Keane

Keane (formed in 1995)

Keane is an English alternative rock band. The line-up of the band is Tim Rice-Oxley (bassist and pianist), Tom Chaplin (vocals) and Richard Hughes (drums). The original guitarist, Dominic Scott, left the band in 2001.

Keane: The Early Years

The parents of the Rice-Oxley and the Chaplin families became friends, when their children were young, as did their children. Tom Chaplin's family owns the Vinehall School in Robertsbridge, where his father was headmaster for 25 years. Later, they attended Tonbridge School, a private school in Kent, where they both discovered their love of music.

In 1995, Tim formed a band with Dominic, whilst he was studying for a Classics degree at University College, London. With Richard on drums, the band named themselves The Lotus Eaters and started out as a covers band, playing songs by The Beatles and U2.

Chris Martin invited Tim to join Coldplay in 1997, but the pianist declined. Tom joined the band that same year, and took over Tim's role as lead vocalist. The band changed their name to Cherry Keane, after an old friend of the Rice-Oxley and Chaplin family, who had left money for the Chaplin family after her death from cancer.

Keane's first live gig was at the Hope & Anchor pub in Islington, London. For the next two years, the band played a number of pub gigs in and around London.

The band released their debut single, 'Call Me What You Like' on their own record label, Zoomorphic. Only 500 copies were pressed and the CD was sold at Keane's gigs. Their second release was 'Wolf At The Door', which was limited to 50 copies.

In 2001, Keane signed a publishing deal with BMG. In 2002, a gig at the Betsey Trotwood was watched by Simon Williams of Fierce Panda Records, who released the band's first commercial single, 'Everybody's Changing'. Keane were eventually signed by Island Records in 2003. 'This Is the Last Time' was to be their final release on Fierce Panda.

Keane: Breakthrough

Keane's first single for Island was 'Somewhere Only We Know', which reached number three in the UK charts. The debut album, Hopes and Fears, was released in May 2004 in the UK and became the second biggest album in the UK, losing out to the Scissor Sisters. In 2005, Keane won the Best British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards and Tim Rice-Oxley won an Ivor Novello for his songwriting skills.

Keane performed at the London leg of the 2005 Live 8 concert and they are also patrons of the War Child charity.

Keane's second album, Under the Iron Sea was released in 2005. The first single from the album was 'Is It Any Wonder?' and the band also released a download-only music video for 'Atlantic'. They then released 'Crystal Ball' and 'Nothing In My Way' as singles. 'The Night Sky' was released as a fundraiser for War Child.

In 2006, Tom Chaplin left the band's extensive world tour to attend a rehab clinic for alcohol and drug dependency. A 9-CD box set, Keane Live '06 was released by Concert Live and sold at each Keane concert in the UK during October 2006. Tim Rice-Oxley also spent this time collaborating with Gwen Stefani on her single 'Early Winter'. He also co-wrote two further songs on her album The Sweet Escape.

Keane's third studio album was released in August 2008. The first single from Perfect Symmetry was 'Spiralling'. Tom's voice on the 'Spiralling' has been compared to that of The Killers' front man Brandon Flowers. Perfect Symmetry reached number one in the UK albums chart.

Written by Contactmusic.com