Keane’s journey is nothing short of a dream that every group of boys making a college rock band imagines at least once in their lifetime.
A journey of school friends who created a band as a hobby and went on to perform their music for years to come, on the world’s biggest stages, with loyal fans that follow their story; and music that still pulls at heartstrings 25 years later. None of what was on the minds of the 20-something-year-olds of the British rock band, Keane when their debut album ‘Hopes And Fears’ became a worldwide sensation. “It’s so hard to explain because, when you make your first album you know you’re just a kind of unknown band. All of those songs really, we wrote when we didn’t even have a record deal and we were playing in pubs in London to very small crowds.” Tim Rice-Oxley shared, as he joined us on a Zoom call from the rainy winter glaze of London.
“The songs I suppose were written just as they’re just little documents of our thoughts and our dreams and our heartbreaks; whatever was happening in our lives at that time when we were in our early 20s early to mid-20s. So, you have no idea if that’s going to connect with people but we just tried to write the best songs we could and be as honest as we could. We didn’t hold anything back emotionally and I suppose that’s probably why people connect to it so much. I guess the things we were writing about are probably human experiences that are still relevant 20 years later and they’ll probably still be relevant in a thousand years.” The Keane’s songwriter/pianist added, talking about the heartfelt global movement that ‘Hopes And Fears’ gave rise to.
Even today the bittersweet melody of Somewhere Only We Know from the album is making its rounds on social media as a trending reel audio. Marking 20 years of the hit album, 2024 is a big year for the alt-rock band from Sussex. With an upcoming world tour and the 20th-anniversary reissue of the iconic hit; the veteran Keane is a totem of staying relevant in the industry. “To be able to go out and do a big almost a year-long tour this far into our careers, it’s very flattering. We’re very excited and it’s nice to be thinking about playing some of those songs that we’ve been playing for a long time, playing them all over the world again, playing to new people, new countries, new cities, it’s daunting but it’s cool.” Tim Rice-Oxley told us. And with a long year of performances, emotions, nostalgia as well as new experiences ahead of them; what better stage to kick off a phenomenal year than headlining at Lollapalooza India over the 27th and 28th of January, also marking the band’s debut performance in the country. “We’re very excited, it’s our first time playing in India so it’s a really big deal for us. And we’re a bit nervous as well because it’s our first show of the year and we haven’t played in about 18 months. It’s quite scary but very exciting.” He adds.
From the departure of founding guitarist Dominic Scott to the band’s extended 5-year hiatus, in no way has Keane had smooth sailing. One may argue, that a journey of exits and breaks is truly befitting a 90’s rock band. However, talking about how despite these setbacks, what continues to make Keane a relevant force in the industry almost 25 years after their inception. Tim Rice-Oxley shares his two bits of advice. “I think so much of it is just perseverance. I never felt that we were super talented, I just felt that we worked harder than everyone else. I’m talking about when we were a new band and playing in around London and there were so many bands that every time you turned up for a gig there’ll be you know three or four other bands, everyone’s kind of standing there looking trying to look cool and it was very intimidating because we didn’t feel that we were special or anything but we just kept going. We were always working on music and eventually, we started playing better and writing better songs and that just happens like any other skill, you’ve just got to keep doing it and doing it and you’ll eventually get better than everyone else” And while the band may have created a niche of their own with their soulful melodies, one is one’s own worst critic as Tim notes, “the nature of creative people is that you are full of self-doubt.
Spanning the band’s career there is often a comparison to other compatriots in the industry such as British rock band Coldplay or Snow Patrol. However, talking about finding one’s sound Rice-Oxley tells us “It’s very counterintuitive because you always kind of want to be the same as everyone else, it’s sort of human instinct like when we were kids we wanted to be like the Beatles or Radiohead and you try and copy them. But at some point, you need to try and be your own thing and push that as far as you can.” With the occasional hurdle, initial rejections and a viral album that pushed the 20-year-old to almost instant fame; Keane has had a colourful career indeed. “Looking back, I think the only reason we got through that was because we were together. I think you need supportive people around you who believe in you.”
As they gear up for the year of performances ahead, reliving the classics and with some exciting new sounds in the pipeline, Tim Rice-Oxley smiles, “It’s a bit of a new age for us creatively, which I’m excited about.”
Hero and Feature images: Courtesy Keane.
Note:
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
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Rock band Lollapalooza India 2024 Keane
