Keane are an English
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
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 Su ...
, formed in 1995. They met while at
Tonbridge School
(God Giveth the Increase)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion =
, president =
, head_label ...
together. The band currently comprises
Tom Chaplin (lead vocals, electric/acoustic guitar),
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...
(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
Dominic Scott (born 15 May 1979) is an Irish guitarist, and the founder of the English rock band Roundstone and a founding member of the pop rock band Keane.
Keane
Scott attended Tonbridge School in Kent, where he met the other members of the b ...
, 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 music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
and
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
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 C ...
.
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
Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cau ...
'' 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
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
History
1995–99: Early years and formation
Tom Chaplin and Tim Rice-Oxley became friends when very young.
['']Strangers
A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, character can be ascertained. Differ ...
'' 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
(God Giveth the Increase)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion =
, president =
, head_label ...
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
Dominic Scott (born 15 May 1979) is an Irish guitarist, and the founder of the English rock band Roundstone and a founding member of the pop rock band Keane.
Keane
Scott attended Tonbridge School in Kent, where he met the other members of the b ...
; 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'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
, and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, and rehearsing at home.
After listening to Rice-Oxley's piano playing during a weekend at
Virginia Water
Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its nam ...
, Surrey in 1997,
Chris Martin invited him to join his newly formed band
Coldplay. 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
Make Poverty History are organizations in a number of countries, which focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally form a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together ...
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
"Wolf at the Door" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane and was the second single they released, originally intended only as a promo item with only fifty copies made, becoming the rarest Keane item in existe ...
," 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
"Everybody's Changing" is a song performed by English alternative rock band Keane. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). After a single release on Fierce Panda in May 2003, which peaked ...
." 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
Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Supergrass. Fierc ...
, the same man who had discovered
Coldplay years previously. Williams offered to release the first commercial single by the band. This release was "
Everybody's Changing
"Everybody's Changing" is a song performed by English alternative rock band Keane. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). After a single release on Fierce Panda in May 2003, which peaked ...
", which
Steve Lamacq 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, anoth ...
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 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
"Everybody's Changing" is a song performed by English alternative rock band Keane. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). After a single release on Fierce Panda in May 2003, which peaked ...
" 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
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 C ...
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
''D ...
gave it 5 out of 10, accusing Keane of excessively imitating
Coldplay (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
"Bedshaped" is a song by English rock band Keane, released as the third single from ''Hopes and Fears''. It became their third consecutive top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, after "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Everybody's Changing", peaking a ...
," "
This Is the Last Time" (a version with Island Records) and "
Bend and Break
"Bend and Break" is a song performed and composed by English rock band Keane, released as the fifth and final single from their debut album ''Hopes and Fears''.
Track listing
#"Bend and Break"
#" On a Day Like Today"
#"Allemande (Live)"
#"B ...
" 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
Make Poverty History are organizations in a number of countries, which focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally form a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together ...
, 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 Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio.
It was originally released as a single credited to Frankie Valli as a solo artist in 1965 on the Smash label, but was more successful when recorded by the Wa ...
". 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 pres ...
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 (vo ...
,
John Legend,
Ciara
Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...
, and
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, 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 A ...
.
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
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...
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
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 ...
. The song was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2007. The album had a worldwide release in June 2006 and was at number 1 in 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 C ...
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 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
Keane are an English alternative rock band from East Sussex, 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, ...
''.
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 20 ...
" 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
Steve Lamacq 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
Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominence ...
. 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 conside ...
, 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'' 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
Mt. Desolation are an English band formed by Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, members of the rock band Keane (band), Keane, as a side-project. Their Mt. Desolation (album), self-titled debut album was released on 18 October 2010.
The live band co ...
Tour (alternative project by Tim and Jesse),
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...
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 Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic grou ...
. 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 '' Strangeland''.
Opening acts
*Mystery Jets (North America—Leg 1)
*Youngblood Hawke (North America—Leg ...
started at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex on Friday, 9 March 2012.
The band released "
Silenced by the Night", the album's lead single, worldwide except for the United Kingdom on 13 March 2012.
Keane performed "Silenced By the Night" for the first time on 12 March on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
''. The song was sent to U.S.
adult alternative
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
radio stations on 26 March 2012. In the UK, the single was released on 15 April 2012.
The single "
Disconnected" was released on 20 April 2012 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with the official worldwide release on 8 October 2012. The single "
Sovereign Light Café
"Sovereign Light Café" is a song by English alternative rock band Keane released as the third single from their fourth studio album, '' Strangeland''.
The band played the song for first time during the Perfect Symmetry World Tour on 17 Septem ...
" was released on 23 July 2012. The video was filmed in Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex, England.
Helen Lear from ''The Music'' wrote that ''Strangeland'' "will still sound to some like middle-of-the-road indie-pop" and "pretty much what you would expect from Keane", but "the tempo is noticeably more upbeat and the style more diverse than previous albums" and "offers some more fun in a grown-up style that may attract new fans to take a listen." Chris Roberts of the BBC criticised ''Strangeland'' as "an unabashed scurry back to the comfort zone", and that "Keane lack blood, guts and muscle", with the album ultimately classed as "a somewhat saddening step backwards."
John Murphy of musicOMH rated the album two stars out of five, where "melodies are stodgy and predictable", with "a whole bucket of cliches piled in", calling ''Strangeland'' "proof positive that playing it safe is not always the best option."
Ian Gittins of Virgin Media felt the album was "major musical step back from the wilful experimentalism of ''
Perfect Symmetry'', a record that saw Keane hiring dance producer
Stuart Price and leaping far out of their comfort zone", commenting that the album "finds them fairly back in the middle of the road".
2013–19: ''The Best of Keane'' and hiatus
Keane released the compilation album ''
The Best of Keane'' in November 2013. Two new songs recorded during ''
Strangeland'' were released from the compilation album; "
Higher Than the Sun" was released on 28 September 2013 and "
Won't Be Broken" was released on 20 January 2014.
On 20 October 2013, several publications, including ''The Sun'' and Digital Spy, claimed that Keane intended to split following the release of ''The Best of Keane'', and reported that the band members were "taking a break...to pursue their own projects." On 21 October 2013, Tom Chaplin clarified on Real Radio Yorkshire that the band was not splitting up, but the band members would like to "take a bit of time out from being Keane" after being busy for the past few years.
In an interview conducted in late 2017 with a correspondent from ''The Sun'', Tom Chaplin stated that he felt that he was too old to reform and relaunch the band. He recorded a solo album titled "
The Wave", released on 14 October 2016. He released follow-up Christmas-themed second album ''
Twelve Tales of Christmas
''Twelve Tales of Christmas'' is a Christmas-themed solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter Tom Chaplin. The album was released on 17 November 2017 by Island Records.
It is Chaplin's second solo studio album, following on from the r ...
'' on 17 November 2017. Rice-Oxley and Quin continued side project
Mt. Desolation
Mt. Desolation are an English band formed by Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, members of the rock band Keane (band), Keane, as a side-project. Their Mt. Desolation (album), self-titled debut album was released on 18 October 2010.
The live band co ...
, releasing the album ''
When the Night Calls
''When the Night Calls'' is the second studio album by English alternative country duo Mt. Desolation. This is the second album by the side project of the band Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin.
Track listing
* All tracks written by Tim R ...
'' on 25 May 2018.
During the band's hiatus, the band has reunited three times: on 8 August 2015, Chaplin and Rice-Oxley performed a Keane setlist at Battle Festival. On 11 September 2016, the band released a music video for "
Tear Up This Town", written and recorded for the film ''
A Monster Calls
''A Monster Calls'' is a low fantasy novel written for young adults by Patrick Ness (from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd) illustrated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles ...
''.
2019–21: Return and ''Cause and Effect''
Toward the end of 2018, Keane posted a series of cryptic images onto their various social media accounts, hinting that the quartet were in the studio working on material.
On 17 January 2019, an article from ''The Sun'' revealed that the band are planning "to make a comeback after six years away" and that a "source close to the rockers has revealed the band is ready to work together again after 'putting their differences to one side'".
On 6 February, Keane posted an image of them on their various social media accounts. This was followed by several announcements on their Instagram and Facebook sites of various festivals in which the band would perform, including Cornbury Music Festival (6 July 2019), 4ever Valencia Fest in Spain (21 July 2019), MEO Marés Vivas in Portugal (19 July 2019), Noches del Botánico in Madrid (20 July 2019), and Hello Festival in The Netherlands (9 June).
On 15 March 2019, Keane performed their song "
Somewhere Only We Know" on
Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on BBC One with London Contemporary Voices. On 26 March 2019, Keane posted "We’ve been desperate to tell you that we’re busy making another album, which we’ll be releasing later this year" to their Facebook page.
On 17 May 2019, Keane released an EP titled ''Retroactive EP1'' featuring "our favourite archived live performances, older demos and random treasures". On 6 June 2019, the band released the first new single from ''
Cause and Effect
Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cau ...
'', titled "The Way I Feel".
On 16 June 2019, Keane performed a set at the Isle of Wight Festival, being the closing act of the event. On 14 July 2019, Keane did a set at the
British Summer Time
During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC±00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and ev ...
concert in Hyde Park.
The band released a vertical edition of the music video for "The Way I Feel" on 22 July 2019, followed by an AI-generated lyric video for the same song. On 30 July 2019, Keane announced they would co-headline three performances in Mexico with the band
Travis, having sets in Monterrey (13 November 2019), Guadalajara (15 November 2019), and at the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City (16–17 November 2019). Also on this day, the band announced they would perform at "Espaço Das Americas" in São Paulo on 1 December 2019. The band performed on the main stage at the Lokerse Feesten on 3 August 2019. The band streamed an acoustic session and interview on YouTube on 5 August 2019 at the Paste Studio in New York City. On 6 August 2019, the band performed live "The Way I Feel" on ''
The Today Show''. Later that day, they hinted at the release of their second single from ''Cause and Effect'', titled "Love Too Much". On 8 August 2019, "Love Too Much" was released for streaming and debuted on ''The Breakfast Show'' on BBC Radio 2. Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, writing "Not a game-changing comeback by any means, ''Cause and Effect'' is instead a satisfying return to form that manages to gracefully age Keane by invigorating a familiar formula with wisdom and honesty learned over a dramatic, life-changing decade."
2021–present: ''Dirt EP''
On 9 April 2021, Keane announced on their social media platforms they would be participating in
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
2021 Drop 2 on 17 July, with the special early release of their ''
Dirt EP
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains
* Dust: a genera ...
'' on 12" vinyl, featuring four previously unreleased tracks from Cause and Effect sessions. On 17 July, the video for the new title track "Dirt" from the EP was released onto
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
and
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
, coinciding with the limited early release of the 12" vinyl of the EP for Record Store Day. This came with the announcement that the full release of the EP will be on 13 August 2021.
Collaborations
In November 2004, Keane collaborated with electronic DJ Faultline on a cover of the
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 ...
song "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". Two years later, Rice-Oxley collaborated with
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...
as a co-writer of the song "
Early Winter
"Early Winter" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her second solo studio album, '' The Sweet Escape'' (2006). Written by Stefani and English pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, the song was released in Europe as the album's fifth and final sing ...
", released later in 2007 as a single, from her album ''
The Sweet Escape
''The Sweet Escape'' is the second studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby. ...
''. Stefani had been wishing to work with the band since 2005, and Rice-Oxley responded by saying "we might give it a go". Tom Chaplin collaborated with Rocco Deluca and the Burden on the song "Mercy". The band collaborated with Somali-Canadian rapper
K'naan
Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominence ...
and Japanese
Baile Funk singer Tigarah on the EP ''
Night Train''. In late 2009, Rice-Oxley collaborated with the Australian singer
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
as co-writer of the song "Everything Is Beautiful", for Minogue's eleventh studio album "
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
", released in June 2010.
The band collaborated with dance artist
Chicane
A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
on a remix of the song "Bend & Break", renamed "Wake Up". It was featured on the artist's 2008 best-of compilation. In 2012, Tom Chaplin collaborated with the Dutch singer Laura Jansen on the song "Same Heart" for a Dutch charity radio programme. The track was featured on Jansen's second studio album ''Elba''. In 2017, a version of Tom Chaplin's solo track "Solid Gold", featuring alternative pop singer JONES, was released as a single.
Musical style and themes
Tim Rice-Oxley and Dominic Scott were the main writers of the band's songs during their early years. When Scott left in 2001, Rice-Oxley became the main composer.
However, Rice-Oxley credits the rest of the band on all compositions, so that royalties for song credits are shared.
Keane usually harbours an ample, reverberated, melodic, slow- to mid-tempo fully orchestrated sound, somehow reminiscent 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 early and middle career, and their more introspective songs have brought comparisons to
Suede and
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
.
While guitars have been (minimally) present even in their early work, their appearance in the final mix has always been slight, and while Chaplin has stepped up as an almost full-time guitarist in the band, that instrument is never featured as prominently as to be more than barely noticed. For this matter, they have been dubbed as "the band with no guitars", thanks to their heavily piano-based sound. By using
delay
Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can
* ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film
People
* B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...
and
distortion effects on their pianos and similar keyboards, they often create sounds that aren't immediately recognisable as piano. Rice-Oxley said during an interview in Los Angeles that they tend to think piano-related music is boring and what they really wanted to do was try something different. He referred to the piano as an odd instrument to form part of a rock band instrumentation, comparing it to The Beatles' set of instruments. Rice-Oxley's distortion piano has been key to most of Keane's multifaceted style and most definitely their most recognizable asset.
Keane have covered songs by music artists such as
U2,
Rufus Wainwright,
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
The Cult and
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. Rice-Oxley said "I guess it's classic song writing that is the main influence rather than one band in particular – we love people like
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...
who can convey so much emotion and write songs and albums that will be loved and cherished for many years – the things that will be in people's record collections for their whole lives."
Members
Current members
*
Tom Chaplin – lead vocals (1997–2014, 2018–present), guitar (2006–2011, 2022–present), keyboards (2006–2008)
*
Richard Hughes – drums (1995–2014, 2018–present), backing vocals (1997–2014, 2018–present)
*
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin. ...
– keyboards (1995–2014, 2018–present), guitar (2008–2011), bass (1995–2011), backing vocals (1997–2014, 2018–present), lead vocals (1995–1997)
*
Jesse Quin – bass, backing vocals (2011–2014, 2018–present; touring member 2007–2011), keyboards (2011–2014, 2018–present), guitar (2007–2014, 2022–present)
Former members
*
Dominic Scott
Dominic Scott (born 15 May 1979) is an Irish guitarist, and the founder of the English rock band Roundstone and a founding member of the pop rock band Keane.
Keane
Scott attended Tonbridge School in Kent, where he met the other members of the b ...
– guitar, backing vocals (1995–2001)
Timeline
Awards and nominations
Discography
* ''
Hopes and Fears'' (2004)
* ''
Under the Iron Sea'' (2006)
* ''
Perfect Symmetry'' (2008)
* ''
Strangeland'' (2012)
* ''
Cause and Effect
Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cau ...
'' (2019)
Concert tours
* Hopes and Fears Tour (2004–05)
* Under the Iron Sea Tour (2006–07)
* Perfect Symmetry World Tour (2008–09)
* Night Train Tour (2010)
*
Strangeland Tour
The Strangeland Tour was the fifth tour performed by the British Band Keane, to support the launch of their fourth studio album '' Strangeland''.
Opening acts
*Mystery Jets (North America—Leg 1)
*Youngblood Hawke (North America—Leg ...
(2012–13)
*
Cause and Effect Tour (2019–20)
Songs in other media
See also
*
Live Earth
*
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History are organizations in a number of countries, which focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally form a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together ...
References
Books
*
Mass media
*
Keane gig and record reviews on Record Overplayed webzine, 2003– 2005*
*
*
SONIKA* Sonika 53: El triunfo del Indie: Keane o entre la suerte y el talento (August 2006). Retrieved on 15 August 2006
*
Keane video interview with stv.tv/music, March 2007*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane
English alternative rock groups
English pop rock music groups
Post-Britpop groups
Brit Award winners
Interscope Records artists
Ivor Novello Award winners
Musical groups established in 1995
Musical quartets
Island Records artists
Fierce Panda Records artists
Musical groups from East Sussex