Kaiser Chiefs Biography
Summary
"Kaiser Chiefs" are an English rock band from Leeds. Nicknamed KC 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 Africa football club Kaizer Chiefs for whom former Leeds United defender Lucas Radebe played. . The band are well known fans of United and regularly sponsor players on matchday.
The group's debut album "Employment" was released in 2004. The album was primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970s, and enjoyed international success with sales of over three million. In 2005, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. Kaiser Chiefs' second album "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" (2007) yielded 'Ruby', a number one single in the United Kingdom.
History
The band members met at school, being in the same class, when they were all at about the age of eleven. It was in 1996 that the band asked if they should make a band. Whitey said he was better at the guitar than John Squire and that he had a van, which he didn't. On the other hand all the other band members all told each other that they were the best in the world at their respective fields (Ricky saying he is the best singer in the world, Simon saying he is the best bassist in the world etc), however when it came to the first recording, in 1997, it was apparently far from good at first. Runston Parva was the original name of the band. Runston Parva failed to receive a record deal, so the band changed their name to Parva hoping to make a difference. The band got a deal in 2001, but failed to see any success. The band scrapped all their songs and started all over again, which Ricky didn't know why they did that but when looking back he thought that they actually were rubbish. Their other songs include "The food song" which Starri and freyja helped to make.
A new start also meant a new name in the band's eyes. Because of their love of boxing movies they named the band Rocky Four after the movie Rocky IV, which they thought was a good name. They then decided to change their name to the Kaiser Chiefs and because 'nobody said no' they kept it, especially because of former Leeds United player Lucas Radebe, who went to South Africa football club Kaizer Chiefs.
"Employment" (1999-2006)
The group's debut album "Employment" was released in March 2005, and was primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970s. The album was well received by music critics, and it was described as 'thrilling from beginning to end' and 'quintessentially British, without pretension and most importantly, a whole lot of fun'. It reached number two on the UK albums chart, and was certified five times platinum. 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.
The first single released from the album was 'Oh My God', 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' was released as the album's second single. In 2007, the song was ranked number thirty-six on the "NME" 'Greatest Indie Anthems Ever' countdown. The top twenty singles 'Everyday I Love You Less and Less' and 'Modern Way' followed in late 2005. The band are influenced by alternative rock mainstream acts such as Nirvana and Alice in Chains. The band opened and performed several of their singles at the Philadelphia Live Eight concert in 2005.
"Yours Truly, Angry Mob" (2007)
Kaiser Chiefs' second album "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" was released in February 2007. The group recorded the album throughout 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. The album received mixed reviews from critics, who found it to be 'an album full of jukebox hits' and 'predictable'. "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" reached number one on the UK albums chart and number forty-five on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart.
'Ruby', the album's lead single, became Kaiser Chiefs' first UK number one single. The song's lyrics discuss an unbelievable relationship, and its musical style has been compared to Oasis' 2005 song 'Lyla'. 'Everything Is Average Nowadays' was released as the album's second single, and reached number nineteen in the UK. 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. The fourth single will be 'Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)' to be released November 1.
Third studio album (2007-present)
Kaiser Chiefs recently scrapped most of their fall U.S. tour and said that they are anxious to begin recording their third full length next month: '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 continues. 'Not only does it get predictable, it gets boring. A lot of our contemporaries do the same thing.' Kaiser Chiefs plan to head to a studio in Leeds, England, next month and do some initial groundwork. The band's lone remaining U.S. date is Sept. 29 at New York's Beacon Theatre. A European tour gets underway Oct. 23 in London.
Criticism
Noel Gallagher mocked the Kaiser Chiefs for wearing makeup, with Liam Gallagher calling them 'a bad Blur'.. Ricky Wilson, however, claimed he 'was chuffed to bits' to be on the end of one of the Gallagher's famous insults.
The album, "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" was criticised by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who likened it to his own record "The Great Escape".
'I've made two bad records. The first record, which is awful, and 'The Great Escape', which was messy.
'The Kaiser Chiefs' 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.'
Discography
Studio albums
2005: "Employment"
2007: "Yours Truly, Angry Mob"
2008: "TBC"
Singles
'—' denotes singles that were released but did not chart.
External links
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Kaiser Chiefs.
