Off with Their Heads is the third album by English rock band Kaiser Chiefs, and was released on 20 October 2008 in the UK, and on 25 August 2009 for the US. The first single from the album was "Never Miss a Beat", released two weeks before the album. The album charted at number two on the UK Albums Chart during the week of 26 October 2008 and at number 16 in the Irish Albums Chart of the week of the 24 October.http IRMA
Album information
The album features guest appearances from several people: Lily Allen contributes backing vocals on "Always Happens Like That" and "Never Miss a Beat" (she previously covered "Oh My God" on her first mixtape and later with Mark Ronson on his album Version), three members of the English indie band New Young Pony Club also feature on backing vocals on "Never Miss a Beat", Sway DaSafo raps one verse of "Half the Truth", and James Bond composer David Arnold (who performed with the band at 2007's BBC Electric Proms) also appears on the album.
"Never Miss a Beat" and "You Want History" premiered on the band's UK Arena Tour in the Winter of 2007.
The lyric "Off with Their Heads" appears in the first verse of "Like It Too Much". The album was uploaded with 30 second previews of each song, apart from "Never Miss a Beat" which included a full recording, on the music social networking site Last.fm on 9 October 2008.
It is unknown whether any further singles will be released from the album for the time being due to lead singer Ricky Wilson pursuing a career in TV presenting.http
Never Miss A Beat appeared on Pro Evolution 2010, as did previous single Ruby, from Yours Truly, Angry Mob.
Reception
*Allmusic – 4 stars out of 5 – "The band rails against stupidity and conformity like they did on Yours Truly, Angry Mob, but this time they know that while it's smart to be witty, it's even smarter to be insidiously catchy."
*Rolling Stone (p. 126) – 4 stars out of 5 – "Off with Their Heads is great British pop in the dynamic lethal-irony tradition of the mid-Sixties Kinks, the early Jam and, with that vintage-New Wave tone of Nick Baines' keyboards, XTC's 1979 album, Drums and Wires."
*Rolling Stone (p. 91) – Ranked #21 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2008.
*Alternative Press (p. 146) – 4 stars out of 5 – "'Addicted to Drugs' is brilliant, from its cheeky quotes of Robert Palmer's 'Addicted to Love' to Wilson's darkly comic portrayal of junkies in love."
*Mojo (p. 104) – 3 stars out of 5 – "heir third album is again packed with the sort of boisterous melodies and niggling synth-hooks that can top charts and fill stadiums."
*Clash (p. 121) – "'Half the Truth' somehow pulls off a charming Blackpool pier sound and even concludes with a little unexpected grime."
Personnel
*Ricky Wilson – vocals
*Andrew White – guitar
*Simon Rix – bass
*Nick Baines – keyboards
*Nick Hodgson – drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Remember You're a Girl"
*Lily Allen – backing vocals ("Never Miss a Beat"), guest vocals ("Always Happens Like That")
*Anne-Marie Chirema – backing vocals ("Never Miss a Beat", "You Want History")
*Lou Hayter – backing vocals ("Never Miss a Beat", "You Want History")
*Sarah Jones – backing vocals ("Never Miss a Beat", "You Want History")
*Thomas Bowes – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Ralph De Souza – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Jonathan Evans-Jones – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Peter Hanson – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Ian Humphries – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Steve Morris – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Helen Paterson – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Tom Pigott-Smith – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Rose Warren-Green – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Debbie Widdup – violin ("Like It Too Much")
*Garfield Jackson – viola ("Like It Too Much")
*Andy Parker – viola ("Like It Too Much")
*Jon Thorne – viola ("Like It Too Much")
*Jonathan Williams – cello ("Like It Too Much")
*Tony Lewis – cello ("Like It Too Much")
*Paul Kegg – cello ("Like It Too Much")
*David Lloyd – djembe ("Good Days Bad Days")
*Dave Guy – trumpet ("Tomato in the Rain")
*Sway DaSafo – guest vocals ("Half the Truth")
*Mark Ronson – producer, engineer, agogo bells ("Addicted to Drugs")
*Eliot James – producer, engineer
*Raj Das – assistant engineer
*Tim Goalen – assistant engineer ("Never Miss a Beat", "Like It Too Much", "You Want History")
*Samuel Navel – assistant engineer
*Tom Morris – assistant engineer
*Andy Wallace – mixing ("Spanish Metal", "Never Miss a Beat", "You Want History", "Can't Say What I Mean", "Tomato in the Rain", "Half the Truth", "Addicted to Drugs", "Remember You're a Girl")
*John O'Mahoney – mix engineer ("Spanish Metal", "Never Miss a Beat", "You Want History", "Can't Say What I Mean", "Tomato in the Rain", "Half the Truth", "Addicted to Drugs", "Remember You're a Girl")
*Jan Petrov – mix assistant ("Spanish Metal", "Never Miss a Beat", "You Want History", "Can't Say What I Mean", "Tomato in the Rain", "Half the Truth", "Addicted to Drugs", "Remember You're a Girl")
*Cenzo Townshend – mixing ("Like It Too Much", "Good Days Bad Days", "Always Happens Like That")
*Neil Comber – mix assistant ("Like It Too Much", "Good Days Bad Days", "Always Happens Like That")
*John Davies – mastering
*Geoff Foster – strings recording ("Like It Too Much")
*Chris Barrett – assistant engineer ("Like It Too Much")
*David Arnold – string arrangement ("Like It Too Much")
References
Category:2008 albums
Category:Kaiser Chiefs albums
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Artist/Band Information
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1997. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs.
The group's debut album, Employment, was released in 2005. It was primarily inspired by New Wave and punk rock music of the late 1970s and 1980s,Heather Phares. . Allmusic. Retrieved 14 September 2007. and enjoyed international success with over three million copies sold.. KaiserChiefs.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2007. In 2005, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.. BBC. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2007. Kaiser Chiefs' second album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007), yielded "Ruby", a number one single in the United Kingdom.. aCharts.us. Retrieved 14 September 2007. They released their third album, Off with Their Heads, in October 2008.
History
Formation and early years (1996–2003)
When they were around eleven years old, Nick Hodgson, Nick Baines and Simon Rix met in the same class at St. Mary's School, Menston, Bradford. After leaving school, Rix and Baines left for university in 1996 whereas Hodgson remained in the Leeds area, meeting both Andrew White and Ricky Wilson. Hodgson, White and Wilson formed the band Runston Parva, its name a deliberate misspelling of a small East Yorkshire hamlet called Ruston Parva. After Runston Parva failed to secure a record deal, the group would re-form as Parva upon the return of Rix and Baines from university. Parva's career would go beyond the boundaries of Leeds, and the band was able to obtain both a record and publishing deal. However, after Beggars Banquet closed the Mantra label, Parva were dropped and left desolate and without any direction after the release of an album ("22") and three singles ("Heavy", "Good Bad Right Wrong", and "Hessles".).
According to manager James Sandom in an interview with HitQuarters, as a dropped band they had become damaged goods, "No one would touch them because they had a history. A lot of people used their history against them." The band decided that they would aim for a longer term record deal and started afresh with new songs and a new name: Kaiser Chiefs. The new name was taken from South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, where former Leeds United captain Lucas Radebe had once played.BBC South Yorkshire,
Manager James Sandom was tipped off about the band by Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams in 2003 who sent Sandom a copy of their impending 7" release for the Drowned in Sound label and persuaded him to go and see them live. Sandom said: "I went to see a couple of shows and you were just bombarded by a series of potential hit singles." Soon after Sandom became their manager, Kaiser Chiefs signed to B-Unique Records. Atlantic Records had also made an offer for the band.
Employment (2004–2006)
One of the major factors in the band's breakthrough in 2005 was their involvement in the NME Awards Tour at the beginning of the year. Like Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand before them, their position as opening act proved an influential one, attracting a lot of positive media attention.
Kaiser Chiefs Ricky Wilson Rock am Ring.jpgthumbrightRicky Wilson in concert in Germany in 2006.
The group's debut album Employment was released in March 2005, being primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970s. The album was well received by music critics, described as "thrilling from beginning to end" and "quintessentially British, without pretension and most importantly, a whole lot of fun".. MetaCritic.com. Retrieved 14 September 2007. It reached number two on the UK albums chart,. aCharts.us. Retrieved 14 September 2007. and was certified five times platinum.. British Phonographic Industry. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2007. In 2005, Employment was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album from the previous year. Bookmakers made it favourite to win the award, but they eventually lost out to Antony and the Johnsons.
The first single released from the album was "Oh My God" in 2004, which reached number six on the UK singles chart when it was reissued in February 2005. In 2007, the song was covered by Mark Ronson and Lily Allen for Ronson's album Version. "I Predict a Riot" soon followed as the album's second release. In 2007, the song was ranked number thirty-six on the NME "Greatest Indie Anthems Ever" countdown.. NME. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2007. The top twenty singles "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" and "Modern Way" followed in late 2005. The band opened and performed several of their singles at the Philadelphia Live Eight concert in 2005. The song "Saturday Night" was featured in a pre-release video for the Xbox 360 gaming console. It was posted on the official Xbox 360 page before its launch.
In August 2006 the band released a book entitled A Record Of Employment, which along with photos by Peter Hill, documented the band's rise from being unsigned to their triumph at the Brit Awards that year. Later a DVD entitled Enjoyment, which documented concerts from the first album era was released, this showed members of the band hypothetically interviewed when 'jaded rock stars'.
Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007)
Kaiser Chiefs' second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob was released in February 2007. The group recorded the album throughout the September and October 2006 at Hook End Studio in Oxfordshire, England. The group took inspiration from Led Zeppelin and American rock music, and recorded over twenty-two songs.. NME. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
Unlike Employment, the album received mixed reviews from critics who found it to be both "an album full of jukebox hits" and "predictable.". MetaCritic.com. Retrieved 14 September 2007. Yours Truly, Angry Mob reached number one on the UK albums chart and number forty-five on the Billboard 200 albums chart.. aCharts.us. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
"Ruby," the album's lead single, became Kaiser Chiefs' first UK number one single. "Everything Is Average Nowadays" was released as the album's second single, and reached #19 in the UK.. aCharts.us. Retrieved 14 September 2007. The album's third single "The Angry Mob," described by The Sun as a "clever, accessible pop" song, peaked at number twenty-two in the UK.. The Sun. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.. aCharts.us. Retrieved 14 September 2007. The fourth single, "Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)," was released on 12 November as a collector's edition 7" only single via their website.
Off with Their Heads (2008–2009)
KC stage Elland Rd 240508.jpgthumbright250pxThe stage at Elland Road stadium on 24 May 2008.
On 4 August 2008, the band confirmed the name of their third album as Off with Their Heads. It was released on 20 October 2008. The first single "Never Miss a Beat" was released on 6 October 2008.
The band also released a DVD of their live performance at Elland Road from May 24. The DVD contains the full set from the home of Leeds United as well as the Kaiser Chiefs performance for the 2007 BBC Electric Proms.
Kaiser Chiefs set out on a UK tour in October 2008 with Castle Donington band Late of the Pier and The Hair. The tour started at Leeds Academy, a new venue where they were the first headlining band to play. Other dates include Manchester Academy, Southampton Guildhall, Reading Rivermead, Glasgow Barrowlands, Leicester De Montfort Hall and London Forum.
During October, they also appeared on MTV day, in Greece, along with bands like the (Greek) C-Real, REM and the singer Gabriella Cilmi.http
The Kaiser Chiefs head out on a UK Arena tour kicking off in Nottingham and ending in London. The tour visited Sheffield, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff & Dublin. This was the new album tour to promote Off with Their Heads. The tour was between February and March 2009. The band featured on several shows over Christmas 2008 including performing "Never Miss a Beat" with Girls Aloud on their TV Special and playing the same song on the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops.
At July 16 they played at Marés Vivas in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal as headliners on that day. They – along with Republic of Loose – opened for U2 in Croke Park in Dublin on the 25th of July, 2009. They then opened for Green Day from July 27 to August 7, 2009, and performed at Reading and Leeds Festival 2009, with headliners Kings of Leon.http
Future albums 2010-
Following a long hiatus (since 2008), Kaiser Chiefs announced that they expect to release their fourth studio album in mid 2011 and have been confirmed to play at Germany's Hurricane Festival in June and Switzerland's Gurten Festival in July.
Kaiser Chiefs have also established their own record label, entitled Chewing Gum Records. Their first signing was The Neat, a band from Kingston upon Hull, who were featured on the BBC6 Music Playlist.
Members
* Ricky Wilson – lead vocals, percussion
* Nick Hodgson – drums, backing and co-lead vocals (lead vocals on Remember You're A Girl and Boxing Champ)
* Andrew White – guitar
* Simon Rix – bass
* Nick "Peanut" Baines – keyboards, percussion (on You Want History)
Discography
Studio albums
* Employment (2005)
* Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007)
* Off with Their Heads (2008)
References
This text has been derived from Kaiser Chiefs on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0
