The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser and Alexis Nuñez on drums and percussion.
Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk revival of the new millennium. The Kooks have experimented in several genres including rock, Britpop, pop, reggae, ska, and more recently, funk and hip-hop, being described once as a "more energetic Thrills or a looser Sam Roberts Band, maybe even a less severe Arctic Monkeys at times".
After securing a deal with Virgin Records merely three months after forming, The Kooks achieved instant mainstream success following the release of their critically acclaimed 2006 debut album Inside In/Inside Out. The album is certified five-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry , platinum certified by Australian Recording Industry Association , and two times platinum by Irish Recorded Music Association . Further success followed, with the Kooks winning Best UK & Ireland Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 and receiving a nomination at The Brit Awards for the single "She Moves in Her Own Way".
Their 2008 follow-up Konk debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, recording first week sales of 65,000 and achieving gold status in both the UK and Ireland. They have since released five studio albums, with their most recent, 2025'sNever/Know, reaching number five on the UK chart.
History
Formation and early years (2002–2004)
The three members – Garred, Pritchard and Harris – of the Kooks all met as students at the BRIT School in Croydon, all three moving further south to join BIMM British and Irish Modern Music Institute , where they met Rafferty – who was from Bridgnorth – in 2002. The inspiration to form a band came to Pritchard as he and Garred were out shopping for clothes one day in Primark as a joke. Speaking to MTV Garred said, "we had a vision on how we wanted the band to look and stuff—so we bought some clothes and these hats, it was fun." 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 a strong 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 landlord liked their hats. "So we went in to get a gig, we don't have a demo blid burnt, 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 finishing off their demo at the time.Taking their name from the David Bowie song with the same title, Pritchard said the first song they played as a group was a cover version of the Strokes' "Reptilia". The Kooks recorded an EP demo, sending it out in search of gigs; they instead received offers from managers and record companies. The band had only been together as a group for four months when they signed with Virgin Records, after being spotted by several label scouts at the Brighton Free Butt Festival in 2005. In an interview with musicOMH, 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 was."
''Inside In/Inside Out'' (2005–2007)
After they had signed to Virgin Records, the Kooks were reluctant to record an album straight away, stating a desire to focus more on their live performances and songwriting. The band has said embarking on their first live tour instead of recording an album initially helped them develop their style and sound. As Pritchard claimed, "We didn’t sit down with a blueprint. We just naturally developed and we didn’t try to shape or mould ourselves to anything." As a result, they went into the studio with hundreds of songs from a variety of genres, and it took an "incredible amount of patience" from producer Tony Hoffer to shape the content into what would become the record.Following their first tour supporting the Thrills, the Kooks recorded their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, at Konk studios in London in 2005. Though media attention was dominated by the release of the Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not on the same day, Inside In/Inside Out recorded first week sales of 19,098. Later, speaking to NME, Pritchard thanked the Arctic Monkeys for "shielding" The Kooks from the press' scrutiny. "God bless the Arctic Monkeys because if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have been so shielded. We were so overshadowed by the success of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not because it was so monster and we crept in behind everybody's back." Entering the UK Albums Chart at number nine, it would eventually peak at number 2 for two weeks. Singles "Eddie's Gun", "Sofa Song", "You Don't Love Me", "Naïve", "She Moves in Her Own Way" and "Ooh La" achieved chart success in the UK and Europe, while "Naïve" and "She Moves in Her Own Way" put The Kooks in the top ten for the first time.
Kev Kharas, in his review for Drowned in Sound, viewed the Kooks as "a less irreverent and more melodic Art Brut, swapping that band's caustic wit for a far nicer type of honesty." Kharas also noted traces of "emo" in the band's style. AllMusic's Tim Sendra noted that the band's direction was "heavily indebted to classic rock", in particular Thin Lizzy and the Dexys, ultimately though Sendra felt "the band sounds like the Kooks and no one else". Calling the Kooks "an important reminder that there are just as many mediocre bands in the UK as there are in the United States" reviewer Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone claimed the album was "utterly forgettable, shoddily produced retro rock that at its worst sounds like a Brighton-accented version of the Spin Doctors". Brian Belardi of Prefix gave a positive review, describing Inside In/Inside Out as "An almost-perfect blend of '60s-style Britpop, '90s-style Britpop, and the post-punk of the new millennium".
The album went on to be certified quadruple platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry within a year and certified platinum across Europe by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . The success of their debut album brought the band into mainstream media attention, winning the award for best UK and Ireland act at the MTV Awards in 2006 and picking up a Brit Awards nomination for "She Moves in Her Own Way", in 2007.
Rafferty's departure and ''Konk'' (2008)
Rafferty was fired from the band on 31 January 2008, after a series of absences due to illness and long-standing rumours about his place in the band; drug addiction was also quoted as one of the reasons for his departure. Rafferty subsequently refuted these claims, saying that he had been fired from the band because he "didn't think Konk was very good, and I said that." Dan Logan, bassist with a local Brighton band Cat the Dog, was drafted in as a temporary replacement for Rafferty. After the departure of Rafferty, the band had considered splitting up. Pritchard discussed the possibility of Dan Logan joining the band as their new bassist, "It's been really strange for us but it's something that had to happen. Dan hasn’t joined the band properly yet. We're trying him out, but I love playing with him." In October 2008, Peter Denton - who had previously filled in for Rafferty during the Inside In/Inside Out touring cycle - was chosen as the permanent bassist.The Kooks released their second studio album, Konk, on 14 April 2008. The record was named after the studio where it was recorded and produced by Tony Hoffer, who worked on the band's previous album, Inside In/Inside Out. Prior to releasing the album, in an interview with NME, lead singer Luke Pritchard had claimed to have 80-90 songs written for the album, stating, "I want this album to be big……I've got an ego, I want the album to do well. I want our singles to come on the radio and for people to literally have their heads blown off by them". Recorded over a total of seven weeks in London and Los Angeles Pritchard told NME the band had wanted more input into their second album. "Tony's a genius, but this time we wanted more involvement in the production," said Pritchard.
Konk debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of 65,901 units. The album spawned three top 50 hits including their highest chart performer to date, "Always Where I Need to Be", which peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US it reached No. 41 on the Billboard 200 and No. 22 on the Alternative Songs chart. The album was certified gold in both the UK and Ireland. A second limited edition two disc version of Konk entitled RAK was also released. The name was taken from the London studio where The Kooks recorded seven new live tracks along with the Arctic Monkeys and Mike Crossey, producer for The Zutons.
Allmusic said with Konk, The Kooks "explores pop and rock in all their glory," while BBC Music described their second album as "a little contrived with the recycling of old guitar lines and intros." NME suggested the departure of Rafferty affected Konk production, stating "Konk is the sound of a band in disarray, unsuccessfully attempting to hold things together."