Kaiser Chiefs

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, a team which former Leeds United defender Lucas Radebe played for.[1]

The group's debut album, Employment, was released in 2005. It was primarily inspired by new wave and punk rock music of late 1970s,[2] and enjoyed international success with sales of over three million.[3] In 2005, the album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.[4] Kaiser Chiefs' second album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007), yielded "Ruby", a number one single in the United Kingdom.[5] They released their third album, Off with Their Heads, in October 2008.

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 Banquets closed the Mantra label, Parva were dropped and left desolate and without any direction after the release of an album and three singles. 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.

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[16].

The band also released a DVD of their live performance at Elland Road from May 24th. 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.[citation needed]

It has also been announced that Kaiser Chiefs are to head out on a UK Arena tour kicking off in Nottingham and ending in London. The tour will also visit Sheffield, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff & Dublin. This will be the new album tour to promote Off with Their Heads. This tour will be between February and March 2009. The band featured on several shows over Christmas 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 Oporto, 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 will be opening for Green Day from July 27 to August 7, 2009, and will be playing at Reading and Leeds Festival 2009, underneath headliners Kings of Leon.[17] In March 2009, the band announced that they were intending to take a break following a long touring and recording schedule. Wilson commented that "We've all got things that we're doing outside the band - I've got five years of letters to open."

(From Wikipedia) http://www.myspace.com/kaiserchiefs