Keane are an English

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, formed in 1995. They met while at Tonbridge School together. The band currently comprises Tom Chaplin (lead vocals, electric/acoustic guitar), Tim Rice-Oxley (piano, synthesisers, bass guitar, backing vocals), Richard Hughes (drums, percussion, backing vocals), and Jesse Quin (bass guitar, acoustic/electric guitar, backing vocals). Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001. Keane achieved mainstream, international success with the release of their debut album '' Hopes and Fears'' in 2004. Topping the UK charts, the album won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album and was the second best-selling British album of 2004. It is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Their second album, '' Under the Iron Sea'', released in 2006, topped the UK album charts and debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Their third album '' Perfect Symmetry'' was released in October 2008. In May 2008, both ''Hopes and Fears'' (number 13) and ''Under the Iron Sea'' (number 8) were voted by readers of '' Q'' magazine as among the best British albums ever, with Keane,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentRadiohead the only artists having two albums in the top 20. In 2009, ''Hopes and Fears'' was listed as the ninth best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the UK. Their EP '' Night Train'' was released in May 2010. Their fourth studio album '' Strangeland'' was released in May 2012 and peaked at number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. Keane are known for using keyboards as the lead instrument instead of guitar, differentiating them from most other rock bands. The inclusion of a distorted piano effect in 2006 and various synthesisers were a common feature in their music which developed on the second and third albums. Keane have sold over 13 million records worldwide. After the release of their compilation album '' The Best of Keane'' in 2013, the band took a hiatus, lasting nearly 5 years. The band returned after the hiatus with new music, announcing their fifth studio album titled '' Cause and Effect'' on 6 June 2019 and releasing the lead single from the album "The Way I Feel". A collection of the songs were written by Tim Rice-Oxley during his divorce, and after discussions with Tom who had visited Tim the previous year, decided to proceed with recording the songs for the album. ''Cause and Effect'' was released on 20 September 2019. After the release of the album, the band embarked on the Cause and Effect Tour, visiting Europe and Latin America, before the remainder of the tour was postponed due to the

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History

1995–99: Early years and formation

Tom Chaplin and Tim Rice-Oxley became friends when very young.'' Strangers'' Keane DVD autobiography. Chaplin's father David was the headmaster of Vinehall School in Robertsbridge, East Sussex (owned by Chaplin's family) for 25 years, the school all three attended until the age of 13. They later attended Tonbridge School in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, where Rice-Oxley met Dominic Scott; both discovered their liking for music. Richard Hughes, Keane's future drummer, also attended Tonbridge. Chaplin had learned to play the flute, but none considered music as a proper career at the time. In 1995, while studying at University College London, Rice-Oxley formed a rock band with Scott and invited Hughes to play drums. The band, named Lotus Eaters, started as a cover band, playing songs by the members' favourite bands, including U2,

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, and rehearsing at home. After listening to Rice-Oxley's piano playing during a weekend at Virginia Water, Surrey in 1997, Chris Martin invited him to join his newly formed band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey (manager), Phil H ...

. However, Rice-Oxley declined because he did not want to leave The Lotus Eaters, stating "I was seriously interested, but Keane were already operational and Coldplay's keyboard player idea was dropped." Because of Martin's offer, and although Hughes and Scott were originally opposed to it, Chaplin joined the band in 1997, taking Rice-Oxley's place as vocalist and adding himself as the acoustic guitarist. Chaplin's recruitment also marked a change of name from The Lotus Eaters to Cherry Keane after a friend of Chaplin's mother, whom Rice-Oxley and Chaplin knew when they were young. At her death from cancer, she had left money for Chaplin's family. Chaplin commented: "I used some of the money to see me through the harder times with the music." The name was shortened to Keane soon afterward. Chaplin departed for South Africa in Summer 1997 to work as a volunteer during his gap year. Chaplin's early experiences there later were reflected in the band's position for the Make Poverty History campaign. Returning a year later, in July 1998, following a meeting with friend David Lloyd Seaman, Hughes' first words when the band picked up Chaplin at the airport were "we've got a gig in 10 days." With original material, Keane made their debut live appearance at the Hope & Anchor pub on 13 July 1998. In this same year, Chaplin went to Edinburgh University to study for a degree in art history. However, he later quit his degree and moved to London to pursue a full-time musical career. After their debut performance, the band went touring London's pub gig circuit throughout 1998 and 1999.

1999–2003: Early releases and Scott's departure

In late 1999, and without a record deal, Keane recorded their first promotional single "

Call Me What You Like Call Me What You Like may refer to: *Call Me What You Like (Keane song) *Call Me What You Like (Lovejoy song) "Call Me What You Like", originally called "Awake Forever", is a song by English indie rock band Lovejoy. It was released independ ...

". Released on CD format through Keane's label Zoomorphic, it was sold after live performances at the pubs where Keane used to play in early 2000. Only 500 copies were printed. The EP was reviewed by Bec Rodwell from ''eFestivals'' who listed " Closer Now" as the best song of the record. Recording for the band's next release began on 28 October 2000. At the start of 2001, Rice-Oxley and Hughes disclosed that the main recording would be " Wolf at the Door," and that it would be completed soon. The band gave progress updates. Hughes recorded drums in late January, and the final recording session was in February. Mixing took place in April. The single was released in June, and only 50 copies are known to have been made, using unlabeled CD-Rs. Both singles are considered highly valuable collectors' items by fans. In particular, "Wolf at the Door" has been known to be sold for over £1000 on eBay. During production of "Wolf at the Door," the band recorded and released other songs as demos, namely "More Matey," "Maps," "To the End of the Earth," "Allemande," "New One," "Russian Farmer's Song," and "Live in Fear." The band have declared they are not against fans sharing tracks unreleased on CD, such as the demos "More Matey" and "Emily". Chaplin said "They most likely see those recordings as an interesting extra to get hold of— I don't see it causing any damage. If it was the album we have coming out leaked early, then I'd probably feel differently." Dominic Scott decided to leave the band in July, a month after "Wolf at the Door" was released, to continue his studies at the LSE. Rice-Oxley referenced this departure in " This Is the Last Time," which was being rehearsed in May, according to Hughes. Keane was invited by record producer James Sanger in July to his property in Normandy, France, where the band recorded a number of tracks from August to November, including "Sunshine," " This Is the Last Time," "Maps" (anew) and "Happy Soldier." It was during these sessions that the idea of using a piano as lead instrument began to emerge. Sanger received a shared credit for four songs that appeared on Keane's debut album '' Hopes and Fears'', including "Sunshine", the only song composed there. The band members returned to England in November. The band signed with

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

to publish their music in April 2002, and this enabled them to better commit to music, but at this time they did not yet have a recording contract. Sometime in early 2002, Rice-Oxley wrote " Everybody's Changing." He played it for Chaplin, Hughes and people at BMG, and then the band developed the song into a demo completed in July. They also produced a demo of "Walnut Tree" completed in May. 2002 was a hard year for Keane. All recording or live performances were stopped, and Scott's feeling of going nowhere was starting to tell on Rice-Oxley and Chaplin. In December, Keane returned to performing live. Luckily for the band, one gig at the Betsey Trotwood in London was attended by Simon Williams of Fierce Panda Records, the same man who had discovered

years previously. Williams offered to release the first commercial single by the band. This release was " Everybody's Changing", which

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Acade ...

named single of the week on ''Lamacq Live'' on 14 April 2003, and came out as a CD single on 12 May. As a result of the attention created by this release and because of the strong live reputation they had built through constant UK touring, a bidding war for the band ensued among major record labels. The band decided to sign with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...

in summer 2003. After first being attracted to the band by the considerable industry buzz then surrounding them and from hearing "Everybody's Changing" on the radio, the Island A&R, Ferdy Unger-Hamilton, told

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

that he wanted to sign them after hearing the five songs "Everybody’s Changing", "This Is the Last Time", "She Has No Time", "Bend and Break" and "Somewhere Only We Know", saying "every one of them was brilliant...they had a fantastic live show uteven if I hadn't been able to see them live, I would have tried to sign them anyway." According to Unger-Hamilton, Keane chose to sign with Island because they got on well with the A&R and were convinced that he did not want to change them in any way. The band released "This Is the Last Time" on Fierce Panda, in October 2003 as the final release on that label.

2004–05: ''Hopes and Fears''

With the release of their first major single, Keane began to achieve recognition in the United Kingdom and the United States. In January 2004, Keane was named the band most likely to achieve success in the coming year in the BBC's

Sound of 2004 Sound of... is an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003, and is now widely covered by the corporation's online, radio and TV out ...

poll; additionally, this year is popularly referred to as one of the best years for new British music. A month later, Keane's first release on Island was " Somewhere Only We Know", which reached number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 2004. On 4 May, a re-release of " Everybody's Changing" followed and featured new B-sides and a new cover; it reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. Keane's debut album '' Hopes and Fears'' was released on 10 May 2004 in the UK, a day before the band started their first world tour. It debuted at number one on the

and became the second best-selling British album of the year. It has been certified 9× platinum in the UK.

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History '' ...

gave it 5 out of 10, accusing Keane of excessively imitating

(specifically comparing "Your Eyes Open" and "On a Day Like Today" with, respectively, "Daylight" and "Politik" on the band's album '' A Rush of Blood to the Head''), criticising the album as being "stylistically all over the place" and its lyrics as being "immature" and "cringe-worthy". However, it gave credit to the album's "fine moments", praising lead single " Somewhere Only We Know" as "breathtaking". The album has sold approximately 5.5 million copies worldwide. In the UK, it stayed in the top 75 of the UK Albums Chart for 72 weeks, appearing again on its 115th week. Post-release, the band released singles from the album " Bedshaped," " This Is the Last Time" (a version with Island Records) and " Bend and Break" on 16 August, 22 November, and 25 July 25 2005, respectively. The band won two awards at the 2005 BRIT Awards in February; Best British album for ''Hopes and Fears'', and the British breakthrough act award as voted for by listeners of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

. Three months after, Rice-Oxley received the

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

award for songwriter of the year. As members of the Make Poverty History, Keane performed "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Bedshaped" at the Live 8 concert, which took place in London on 2 July 2005. Keane are also patrons of War Child, and in September 2005, they recorded a cover version of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's " Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to the charity album '' Help: a Day in the Life''. Previously, the band had recorded a cover of

the Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary L ...

' " The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". It also was released as a 7" single as a gift to members of the Keane emailing list. During the year, the band achieved minor recognition in the U.S. from their extensive touring, which culminated with a series of gigs as the opening act for U2. The group were nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in the Best New Artist category along with

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

, Ciara, and

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. ...

2006–07: ''Under the Iron Sea''

In April 2005, in the middle of the Hopes and Fears tour, the band began recording '' Under the Iron Sea'' with producer Andy Green, who worked with them on ''Hopes and Fears''. The band later recruited Mark "Spike" Stent for mixing duties. Recording took place in Helioscentric Studios, where ''Hopes and Fears'' was recorded. Additional recording was done at The Magic Shop Studios in New York. The album's release was preceded by the release of the "

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

", a download-only music video and the lead single " Is It Any Wonder?", which reached number three on the

. The song was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

in 2007. The album had a worldwide release in June 2006 and was at number 1 in the

for the first two weeks of its release. , it had sold more than 2.2 million copies. The third single from the album was "Crystal Ball", released on 21 August 2006, and reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The fourth single from the album was " Nothing in My Way", released on 30 October 2006, which received particular success on Mexican commercial radio, charting on Top 3 on 13 January 2007 and staying a month on that chart. The band released the single " The Night Sky" in aid of the charity War Child. Before the release of the album (in May 2006), Keane had started their second world tour. However, because of the extensive touring, on 22 August 2006, Chaplin announced he had admitted himself to a clinic for drinking and drug problems. This initially resulted in the cancellation of three gigs and postponement of their September tour. The entire North American tour was cancelled outright to allow continued treatment. As a result, the upcoming UK and European tours, scheduled for October and November 2006, were considered to be liable for possible postponement depending on Chaplin's treatment. Chaplin then left the Priory Clinic in London on 6 October, but he continued to receive treatment. The tour reached for the first time South American countries (Argentina, Chile and Brazil) and saw the band's third visit to Mexico in late April with four dates, playing at the downtown

zócalo The Zócalo () is the common name of the main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Squ ...

in Mexico City, as well their first visit to Monterrey and Guadalajara. On 7 July 2007, Keane played at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, part of a series of gigs similar to Live 8, to highlight the threat of global warming. They performed "Somewhere Only We Know", "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Bedshaped". The Under the Iron Sea tour was brought to an end with performances in Oporto, Portugal, and at the Natural Music Festival in El Ejido, Spain on 3 August and 4 respectively. In 2008, ''Under the Iron Sea'' was voted the 8th best British album of all time by a poll conducted by ''Q'' Magazine and HMV. In early October, Concert Live announced they were releasing a limited edition nine-CD set of every Keane live performance in the UK during October 2006 under the name '' Live 06''.

2008–09: ''Perfect Symmetry''

In a March 2007 video interview, Chaplin and Hughes spoke of wanting to take a more "organic" approach on album three, but played down suggestions about the use of guitars, referring to them as "a fun part of the live set" at present; however, the cover of "

She Sells Sanctuary "She Sells Sanctuary" is a song by British rock band the Cult. It is from their second studio album, '' Love'' (1985), and was released as a single on 13 May 1985, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in July of the same year. In July ...

" became the first song recorded since "The Happy Soldier" (2001) to feature the instrument. Photographic updates to the Keane website implied the use of guitars in the album's recording sessions. Jesse Quin joined the band since this album as permanent studio and live member. He plays the bass, percussion, guitar, synths and backing vocals. On 25 August 2008, Keane appeared as studio guests on BBC 6 Music with

where three of the new songs from '' Perfect Symmetry'' were played for the first time: "Spiralling", "The Lovers Are Losing", and "Better Than This". The album was released on 13 October 2008, and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart on 19 October. It also reached number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In December 2008, it was voted "Best Album of the Year" by the readers, listeners and visitors of Q Magazine, Q Radio and Qthemusic.com. The song "Perfect Symmetry" was voted best track. In November 2008, they started the Perfect Symmetry World Tour. On 2 April 2009, Keane became the first band ever to broadcast a live show in 3D. It was filmed at Abbey Road, the site of the world's first satellite broadcast (by The Beatles). Keane fans were prompted to buy 3D glasses along with the new 7" single "Better Than This" or also to hand-make their own glasses.

2010: ''Night Train''

On 10 May 2010, Keane released the EP titled '' Night Train'' which, on 16 May became their fourth number 1 album in the UK. ''Night Train'' was recorded during the Perfect Symmetry World Tour. The band first named this record as a mini-album, then that changed to an EP. In an interview, Tim Rice-Oxley said that ''Night Train'' is "pretty much an album". The songs "Stop for a Minute" and "Looking Back" feature Somali Canadian rapper K'naan. The EP includes a cover of the song "You've Got to Help Yourself" by

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...

, featuring vocals by Japanese funk MC Tigarah. The song "Your Love" features Keane's keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley onlead vocals. The song "My Shadow" was featured in the Season 6 ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...

'' episode "Shiny Happy People". ''Night Train'' has been met with mixed reviews from critics. Ryan Brockington of the ''New York Post'' PopWrap called the work "game changing" while writing that the first single "Stop for a Minute" is "just as brilliant" as the album. Supporting the ''Night Train'' EP, the band began on the Night Train Tour. which started with a show in Brixton, London at The Fridge on 12 May 2010. The tour includes a homecoming show at the Bedgebury Pinetum, outside the band's hometown of Battle. Also festival appearances in Europe followed with a tour of North America, concluding with an appearance at the Mile High Festival in Denver.

2011–13: ''Strangeland''

After the end of Mt. Desolation Tour (alternative project by Tim and Jesse), Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin joined the other two members of the band to work on the pre-production of '' Strangeland''. It was announced on 3 February 2011 on the band's official website that Quin had become an official member of the band. He has worked with Keane since 2007. Keane played a concert in Beijing, China on 13 April 2011 at the invitation of the fashion company Burberry. The band performed an acoustic session at the Wall of China. The band finished recording their fourth studio album on 12 January 2012 and finished mixing the record on 10 February. The album was recorded at Tim Rice-Oxley's Sea Fog Studios, in Polegate, East Sussex. The

Strangeland Tour The Strangeland Tour was the fifth tour performed by the British Band Keane, to support the launch of their fourth studio album '' Str