The Times February 16, 2006
Kaiser Chiefs take the Brits: I predict a riot
By Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent
THEY were the failed Leeds band who had to work in bars to pay off debts. But revenge was sweet for Kaiser Chiefs last night as the rockers emerged triumphant at the Brit Awards with a hat-trick of prizes.
Their pithy singalong hits I Predict a Riot and Oh My God drove crowds to frenzies at club shows and rock festivals throughout last year. Employment, their debut album, has sold 1.6 million copies.
They were the people’s choice for the Best Rock and Live Act awards and toppled previous winners Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand to be named Best British Group.
A record year for new British rock music was marked by awards to million-selling acts who were virtual unknowns 12 months ago. KT Tunstall and James Blunt won solo awards.
However, Arctic Monkeys were not willing to cancel a support slot at the Portsmouth Guildhall to join Madonna and Prince at the awards evening at Earls Court. The Sheffield band, who achieved the biggest bestselling debut album last month, was voted Breakthrough of the Year by Radio 1 listeners.
British artists sold 62.4 million albums last year, the highest yet. Almost half of all CD albums sold last year were by British acts, the highest ratio since Britpop peaked in 1998.
Last night’s debut winners struggled for years to reach the summit. Kaiser Chiefs were formed from the ashes of a failed Britpop band. Ricky Wilson, the singer, taught in an art college and worked in bars to pay off their debts.
He plans to mark the band’s Brits success by “hiring an open-topped bus and do a ticker-tape tour of Leeds city centre. All the grannies would wave.”
KT Tunstall, the 30-year-old singer from Fife, was told that she was too old to make it. But her EMI debut album, Eye to the Telescope, released after a decade of songwriting, outsold Madonna and Mariah Carey.Derided by critics and some fellow artists as bland, James Blunt’s rise appears unstoppable after he beat Robbie Williams to the Best British Solo Artist prize. The former Household Cavalry captain sold 2.5 million copies of his album Back to Bedlam in Britain and is poised to top the US charts with his ballad You’re Beautiful.
Yet Blunt and Kaiser Chiefs were forced to bow to Coldplay in the Best Album category. Their third album X&Y sold eight million copies. They took their sixth career Brit award with the Best Single prize.
Madonna, 47, marked her spectacular return as a disco diva by reclaiming the International Female award after five years.
The very British Paul Weller, a chart regular for almost 30 years, closed the show after receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Music award.
thetimesonline.co.uk
Kaiser Chiefs take the Brits: I predict a riot
By Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent
THEY were the failed Leeds band who had to work in bars to pay off debts. But revenge was sweet for Kaiser Chiefs last night as the rockers emerged triumphant at the Brit Awards with a hat-trick of prizes.
Their pithy singalong hits I Predict a Riot and Oh My God drove crowds to frenzies at club shows and rock festivals throughout last year. Employment, their debut album, has sold 1.6 million copies.
They were the people’s choice for the Best Rock and Live Act awards and toppled previous winners Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand to be named Best British Group.
A record year for new British rock music was marked by awards to million-selling acts who were virtual unknowns 12 months ago. KT Tunstall and James Blunt won solo awards.
However, Arctic Monkeys were not willing to cancel a support slot at the Portsmouth Guildhall to join Madonna and Prince at the awards evening at Earls Court. The Sheffield band, who achieved the biggest bestselling debut album last month, was voted Breakthrough of the Year by Radio 1 listeners.
British artists sold 62.4 million albums last year, the highest yet. Almost half of all CD albums sold last year were by British acts, the highest ratio since Britpop peaked in 1998.
Last night’s debut winners struggled for years to reach the summit. Kaiser Chiefs were formed from the ashes of a failed Britpop band. Ricky Wilson, the singer, taught in an art college and worked in bars to pay off their debts.
He plans to mark the band’s Brits success by “hiring an open-topped bus and do a ticker-tape tour of Leeds city centre. All the grannies would wave.”
KT Tunstall, the 30-year-old singer from Fife, was told that she was too old to make it. But her EMI debut album, Eye to the Telescope, released after a decade of songwriting, outsold Madonna and Mariah Carey.Derided by critics and some fellow artists as bland, James Blunt’s rise appears unstoppable after he beat Robbie Williams to the Best British Solo Artist prize. The former Household Cavalry captain sold 2.5 million copies of his album Back to Bedlam in Britain and is poised to top the US charts with his ballad You’re Beautiful.
Yet Blunt and Kaiser Chiefs were forced to bow to Coldplay in the Best Album category. Their third album X&Y sold eight million copies. They took their sixth career Brit award with the Best Single prize.
Madonna, 47, marked her spectacular return as a disco diva by reclaiming the International Female award after five years.
The very British Paul Weller, a chart regular for almost 30 years, closed the show after receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Music award.
thetimesonline.co.uk