Keane (band)

Keane are an English alternative rock band from Battle, East Sussex, formed in 1995. The band comprises Tom Chaplin (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Tim Rice-Oxley (piano, synthesisers, bass guitar, backing vocals), Richard Hughes (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Jesse Quin (bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals). Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001.

Keane achieved mainstream international success with the release of their debut album Hopes and Fears in 2004. Topping the UK Albums Chart, the album won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album and was the UK's second-best-selling album of 2004. It is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Their second album, Under the Iron Sea (2006), topped the UK chart and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200. They released their third album Perfect Symmetry in 2008, and followed it with the 2010 EP Night Train. Their fourth studio album Strangeland was released in 2012 and peaked at number one in the UK.

The band went on hiatus after the release of their compilation album The Best of Keane (2013). They returned in 2019 with "The Way I Feel", the lead single from their fifth studio album, Cause and Effect (2019). The band then embarked on the Cause and Effect Tour, visiting Europe and Latin America, before the remainder of the tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keane are known for using keyboards as the lead instrument instead of guitar, differentiating them from most other rock bands. The inclusion of a distorted piano effect in 2006 and various synthesisers was a common feature in their music which developed on the second and third albums. In May 2008, both Hopes and Fears (number 13) and Under the Iron Sea (number 8) were voted by readers of Q magazine as among the best British albums ever. In 2009, Hopes and Fears was listed as the ninth best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the UK. Keane have sold over 13 million records worldwide.

Tom Chaplin and Tim Rice-Oxley became friends at an early age. Chaplin's father David was the headmaster of Vinehall School in Robertsbridge, East Sussex (owned by Chaplin's family) for 25 years, the school all three attended until the age of 13. They later attended Tonbridge School in Kent, where Rice-Oxley met Dominic Scott; both discovered their liking for music. Richard Hughes, Keane's future drummer, also attended Tonbridge. Chaplin had learned to play the flute, but none considered music as a proper career at the time.

In 1995, while studying at University College London, Rice-Oxley formed a rock band with Scott and invited Hughes to play drums. The band, named Lotus Eaters, started as a cover band, playing songs by the members' favourite bands. After listening to Rice-Oxley's piano playing during a weekend at Virginia Water, Surrey, in 1997, Chris Martin invited him to join his newly formed band Coldplay. However, Rice-Oxley declined because he did not want to leave The Lotus Eaters, stating "I was seriously interested, but Keane were already operational and Coldplay's keyboard player idea was dropped." Because of Martin's offer, and although Hughes and Scott were originally opposed to it, Chaplin joined the band in 1997, taking Rice-Oxley's place as vocalist and adding himself as the acoustic guitarist. Chaplin's recruitment also marked a change of name from the Lotus Eaters to Cherry Keane after a friend of Chaplin's mother, whom Rice-Oxley and Chaplin knew when they were young. At her death from cancer, she had left money for Chaplin's family. Chaplin commented: "I used some of the money to see me through the harder times with the music." The name was shortened to Keane soon afterward.

Chaplin departed for South Africa in Summer 1997 to work as a volunteer during his gap year. Chaplin's early experiences there later were reflected in the band's position for the Make Poverty History campaign. Returning a year later, in July 1998, following a meeting with friend David Lloyd Seaman, Hughes' first words when the band picked up Chaplin at the airport were "we've got a gig in 10 days." With original material, Keane made their debut live appearance at the Hope & Anchor pub on 13 July 1998. In this same year, Chaplin went to Edinburgh University to study for a degree in art history. However, he later quit his degree and moved to London to pursue a full-time musical career. After their debut performance, the band went touring London's pub gig circuit throughout 1998 and 1999.

In late 1999, and without a record deal, Keane recorded their first promotional single "Call Me What You Like". Released on CD format through Keane's label Zoomorphic, it was sold after live performances at the pubs where Keane used to play in early 2000. Only 500 copies were printed. The EP was reviewed by Bec Rodwell from eFestivals who listed "Closer Now" as the best song of the record. Recording for the band's next release began on 28 October 2000. At the start of 2001, Rice-Oxley and Hughes disclosed that the main recording would be "Wolf at the Door," and that it would be completed soon. The band gave progress updates. Hughes recorded drums in late January, and the final recording session was in February. Mixing took place in April. The single was released in June, and only 50 copies are known to have been made, using unlabeled CD-Rs.