Keane biography

The label head was so impressed by the band's live performance that he offered to release the band's next single, Everything's Changing, on the spot. The limited edition release, a sweeping majestic ode for romantic loners was such a success on radio that several labels were soon sniffing around the trio. Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq said the song was one of the best in Fierce Panda's entire history pitching it somewhere between "a scuffed Coldplay and a frankly bewildered Beautiful South." The Sunday Times called the single "three and a half minutes of pure pop loveliness."

Singer Tom remembers the recording session for the single as "rough and ready." "It was literally made in a room in someone's house," he says. "And we had to go round to a different house to mix it because the speakers broke." With a rapturous reception for the song, things began to gather pace and Keane embarked on their first UK tour, playing to crowds averaging 500 people. By 2003 several labels had made firm offers to sign the band and the trio eventually signed to Island in the autumn of 2003. "We've never wanted to be a small, cult band," said Tom. "We wanted to get our music heard by as many people as we possibly can, because that's why we're making it." A triumphant appearance at the Reading and Leeds Carling Weekend followed as well as the band's fourth single, This Is The Last Time.

By the time of the release of their debut album, Hopes and Fears in the Spring of 2004, the hype surrounding the band was colossal. The multi-platinum album distilled Keane's sense of aching, melodic angst in songs such as Can't Stop Now and Bend And Break combining pristine production with passionate conviction, establishing them at the forefront of melodic, emotive rock. The NME called the album a "luscious, multi-layered melodramatic stomp that tugs hard at the heartstrings."

The band embarked on a major British tour at the end of 2004 and are set to tour America in 2005. Their album has refused to budge from the upper reaches of the UK charts and they%u2019ve finally rid themselves of %u2018the new Coldplay%u2019 and %u2018junior Radiohead%u2019 tags. Genuine superstardom beckons. "We're not about image or fashion but passion in our music," says singer Tom. "We write songs that really mean a lot to us." In Keane's case, less really does seem to be more...