The Kooks biography
The Kooks are an English Indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar), Paul Garred (drums), and Max Rafferty (bass guitar), the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty. Dan Logan was drafted in as a temporary replacement, until Peter Denton joined the band on a permanent basis in October 2008. Early in 2010 Pritchard announced the departure of drummer Paul Garred, due to a nerve problem in his arm.
A self-described "pop" band, their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium.
Signed to Virgin Records just three months after forming, The Kooks broke into the musical mainstream with their debut album Inside In/Inside Out (2006). The album was ultimately successful, achieving quadruple platinum status in the UK within a year and also overseas in the form of a platinum certification in Australia and two times platinum in Ireland. The Kooks found themselves entering into mainstream media attention, with the band winning the award for Best UK & Ireland Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 and picking up a nomination at The Brit Awards for the single "She Moves in Her Own Way". With their follow-up Konk (2008) debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart, it recorded first week sales of 65,000, achieving gold status in both the UK and Ireland. Their third studio album, entitled Junk of the Heart, was released on 12 September 2011.
History
Formation and early years (2004-2005)
The original members of The Kooks all met as students at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music in 2003. Sharing a love of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Police, and David Bowie Pritchard got Harris and Rafferty involved under the guise of a school music project. Pritchard himself said "We got together just on a whim, really." With no demo of their material Garred and Pritchard went in search of a gig, and according to Garred, they were able to book their first show simply because the manager liked their hats. "So we went in to get a gig, we don't have a demo, and this guy told us, 'Well, you can't get a gig if you don't have a demo, but I like your hats, so I'm going to give you a gig'", said Garred. However, the band was unable to make the performance as they were making their demo at the time.
Taking their name from the David Bowie song "Kooks", they began rehearsing; Pritchard revealed the first song they ever played as a group was a cover version of The Strokes' song "Reptilia". The Kooks recorded an EP demo, sending it out in search of gigs, they instead received offers from managers and record companies. In an interview with musicomh.com, Pritchard revealed "It was really quick how it all happened, we did a demo with a mate of ours in London, which we sent off to one guy to get some gigs, and he turned out to be a manager. He rung us up and it kind of went from there." The members of the band have since revealed that they felt they weren't ready at the time, "We were way too early to sign a record deal ... We were really young, we'd been together like two or three months, so we really didn't want to sign. But then we thought it's a really good opportunity and Virgin seemed like really cool people - they just seemed to really understand where we were coming from.," said Pritchard, who has also complimented the space the record label allowed for the band to grow, "They were patient with us and let us develop our style, whatever it is."
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