Several members of the band are ardent fans of the English football team Leeds United (as the band originates from Leeds). The band are named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, the former team of long-serving former Leeds captain Lucas Radebe.
The band's main musical influences include The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Blur, Eric Burdon, The Jam, and other new wave bands. Andrew White (b. England; guitar), Ricky Wilson (b. Charles Richard Wilson, 17 January 1975, Keighley, West Yorkshire, England; vocals), Nick Baines (keyboards), Nick Hodgson (b. Nicholas Hodgson, 20 October 1977, England; drums) and Simon Rix (b. James Simon Rix, 18 October 1977, England; bass) formed the band in early 2003, having originally played garage rock under the Parva moniker. Their energetic brand of post-millennial guitar rock, which would have been branded "indie" in previous decades, quickly found favour on the local gig circuit. The quintet issued their debut, the XTC-soundalike Oh My God, before they had even signed a proper recording contract, teaming up with the Drowned In Sound website in May 2004 for a limited edition release. A contract with the B-Unique label followed and the band began to attract wider interest at the end of 2004 with the release of their storming I Predict A Riot. The topical lyrics, concerning alcohol-fuelled violence in small English towns, attracted as much attention as the band's anarchic update on late 70s new wave.
The band's explosion onto the global music scene in early 2005 was epitomised when they had their first single I Predict A Riot off their debut album Employment played on the radio around the world and opened Live8 in Philadelphia. Several years prior to 2003 the members of the band had been a garage rock group called Parva (before that they had been known as Runston Parva). However, after their label Mantra Records went bust in late 2002, the band went back to their roots and adopted a more britpop sound, helping the band reach their current popularity within the UK and beyond as a consequence.
The band re-released the single Oh My God on 21 February, which charted at #6. The debut album Employment was released on 7 March 2005 and entered the charts at #3 that week. Despite becoming favourite after being shortlisted, the album failed to win the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. They covered the Marvin Gaye classic, Heard it Through the Grapevine for the War Child album Help! A Day in the Life, giving a whole new slant on the song.
A DVD, entitled Enjoyment, was released in November 2005. The basis of the DVD is a (semi-false) documentary about the band narrated by Bill Nighy. It also includes all the promo videos, live performances and more.
An internet-only (so far) music video for their song Sink that Ship has been released in September 2005. The video appears on Electronic Arts' website as a promotional tool for their game Burnout Revenge but is completely unbranded.
Wilson auctioned off his red tambourine to radio show Xfm in late 2005 to raise money for the homeless charity Shelter. The winning bid was £375.00.
On February 5th, The Kaiser Chiefs Released their next single, Ruby, which was a major success reaching #1 in the singles charts.
The Kaiser Chiefs released their new album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob on February 23, 2007 in The Netherlands and Belgium, February 26, 2007 in the United Kingdom and on March 27, 2007 in North America. A double disc edition is also available, the second disc being a DVD.
It is known that three of the band members went to a school near Highroyd, Leeds. Also, Nick (drummer) announced during a gig in Newcastle Upon Tyne that his dad went to a school called St. Cuthberts in Newcastle. Other famous people from that school include Ant & Dec and Sting.
The band released their third album, Off With Their Heads, on October 20, 2008. It contains the hit single Never Miss a Beat.
Songfacts states that the band's fourth album, The Future Is Medieval was released through the band's website on June 3, 2011. In effect the world's first bespoke album, fans are able to create their own version of the record by choosing their favorite 10 tracks from the selection of 20 on offer. One-minute excerpts allow them to make their selections and each song is represented by an object.
After creating their own album, people can then share their version of the record with other fans, and earn £1 each time it is purchased by someone else.
5th album "Education, Education, Education and War!" was released on 31st March 2014 on Fiction Records, featuring the UK Top 40 single, 'Coming Home', and was their first UK number one album since 2007's 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob'.
Also on the Fiction label, their 6th album, Stay Together, was released on the 7th October 2016, with a notable shift towards dance-pop, hitting #4 on the UK Albums Chart.
In 2019, they moved to Polydor, and released 'Duck' on 26th July, featuring the singles 'Record Collection' and 'People Know How To Love One Another'. It peaked at #3 on the UK Albums Chart.
Performances
Kaiser Chiefs' first big festival show was at the dual-site Reading and Leeds Festival on 27 August 2004 and in the following year, on 16 May 2005, they appeared at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, The Netherlands. After that, things went fast. They were the opening act at the Philadelphia Live 8 concert on July 2nd 2005, one of only two British acts in the lineup (Def Leppard being the other). They performed I Predict a Riot, Everyday I Love You Less and Less and Oh My God. They played Reading and Leeds in 2006 before Franz Ferdinand and were extremely popular.
June 2005 saw them headline at the May Ball at Queens' College, Cambridge, supported by Anada, before an acclaimed appearance at a rain-soaked Glastonbury festival during the same month, whilst August's appearance at the V Festival featured a very enthusiastic set despite Ricky Wilson having his leg in plaster. Also more recently they embarked on their own headline UK Tour, supported by Maximo Park and The Cribs. Their first US tour (with The Cribs) ran through the summer of 2005, and they followed it by playing a few shows on the Foozer tour. This was followed up by opening for Foo Fighters during their Australian tour in December 2005. They also played to Jools Holland and his audience on December 31, 2005.
Their song Ruby, from the album Yours Truly, Angry Mob was featured as a bonus song in Guitar Hero III, and I Predict a Riot from Employment was eventually released as downloadable content for the game.
Kaiser Chiefs are set to return to the European festival scene this summer, having been booked for Switzerland's Gurten Festival.
Bows
Kaiser Chiefs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's been the coldest year since records began
And now the sun is coming up again in no man's land
So let's go, into tomorrow
Together fighting
We're bows and arrows!
You and me, every time
It's always you and me, we're bows and arrows
You!
Well I'm not waiting for no one, I'm waiting for you!
Well I'm not waiting for no one, I'm waiting for you!
It takes the two of us to, we'll make it through!
So let's go, into tomorrow
Together fighting
We're bows and arrows!
You and me on the front line
You and me, every time
It's always you and me, we're bows and arrows
You!
You and me when the sun goes down
It's always you and me when the whip comes round
It's always you and me, we're bows and arrows
You!
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
We the people, created equal
And if that's true then we're not the only ones
And if that's true then we're not the only ones
And if that's true then we're not the only ones
And if that's true then we're not the only ones
You and me on the front line
You and me, every time
It's always you and me, we're bows and arrows
You!
The song "Bows and Arrows" by Kaiser Chiefs is an anthem for unity and perseverance in the face of adversity. The first few lines allude to the toughest year on record, but there is hope in the sunrise at "no man's land." The chorus emphasizes the power of teamwork with the metaphor of bows and arrows, which suggests that two people working together can accomplish more than one alone. The repeated line "you and me" emphasizes the importance of partnership in overcoming difficulty.
The second verse emphasizes the urgency of the situation by saying "I'm not waiting for no one, I'm waiting for you." There is a sense that someone needs to step up and take action, and the only person the singer is willing to wait for is his partner. It takes "the two of us" to persevere, and the chorus returns to remind the listener of the power of unity.
The repeated refrain of "we the people, created equal" suggests that the strength of a united people is greater than the sum of their individual parts. There is a sense that people can and should come together to overcome challenges and create a better world. In the end, the song is an encouragement to the listener to find their partner and go out and fight together, to be "bows and arrows."
Line by Line Meaning
Hold onto your hearts, if you can
Prepare yourself emotionally for what's to come
It's been the coldest year since records began
The past year has been extremely challenging
And now the sun is coming up again in no man's land
Things are starting to improve, despite the difficult circumstances
So let's go, into tomorrow
Let's move forward and face the future
Together fighting
We're in this together, and we'll overcome our struggles by working as a team
We're bows and arrows!
We have the strength and determination to reach our goals
You and me on the front line
We're the ones leading the charge and taking the most risks
It's always you and me, we're bows and arrows
We rely on each other and work as a unit to achieve success
Well I'm not waiting for no one, I'm waiting for you!
I'm ready to take action, but I need your help and support
It takes the two of us to, we'll make it through!
We need to work together and support each other to overcome our obstacles
You and me when the sun goes down
We're partners in every situation, both good and bad
It's always you and me when the whip comes round
We face adversity together and never waver in our unity
We the people, created equal
All individuals have inherent worth and deserve equal treatment
And if that's true then we're not the only ones
If we believe in equality, we should stand up for others who are facing injustice
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RICHARD WILKINSON, ANDREW WHITE, RICKY WILSON, SIMON RIX, NICK BAINES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@5Porygon
Thank you Kaiser Chiefs for all your music that you made. You are one of my most favourite music interpretes.
@ivanmeno
this song deserves more views!
@kaiserchiefs
New year, new music:
@MedinaMako
+Kaiser Chiefs la mejor canción de Education Education Education and War.
@WeronikaPogorzelska
Amazing, brilliant, fantastic, incredible. The whole album is just insane. Wow, just wow!
@haydn3297
One of my favourite KC songs, awesome
@katyhart4634
These guys were the first band I ever saw live (when I was 10 for my birthday) and I still love them now!
@assylalowe
They played this at Emirates Stadium when they supported Green Day! Seen Kaisers 3 times, definitely need to see them again!
New album = tour
@MotorsportbyMario
Great song, incredibly underappreciated as are many more from recent albums
@jagalmighty
Sounds good, looking forward to hearing the whole album!