Artist
Kaiser Chiefs
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Biography
Kaiser Chiefs officially started in May 2003, but their history goes back much further. Nick, Simon and Peanut have known each other since they were eleven years old and have played together in a number of bands. Whitey joined one of their bands by lying that he could play guitar like John Squire. They spotted the restless-energy ball Ricky, a graduate of art school, singing in a Rolling Stones tribute band. At first Ricky turned down the offer to join the band, but later he changed his mind.
About the music
All of this happened long before they took on the name Kaiser Chiefs. Until a few years ago, they were known to some people under the name 'Parva'. In an almost desperate attempt to become successful, they tried to break into the then hugely popular Garage music scene, but got no further than singing about things that didn't really match their own lives. During this time they released three singles, which now circulate on eBay as must-haves. But then things stopped going the way they wanted. The worst came when the record label dropped them, leaving the band with a tax debt, which forced them to find a normal job.
They often found themselves in trouble by spending a lot of money on gigs in London where nobody came to see them. At the moment when everything seemed to fall apart – and Whitey decided to leave the band, but changed his mind after thirty minutes – they decided it was time for a fresh start.
After these setbacks, they drew inspiration from their own club night 'Pigs', which they had set up in the meantime and which started as a joke but had by then become quite successful.
They chose the name 'Kaiser Chiefs' from the South African football team Kaizer Chiefs, for whom Lucas Radebe once played, who now plays for Leeds United, the football club from the city where the Chiefs come from. They began writing songs about personal experiences and changed their musical style to something that had become increasingly less popular in recent years: classic British pop music – not to be confused with 'Britpop', which had taken on a negative meaning by 2002.
But how far had they come? In 2004 their first single 'Oh My God' came out, which was recorded in Nick's bedroom, and reached number 66 on the charts. And that without a record label. In November – by then signed to B-Unique records – their second single 'I Predict A Riot' landed at number 22. When they re-released 'Oh My God' in February 2005 they were already battling with Girls Aloud for the top spot. So their debut album 'Employment' entered at number 3, a week after release, and went platinum after three weeks. In addition, Kaiser Chiefs frequently travelled to mainland Europe, where they also achieved great success. After this they opened for full stadiums as support for U2 in the summer, and a tour with the Foo Fighters at the end of the year is also not to be overlooked.
In 2006, Kaiser Chiefs walked away with three awards at the annual Brit Award show; namely for British rock act, British live act and British group.
The follow-up to their first album was released on 23 February 2007. The single Ruby became their first and so far biggest hit in the Netherlands and Belgium. In their home country England it became the band's first number 1 hit.
On 16 November 2007, Kaiser Chiefs announced the release of a new single. It is a one-off and no album will follow.
The chart positions are from the Dutch album top 20/50/100.
Employment 08-03-2005 highest position: 12
Yours Truly, Angry Mob 23-02-2007 highest position: 1
The chart positions are from the Dutch top.
Official Kaiser Chiefs site
Text: Wikipedia
