Keane (band) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keane
Keane Performing at Cornbury Festival in 2019
Background information
Origin	Battle, East Sussex, England
Genres	Alternative rock rock post-Britpop soft rock
Years active	1995–2014 2018–present
Labels	Island Interscope Fierce Panda
Members	Tom Chaplin Richard Hughes Tim Rice-Oxley Jesse Quin
Past members	Dominic Scott

Keane is an English alternative rock band that started in 1995 in Battle, East Sussex. The band members are Tom Chaplin (who sings lead, plays guitar and piano), Tim Rice-Oxley (who plays piano, synthesisers, bass guitar, and sings backing vocals), Richard Hughes (who plays drums, percussion, and sings backing vocals), and Jesse Quin (who plays bass guitar, guitar, and sings backing vocals). The band's first guitarist, Dominic Scott, left in 2001.

Keane became very popular around the world when they released their first album, Hopes and Fears, in 2004. This album went to number one in the UK and won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album. It was also the second best-selling album in the UK in 2004 and is one of the best-selling albums in UK history. Their second album, Under the Iron Sea, came out in 2006 and also reached number one in the UK. Their third album, Perfect Symmetry, was released in 2008, and their EP Night Train came out in 2010. Their fourth studio album, Strangeland, was released in 2012 and also hit number one in the UK.

After releasing The Best of Keane in 2013, the band took a break for almost five years. They came back in 2018 with new music and announced their fifth album, Cause and Effect, which was released in September 2019. The band then went on the Cause and Effect Tour, but some parts of the tour had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2008, Q magazine readers voted Hopes and Fears (number 13) and Under the Iron Sea (number 8) as some of the best British albums ever. Keane, the Beatles, Oasis, and Radiohead were the only bands with two albums in the top 20. In 2009, Hopes and Fears was the ninth best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK. Keane is special because they use keyboards as the main instrument instead of guitars, which is different from many other rock bands. They often use cool piano and synthesiser effects in their music. Keane has sold over 13 million records worldwide!

The Early Days of Keane (1995-1999)

Tim Rice-Oxley and Tom Chaplin became friends when they were very young. They both went to Vinehall School, where Tom's dad was the headmaster. Later, they went to Tonbridge School in Kent, where Tim met Dominic Scott. They all loved music. Richard Hughes, who would become Keane's drummer, also went to Tonbridge.

In 1995, Tim Rice-Oxley formed a rock band called Lotus Eaters with Dominic Scott and invited Richard Hughes to play drums. At first, they played cover songs by their favourite bands.

In 1997, Chris Martin from Coldplay asked Tim Rice-Oxley to join his new band. But Tim said no because he wanted to stay with Lotus Eaters. Because of Chris Martin's offer, Tom Chaplin joined the band in 1997 as the lead singer. This also led to a name change from Lotus Eaters to Cherry Keane, named after a friend of Tom's mother. The name was soon shortened to Keane.

Keane played their first live show at the Hope & Anchor pub on 13 July 1998. After that, they played many gigs in London pubs throughout 1998 and 1999.

First Songs and Changes (1999-2003)

In late 1999, Keane recorded their first song, "Call Me What You Like". They sold only 500 copies of this CD at their live shows. In 2001, they released another song called "Wolf at the Door", but only 50 copies were made. These early songs are now very rare and valuable for fans!

In July 2001, Dominic Scott decided to leave the band to continue his studies. After Dominic left, the band started to use the piano as their main instrument.

In 2002, Tim Rice-Oxley wrote "Everybody's Changing". This song became very important for the band. In December, Keane started playing live again. A record producer named Simon Williams, who had discovered Coldplay, saw them play and offered to release their first official single. This single was "Everybody's Changing", which came out in May 2003.

Because of the buzz around this song and their great live shows, many big record labels wanted to sign Keane. They chose to sign with Island Records in summer 2003.

Hopes and Fears: Big Success (2004-2005)

In January 2004, the BBC named Keane the band most likely to become successful that year. A month later, Keane released "Somewhere Only We Know", which reached number three in the UK. Then, "Everybody's Changing" was re-released and reached number four.

Keane's first album, Hopes and Fears, was released on 10 May 2004. It immediately went to number one in the UK and became the second best-selling British album of the year. It has sold about 5.5 million copies worldwide!

The band won two awards at the 2005 BRIT Awards: Best British Album for Hopes and Fears and Best British Breakthrough Act. Tim Rice-Oxley also won an Ivor Novello award for Songwriter of the Year.

Keane performed at the Live 8 concert in London on 2 July 2005, which was a big event to help end poverty. They also support the charity War Child.

Under the Iron Sea and Touring (2006-2007)

In April 2005, Keane started recording their second album, Under the Iron Sea. The first song released from this album was "Is It Any Wonder?", which reached number three in the UK. The album came out in June 2006 and was number one in the UK for two weeks. It has sold over 2.2 million copies.

Keane started their second world tour before the album was even released. During this tour, some shows had to be cancelled or postponed for health reasons. The band visited South America for the first time and played in Mexico. On 7 July 2007, Keane played at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, an event to raise awareness about global warming.

Perfect Symmetry and New Sounds (2008-2009)

In 2007, Keane started working on their third album, wanting to try new things. Jesse Quin joined the band as a permanent member, playing bass, percussion, guitar, synths, and backing vocals.

The album, Perfect Symmetry, was released on 13 October 2008, and reached number one in the UK. In December 2008, Q Magazine voted it "Best Album of the Year".

In November 2008, they started the Perfect Symmetry World Tour. On 2 April 2009, Keane made history by being the first band to broadcast a live show in 3D!

Night Train EP (2010)

On 10 May 2010, Keane released an EP (a shorter album) called Night Train. It became their fourth number one album in the UK. This EP was recorded while the band was on tour.

The songs "Stop for a Minute" and "Looking Back" feature the rapper K'naan. The song "Your Love" features Tim Rice-Oxley on lead vocals.

Strangeland and More Tours (2011-2013)

After working on other projects, Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin joined the other band members to create their fourth studio album, Strangeland. On 3 February 2011, it was officially announced that Jesse Quin was now a full member of the band.

Keane finished recording Strangeland in early 2012. The album's first song, "Silenced by the Night", was released in March 2012. The album itself came out in May 2012 and went straight to number one in the UK.

A Break and a Return (2013-Present)

Keane released a collection album called The Best of Keane in November 2013. After this, the band members decided to take a break from being Keane to work on their own projects. Tom Chaplin released solo albums, and Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin continued their side project, Mt. Desolation.

During their break, the band reunited a few times, including performing at Battle Festival in 2015 and releasing a song for the film A Monster Calls in 2016.

Towards the end of 2018, Keane hinted on social media that they were back in the studio. In January 2019, news spread that the band was planning a comeback. They announced several festival performances for 2019.

On 26 March 2019, Keane officially announced they were making a new album. On 6 June 2019, they released the first new song from their album Cause and Effect, called "The Way I Feel". The full album was released on 20 September 2019.

In 2021, Keane released an EP called Dirt, featuring songs from the Cause and Effect sessions. In 2022, Tom Chaplin released another solo album.

In September 2023, Keane announced a big tour for 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first album, Hopes and Fears!

Working with Other Artists

Keane has worked with other musicians on different projects.

• In 2004, they covered the Elton John song "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" with DJ Faultline.
• Tim Rice-Oxley helped write the song "Early Winter" for Gwen Stefani in 2007.
• Tom Chaplin worked with Rocco Deluca and the Burden on the song "Mercy".
• The band collaborated with rapper K'naan and singer Tigarah on their Night Train EP.
• In 2009, Tim Rice-Oxley helped write "Everything Is Beautiful" for Kylie Minogue.
• They also worked with dance artist Chicane on a remix of their song "Bend & Break", called "Wake Up".
• In 2012, Tom Chaplin sang on the song "Same Heart" with Dutch singer Laura Jansen for a charity radio show.
• In 2017, a version of Tom Chaplin's solo song "Solid Gold" was released featuring singer JONES.

Keane's Unique Music Style

Tim Rice-Oxley was the main songwriter for Keane's songs. He credits the whole band for their music, so everyone shares in the success.

Keane's music often has a big, echoing, melodic sound, usually at a slow to medium speed. Their songs can remind people of Elton John's early music.

Even though Tom Chaplin sometimes plays guitar, Keane is known as "the band with no guitars" because their sound is mostly based on the piano. They use special effects like delay and distortion on their pianos to create unique sounds that don't always sound like a normal piano. Tim Rice-Oxley said they wanted to do something different with the piano in a rock band.

Keane has covered songs by many famous artists like U2, Depeche Mode, Genesis, the Beatles, and Queen. Tim Rice-Oxley says they are inspired by classic songwriting and artists like Nick Drake who write emotional songs that people love for a long time.

Band Members

Current members

• Tim Rice-Oxley – keyboards (1995–2014, 2018–present), guitar (2008–2011), bass (1995–2007), backing vocals (1997–2014, 2018–present), lead vocals (1995–1997)
• Richard Hughes – drums, percussion (1995–2014, 2018–present), backing vocals (2007–2014, 2018–present)
• Tom Chaplin – lead vocals (1997–2014, 2018–present), guitar (1997–2001, 2006–2011, 2022–present), keyboards (2006–2008)
• Jesse Quin – bass, backing vocals, keyboards (2011–2014, 2018–present; touring/session musician 2007–2011), guitar (2011–2014, 2022–present)

Former members

• Dominic Scott – guitar, backing vocals (1995–2001)

Timeline

Awards and Recognitions

Keane's Albums

• Hopes and Fears (2004)
• Under the Iron Sea (2006)
• Perfect Symmetry (2008)
• Strangeland (2012)
• Cause and Effect (2019)

Concert Tours

• Hopes and Fears Tour (2004–05)
• Under the Iron Sea Tour (2006–2007)
• Perfect Symmetry World Tour (2008–2009)
• Night Train Tour (2010)
• Strangeland Tour (2012–2013)
• Cause and Effect Tour (2019–2020)
• Keane20 World Tour (2024)

Songs in Movies and TV

See also

• Live Earth
• Make Poverty History

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