Keane are an English alternative rock band from Battle, East Sussex.
Keane | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | East Sussex, England |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Members | Tom Chaplin centre Tim Rice-Oxley left Richard Hughes right |
Band members
Current Line-Up
Previous Members
History
Early years
Keane met at Tonbridge School in Kent. They formed in 1997 as "The Lotus Eaters", however they soon changed their name to Keane, after a lady called Cherry Keane who looked after Chaplin and Rice-Oxley when they were young. They began as a covers band, playing songs by U2, Oasis, and The Beatles but soon wanted to perform their own material. The first Keane songs were composed by Rice-Oxley and previous member Dominic Scott, and were played in pubs around London. In February 2000 they released their first single, "Call Me What You Like", of which 500 copies were produced and sold at the pubs where they played, and another single, "Wolf At The Door", followed a year later.
Scott decided to leave the band in July 2001 due to the limited success that the band was having. It was at this time that Rice-Oxley wrote the song "Everybody's Changing".
In December 2002, Simon Williams of Fierce Panda Records was asked by a mutual friend to attend a Keane gig at the Betsey Trotwood in London and was so impressed that he offered to issue the band's next single, "Everybody's Changing". Steve Lamacq heard the record and placed it as the single of the week on April 16 2003.
Hopes and Fears
After another single on Fierce Panda ("This Is The Last Time"), Keane signed to Island and released the single "Somewhere Only We Know", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart in February 2004. Following the single's success, their debut album, Hopes and Fears, was released May 10 2004, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The album went on to become the second-biggest selling album of the year in the UK, losing the top spot to Scissor Sisters on the final day of the year by only 502 copies.
The band won two awards at the 2005 Brit Awards — Best British album for Hopes and Fears and the British breakthrough act award, as voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 1. In May 2005, they received the Ivor Novello award for songwriters of the year.
The band are currently the patrons of War Child. In September 2005 they contributed a cover of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to Help: a Day in the Life. Keane also did a cover of the Walker Brothers' "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" for the War Child website.
The band gained some recognition in the United States in Autumn 2005 by opening some shows for U2; onstage they claimed Achtung Baby was one of their biggest influences. At this show, two new songs were played as well as their best-known material. They were also nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Artist category along with Sugarland, John Legend, Ciara, and Fall Out Boy at the 48th Annual Grammy awards in Los Angeles, on February 8 2006. They lost the award to John Legend.[1]
Under the Iron Sea
Keane began recording for their second album, Under the Iron Sea, in April 2005, with producer Andy Green. Recording took place in Rye, East Sussex (where Hopes and Fears was recorded) and, more recently, in New York City. It is due to be released June 12 2006 in the UK, following single "Is It Any Wonder?", and June 20 in the USA and Canada.
Discography
Studio Albums
Live Albums
Singles
- Call Me What You Like (2000)
- Wolf at the Door (2001)
- Everybody's Changing (2003) #122 UK
- This Is The Last Time (2003)
- Somewhere Only We Know (2004) #3 UK
- Everybody's Changing (2004) #4 UK
- Bedshaped (2004) #10 UK
- This Is The Last Time (2004) #18 UK
- Is It Any Wonder? (2006) #? UK
DVDs
- "Keane: Strangers" (Island) — a two-disc DVD documentary/video anthology released on November 14 2005 (UK) & November 15 2005 (US).
Notes
- The first release of This Is The Last Time was ineligible for the UK singles chart due to a weblink on the CD.
- Somewhere Only We Know made #50 on US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- The EP Live Recordings 2004 was only released in certain countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, France.
- A single, Bend And Break was released in many countries on July 25 2005 (but not in the UK).
- A video download single, Atlantic was released on April 21 2006.
External links
Official sites
Fansites
- Keane – Austrian fansite
- Keaneshaped – British fansite
- Tom Chaplin-Online (Forum)– British Forum
- Le Monde de Keane – French fansite with gig reviews/interviews in English
- Página mexicana dedicada a Keane – Mexican fansite