Express & Star

The Kooks speak ahead of Birmingham gig

It was the classic case of sneaking through the back door while nobody else was looking.

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The Kooks released their debut album, the brilliant Inside In/Inside Out, at the same time as the Arctic Monkeys were unleashing their debut, Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not.

The latter was one of the biggest releases of the decade and the press went into overdrive as it won BRIT Awards, the Mercury Music Prize and was named album of the year by NME, Time, Hot Press and more.

And yet while all eyes were on Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks were busy creating their own sensation. While Inside In/Inside Out only reached number two in the charts, it sold as many copies in the UK as its starry competitor – a massive 1.5 million – and earned five platinum discs.

Hear Naive by the band here:

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And as singer Luke Pritchard noted, the band were shielded from the press's scrutiny and able to develop at their own pace.

A decade on and the band are celebrating their ongoing success with an unusually-intimate UK tour. Their Best Of shows will visit 17 venues, including Birmingham's O2 Academy tomorrow. The Brighton based four-piece continue to go from strength to strength and with three more studio albums under their belt, a number of massive world tours, awards and critical acclaim, it's time to celebrate their momentous career so far.

Fans will be given the chance to see performances of classic hits, B-sides as well as brand new music that the band have been dedicating time to in the studio this year.

Luke is looking forward to being back on the road. "Yeah, we can't wait. We had quite a bit of time off over Christmas, which was nice. We're all gagging to be back on the road. It's pretty impressive that the tour is lined up and that it's been ten years. Most bands don't get to do this."

The band's last studio album was Listen, which featured new drummer Alexis Nunez, who replaced Paul Garred. It was followed by a major tour and the band enjoyed a little downtime at the end of last year.

"Usually on December 27, we're flying to Australia. But we all have families so it's been nice to spend a bit of time together. We've been able to do what most people take it for granted.

"Straight after Christmas we were writing for the record. A bit of time at home is enough, then everyone starts doing your head in. You're under the missus's feet and it's all: 'When you going on tour, babe?' OK, I'm away."

Having had a good break, they're refreshed and eager to get back on the road.

"We all love touring, man, a lot. So we'll be looking forward to the summer in a tour van.

"It's good news that the current tour is sold out.

"This one is different because it's the greatest hits tour. We've been playing these songs for a long time. We're not always the biggest fans of the bigger tunes. What we want to do is play the new stuff. But the audience won't always get on board with that. This takes that element out of the equation. In terms of how we go about doing the show, we'll have a theatrical approach to it. It'll be pretty visual."

The enormous success of Inside In/Inside Out changed everyone's lives. From almost nowhere, the band were propelled to major venues as their star began to rise.

"We were playing to 50 people one minute then six months later is was Leeds and Reading. I was like: 'Man, this is cool. I need more of this'. I'd be lying to say it's been all easy since then because it hasn't. But it helps having that record behind us. We're all a little older now but we're still on the same page."

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