Keane

小简介

来自英国萨西克斯郡Battle小镇，从小一起长大的Keane乐团，成员只有三名，鼓手Richard、键盘手Tim、再加上主唱Tom，独缺吉他手，英国各大乐评很爱拿这点来大作文章，其实没有吉他手是因为原来的吉他手离团，“Keane”觉得他们的强项“钢琴”可以弥补吉他的不足，所以暂时不想找替补人选，结果这却成为Keane乐团独特的曲风和特色。在走唱英国小镇6年，以及于独立厂牌Fierce Panda(发掘Coldplay、Supergrass)发行两张单曲之后，2003年底Keane乐团正式加盟环球音乐，他们的首支单曲“Somewhere Only We Know”登上英国金榜Top 3，成为2004年各大乐评眼中的“21世纪披头四”。2004年在最具公信力的媒体“英国国家广播公司BBC”年度乐评票选活动中，更获选为“2004年最具潜力团体”，一时之间，Keane受到前所未有的注目，首张专辑的发行成为2004万众瞩目的盛事。

Keane's uplifting, piano-driven pop/rock is created by vocalist Tom Chaplin, drummer Richard Hughes, and pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, three childhood friends from the small town of Battle in East Sussex, England. Formed in 1997, Keane initially started out as a college-aged cover band. Guitarist Dominic Scott was part of this early incarnation, having previously played cover songs with Hughes and Rice-Oxley in a band named the Lotus Eaters. Keane toured the East Sussex circuit for several years while internalizing the epic sounds of their set list, which included songs by Oasis, U2, and Beatles. The schtick would only last so long, however, as the musicians soon desired to compose their own music. They began performing original material in 1998; later that same year, Chaplin left for Edinburgh University to study art history. The move proved to be brief, as he returned to London in 1999 and doubled his efforts with Keane.

Buoyed by Chaplin's soaring croon and Rice-Oxley's inventive keyboard effects, the group debuted in 2000 with the self-released single Call Me What You Like. Wolf at the Door followed one year later, but the band still struggled to find its momentum as Scott left the lineup in July, citing a desire to continue his studies at the London School of Economics. Keane's big break ultimately arrived in December 2002, when Fierce Panda Records representative Simon Williams (who had helped discover Coldplay several years prior) was summoned by a friend to attend a Keane gig in London. Williams was impressed with the band's performance and offered to issue Keane's next single, Everybody's Changing, on the spot. The limited-edition release became a success on U.K. radio and attracted attention from major record labels, several of whom began to swarm around the pop/rock trio.

Keane signed with Island Records in 2003 and released This Is the Last Time, the band's final single for the Fierce Panda label, before the year was up. The debut album Hopes and Fears then arrived in May 2004, hitting the top of the U.K. album charts during its first week of release and beating out Morrissey's You Are the Quarry. The single Somewhere Only We Know became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and Keane received two Brit Awards (for Best Breakthrough Act and Best Album 2005) while also earning a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. The album went on to become the second highest-selling record of the year in the U.K., barely losing out to the Scissor Sisters' debut.

Keane opened several shows during U2's 2005 world tour while enjoying the success of their Live Recordings 2004 EP. When it came time to return to the recording studio, the band once again enlisted producer Andy Green and fashioned a dark, thought-provoking record titled Under the Iron Sea. Arriving in 2006, it debuted at number four on the Billboard Top 200 during its first week of release; the album also debuted atop the U.K. charts and spun off the band's most successful single to date, Is It Any Wonder? Keane returned in 2008 with a slightly retooled sound — including the presence of electric guitar, musical saw, and synthesizer — for the band's third album, Perfect Symmetry.