Specializing in a melodic blend of classic Brit-pop, post-punk, and new wave,
Kaiser Chiefs' early blue-collar, pub-style take on indie rock managed to split the difference between timely and nostalgic. Comprising vocalist
Ricky Wilson, guitarist
Andrew White, bassist
Simon Rix, keyboardist
Nick Baines, and drummer
Nick Hodgson,
Kaiser Chiefs resurrected the mod spirit of
the Jam in "I Predict a Riot," a supercharged class-of-1977 power pop single that quickly electrified the British press when it was released in 2004. The song was inspired by
Wilson's days as a club DJ in Leeds, England, where the group was formed. The single and
Kaiser Chiefs' pogo-inducing, boot-stomping live performances soon had them pegged as rising stars in the neo-new wave revolution, along with
Franz Ferdinand,
Dogs Die in Hot Cars, and
the Futureheads.
When
Kaiser Chiefs' first 7", "Oh My God," reached number 66 on the U.K. charts -- a startling achievement for an unsigned band -- doors opened for the group to share the stage with larger acts, consequently grabbing the attention of A&R scouts who wanted to sign them. "I Predict a Riot," on the other hand, reeled in U.S. modern rock radio programmers caught in a blooming new wave revival. Without an American label deal,
Kaiser Chiefs (named after the South African football team) crash-landed on some of the biggest U.S. alternative stations with the "I Predict a Riot" import single in late 2004. That same year, they recorded their debut album,
Employment, for the U.K. label B-Unique. The album was released domestically in the U.S. in spring 2005.
The group's follow-up,
Yours Truly, Angry Mob, arrived in the spring of 2007. The album featured one of their biggest hits, "Ruby." The next year, they expanded their lad-rock sound with Off with Their Heads. Featuring guest appearances by U.K. grime rapper
Sway, composer
David Arnold, production by
Mark Ronson, and
Lily Allen, who returned the love after her cover of
Kaiser's "Oh My God" appeared on
Ronson's covers project,
Version.
For their next project, the band opted for an unconventional release method. U.K. fans who pre-ordered the album were able to choose ten of 23 songs for the track listing of their own personalized version of the album, as well as personalized artwork. For everyone else, the final version of
The Future Is Medieval was released for mass consumption in the U.K. in 2011. In the United States, four of the tracks -- "Out of Focus," "Long Way from Celebrating," "Dead or in Serious Trouble," and "Coming Up for Air" -- were swapped out for "On the Run," "Cousin in the Bronx," "Problem Solved," and "Can't Mind My Own Business" for the renamed 2012 version, Start the Revolution Without Me.
That summer, following tours of the United Kingdom and North America,
Kaiser Chiefs treated fans to
Souvenir: The Singles 2004-2012, a definitive compilation of releases from a highly eventful eight-year period for the band. At the end of the year,
Hodgson amicably parted ways with the band, his spot behind the kit filled in by
Vijay Mistry. This was followed by the news that
Ricky Wilson would be appearing in the touring stage show of Jeff Wayne's epic War of the Worlds in late 2012, playing the part of the Artillery Man, originally portrayed by
David Essex.
The year 2014 saw the release of
Education, Education, Education & War, the band's fifth studio album and first to feature new drummer
Mistry.
The Kaisers returned in the summer of 2016 with a brand-new sound on the electronic dance-pop track "Parachute," the first single from their sixth album,
Stay Together. Produced by
Brian Higgins (
Girls Aloud) and mixed by
Serban Ghenea (
Rihanna,
Taylor Swift),
Stay Together also included appearances by
MNEK and
One Direction songwriter
Wayne Hector. Their seventh set,
Duck, arrived in 2019. Produced with
Ben H. Allen (
Walk the Moon,
Cut Copy), the album saw the group dial back some of the pop overload from
Stay Together, finding a balanced middle ground on tracks such as "Wait" and "Record Collection." ~ Michael Sutton & Neil Z. Yeung