Kaiser Chiefs

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This article is about the band. For the South African football club, see Kaizer Chiefs Football Club.

Image:KaiserChiefsLogo.png <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:KaiserChiefsBrits.jpg </td></tr>
Background information <tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Image:Flag of England.svg Leeds, England</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Indie rock</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">2003 - present</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">MCA Music, Inc. B-Unique Polydor Drowned In Sound (first single)</td></tr><tr><td>Website</td><td colspan="2">www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #b0c4de;" colspan="3">Members</th></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;" colspan="3">Ricky Wilson Andrew White Simon Rix Nick Baines Nick Hodgson</td></tr>

Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds, formed early in 1997 under the moniker Parva. After reinventing themselves as the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003 the band made a strong impact on the British music scene, culminating in winning three Brit Awards for 'Best Group', 'Best British Rock Act' and 'Best Live Act' in 2006 [1]

1 Current lineup
2 History
3 Performances
4 Discography
5 Awards and Achievements
6 External links

[edit] Current lineup

[edit] History

Image:NME KaiserChiefs.jpg

Prior to 2003 the members of the band had been a garage rock group called Parva (before that having been known as Runston Parva). However, after their label went bust, the band went back to their roots and adopted a more indie sound, helping the band reach their current popularity within the UK and beyond. Members of the band are ardent fans of the English football team Leeds United. The band was named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, the former team of long-serving former Leeds captain Lucas Radebe.

Their debut single, "Oh My God" was released on Drowned In Sound Records in May 2004. It sold out within three days of going on release and charted at #66 on the UK Singles Charts. However, it was the release of their next single, the critically and finically successful "I Predict a Riot", which brought the group to widespread acclaim when it reached #22 in November. It was also their first for B-Unique.

On 18 February, 2005 the Kaiser Chiefs were the opening act at the NME Awards show and won the Philip Hall Radar Award.

A new, more professional recording of "Oh My God" was released in February, which charted at #6, becoming their highest-charting single to date. Their debut album Employment followed on 7 March 2005 and entered the charts at #3 that week. Despite becoming favourite after being shortlisted, the album failed to win the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. Three more single releases from Employment: "Everyday I Love You Less and Less", a re-issue of "I Predict a Riot", and "Modern Way" followed in 2005, with all of them making the top 20.

A DVD release, entitled Enjoyment, was released in November 2005. The basis of the DVD is a (semi-false) documentary about the band narrated by Bill Nighy. It also includes all the promo videos, live performances and more.

An internet-only (so far) music video for their song "Sink that Ship" has been released in September 2005. The video appears on Electronic Arts' website as a promotional tool for their game Burnout Revenge but is completely unbranded.

Wilson auctioned off his red tambourine to radio show Xfm in late 2005 to raise money for the homeless charity Shelter. The winning bid was £375.00. He is now auctioning his boots on ebay.

[edit] Performances

Image:Ricky Wilson.JPG

Kaiser Chiefs' first big festival show was at the dual-site Reading and Leeds Festival on 27 August 2004 and in the following year, on 16 May 2005, they appeared at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Holland. After that, things went fast. They were the opening act at the Philadelphia Live 8 concert on 2 July 2005, one of only two British acts in the lineup (Def Leppard being the other). They performed "I Predict a Riot", "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" and "Oh My God".

June 2005 saw them headline at the May Ball at Queens' College, Cambridge, before an acclaimed appearance at a rainsoaked Glastonbury Festival during the same month, whilst August's appearance at the V Festival featured a very enthusiastic set despite Ricky Wilson having his leg in plaster. Also more recently they embarked on their own headline UK Tour, supported by Maxïmo Park and The Cribs. Their first US tour (with The Cribs) ran through the summer of 2005, and they followed it by playing a few shows on the Foozer tour. This was followed up by opening for Foo Fighters during their Australian tour in December 2005. They also played to Jools Holland and his audience on December 31, 2005.

2006 has been a year with not too many performances, as the band began to record their new album in August. They, again, performed at the Reading and Leeds Festival and played a number of their greatest hits, including Time Honoured Tradition, Na Na Na Na Naa, Oh My God, Everyday I Love You Less and Less and I Predict a Riot. On March 1, the band played their biggest concert ever, in the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, Holland, performing for a more than 5,500 crowd. This show was a part of their Europe tour in February and March. In April there was several shows in the UK, followed by a few festivals in June and July, like Pinkpop, Rock Am Ring and Rock Werchter, and notably they again performed at the Carling Weekends in Reading and Leeds, taking another opportunity to perform in their home town. Late 2006 they will do a little clubtour in Europe, hitting France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Greece. At this tour Kaiser Chiefs will perform new songs of the upcoming album.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Employment
<center>7 March 2005
<center>#2 (UK); #86 (US); #10(HOL)

Untitled
<center>February 2007
<center>

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	UK Singles Chart	UK Download Chart	US Modern Rock	Album
2004	"Oh My God"	#66	-	-	"Employment"
2004	"I Predict A Riot"	#22	-	-	"Employment
2005	"Oh My God" (reissue)	#6	#2	-	"Employment"
2005	"Everyday I Love You Less And Less"	#10	#13	-	"Employment"
2005	"I Predict A Riot/Sink that Ship"	#9	#6	#34	"Employment"
2005	"Modern Way"	#11	#27	-	"Employment"

[edit] Special and international singles releases

The Cribs/Kaiser Chiefs split "7 (features "Modern Way") (2005)
"You Can Have It All" (limited edition Christmas 7", available only on the Kaiser Chiefs website and restricted to 2000 copies) (2005)
Lap of Honour (Japan only EP) (2006)

[edit] Remixes

Kaiser Chiefs and Boys Noize - Everyday I Love You Less And Less (Whitelabel vinyl 2005)
- This song was famously spun by Tiga at 2005's I Love Techno music festival.

[edit] Compilations

Music from the OC: Mix 5 (2005 · Warner Bros./Wea)

[edit] Awards and Achievements

2005

2005 3voor12 (NL): Best Single: Oh My God 3voor12.nl article

2006

2006 Brit Awards: British Rock Act

2006 Brit Awards: British Live Act

2006 Brit Awards: British Group[2]

2006 NME Awards: Best Album

2006 NME Awards: Best Dressed (for Ricky Wilson)[3]

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

Kaiser Chiefs

[edit] Fansites

[edit] Photography

[edit] Other sites

Discography
Kaiser Chiefs
Ricky Wilson \| Andrew "Whitey" White \| Simon Rix \| Nick Hodgson \| Nick "Peanut" Baines
Albums: Employment \| Untitled
Singles: "Oh My God" \| "I Predict a Riot" \| "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" \| "Modern Way"
DVDs: Enjoyment
Other releases: Lap of Honour \| "You Can Have It All"
Related articles
Kaizer Chiefs Football Club \| B-Unique Records \| Polydor Records \| Stephen Street