Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs is one of the most notable bands on the modern rock-n-roll scene. It was founded in Leeds in 1997 by vocalist Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick Baines and drummer Nick Hodgson and took a name after famous South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, where former Leeds United defender Lucas Radebe (musicians favorite player) started his career. Kaiser Chiefs was not the first band for them. Nick Hodgson, Nick Baines and Simon Rix started to play together when they attended the same school in Bradford. In 1996 Hodgson, Andrew White and Ricky Wilson founded the band Runston Parva, named after small Yorkshire village (later their name was changed to simply Parva). They even managed to release album, but later label which worked with them was closed. So all five decided to take the fresh start with new songs under the new name.

Kaiser Chiefs’ first album, Employment, was released in March 2005. It was well received by critics and fans, becoming five times platinum. Employment was inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970s. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album. The first single from Employment, Oh My God, was covered in 2007 by Mark Ronson and Lily Allen for Ronson's album Version. Second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob hit the stores in February 2007. This time, Kaiser Chiefs were taking inspiration from Led Zeppelin and American rock music. Unlike Employment, new album recived mixed reviews (being described as «an album full of jukebox hits») and was not so commercially successfull. At the same time, first single from it, Ruby, became Kaiser Chiefs' first UK number one single.

Soon after releasing Yours Truly, Angry Mob, Kaiser Chiefs started working on the new album. «We're very keen on breaking the cycle of what normal bands do, which is album every two years and tour for a year-and-a-half and take six months to write. Not only does it get predictable, it gets boring», explained Kaiser Chiefs' drummer Nick Hodgson. The band even postponed their tour to write some new songs. However, the rest of 2007 and the first half of 2008 was spent on touring. On 24 May 2008 Kaiser Chiefs played special gig at Leeds with such bands as The Enemy, Kate Nash, Young Knives and Friendly Fires. They also supported Sir Paul McCartney oh his concert on 1 June 2008, which was performed as part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year. Third album Off With Their Heads was released on 20 October 2008. The album features guest appearances from several people: Lily Allen on Always Happens Like That and Never Miss A Beat, New Young Pony Club on Never Miss A Beat and James Bond composer David Arnold on some tracks