Kaiser Chiefs are an indie rock band from Leeds, England. They formed in 2002 and have enjoyed enormous global success since.
The band consists of lead vocalist Ricky Wilson, who has achieved added fame from his stint as a judge on the UK talent show The Voice, guitarist Andrew "Whitey" White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick "Peanut" Baines and drummer Vijay Mistry, who replaced founding drummer Nick Hodgson in late 2012.
The band’s big break came along when they performed at the NME Awards tour in 2005, as the opening act. This opportunity allowed the band to start making a name for themselves in the UK. Their first album debuted the same year, entitled ‘Employment’, and reached the number two spot on the UK album chart and was subsequently certified five times platinum. The album was even shortlisted for a Mercury prize, but narrowly missed out on the prestigious award.
Since this encouraging start, the band has fast become one of the most successful UK indie rock bands today. Their most notable hits include ‘I Predict a Riot’, ‘Every day I love you Less and Less’ (both from their debut album) and smash hit ‘Ruby’ from their second album, amongst many others. Their second album, ‘Yours Truly, Angry Mob’ topped the success of their first, reaching the number one spot on the UK albums chart and the album’s lead single ‘Ruby’ became their first ever UK number one single.
In terms of music style, the band can best be described as indie rock with elements of new-wave and post-punk revival. Other similar artists include Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand. Although the band have not quite reached the pinnacle of success surmounted by Coldplay, they have nonetheless well and truly cemented themselves in UK band history. With over one million singles sold worldwide, Kaiser Chiefs are arguably the biggest band to have emerged from Leeds, having won many prestigious awards including Brits and NME awards.
The Damned
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