That fall Keane signed to Island Records in the United Kingdom and Interscope in the United States, to release their fourth single, 'This Is the Last Time.' Topped the UK Chartsįor their full-length album debut, Keane hired Andy Green to co-produce the album. 'We see ourselves as a rock band, almost like a guitar band without the guitar.' In 2003 independent UK label Fierce Panda released single 'Everybody's Changing.' The track was named 'Single of the Week' by Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and sold out its initial 500 copies. 'It's kind of a happy accident and how things evolved naturally,' Chaplin told Jeff Partain of Virgin Mega Magazine about the downsized band.

With Chaplin's soaring vocal capability and unassailable stage presence and Rice-Oxley's gift at the piano, Keane began to explore a piano-driven style of breezy pop music that didn't need guitars. In 2001 Scott quit the band, leaving Keane to reorganize their sound. Rice-Oxley began to write original material, and in 2000 Keane released their first single, 'Call Me What You Like,' followed up by 'Wolf at the Door' the following year.Ĭlimbing up the music business ladder wasn't going as quickly or as smoothly as Keane hoped it would after their first two singles gained a buzz around London. In 1999, after studying art history at Edinburgh University, Chaplin quit school to move to London where Hughes and Rice-Oxley were attending the University of London. Instead of studying while attending university, they formed a loose band in 1997 with guitarist Dominic Scott and played cover songs of their favorite British bands at local pubs. Vocalist Chaplin, drummer Richard Hughes, and pianist/songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley grew up childhood friends in the small town of Battle, in Sussex, England. Upon the release of their debut, Rolling Stone's Bud Scoppa wrote that the record 'contains more hooks than most pop groups manage in their careers the album brims with unabashedly grand, sun-breaking-through-the-cloud gestures.'

Their 2004 debut, Hopes and Fears, sold over five million copies and was a number one record in the United Kingdom. With drums, piano, and lead singer Tom Chaplin's soaring vocals, Keane's guitarless wistful pop has captured fans around the world. Originally a four-piece, it was after Keane lost their guitarist that the band truly found their confident identity as a trio. While the British band Keane has endured inevitable comparisons to the piano-driven pop of fellow Englishman band Coldplay, after the release of two outstanding albums they were able to flourish with a style completely their own.

Panic at the disco discography mega