
| "Shine On" | 25 | — | 32 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Sway" | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2011 | "Junk of the Heart (Happy)" | — | 93 | — | — | — | 20 | 40 | Junk of the Heart | |
| "Is It Me" | 160 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
| Year | Song contributed | Release title |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "She Moves in Her Own Way" (Acoustic) | The Acoustic Album |
| 2006 | "The King and I" | Colours Are Brighter |
| 2006 | "Crazy"(Gnarls Barkley cover) | Radio 1's Live Lounge |
| 2007 | "She Moves in Her Own Way" (Live)[57] | The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show |
| 2007 | "All That She Wants" (Ace of Base cover) | Radio 1 Established 1967 |
| 2008 | "Young Folks (Peter, Bjorn and John cover) | NME Awards 2008 |
| 2009 | "Victoria" (The Kinks cover) | War Child Presents Heroes |
| 2009 | "Stormy Weather (Frank Sinatra cover) | His Way, Our Way |
| 2009 | "Kids" (MGMT cover, acoustic) | Like a Version Five |
| 2011 | "Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People cover) | Radio 1's Live Lounge |
|
||||||||||||||