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.
Fly On The Wall
Kaiser Chiefs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You hardly know what's wrong from right, oh oh oh oh
And it doesn't even matter, oh oh oh oh
When you are hidden from the light, oh oh oh
Anywhere, I know it's clear
Anywhere, I know it's clear
I'm a fly on the wall
The greatest thing you ever said, oh oh oh oh
Was on your own and in your head, oh oh oh oh
And did it ever even happen? Oh oh oh oh
Or written down or ever read? Oh oh oh
Anywhere, I know it's clear
Anywhere, I know it's clear
I'm a fly on the wall
I'm a fly on the wall
I'm a fly on the wall
I'm a fly on the wall
I'm a fly on the wall
I'm a fly on the wall
I love to watch a gradual fall
I want to see the whites of your eyes
I need to feel the tone of your voice
I have to be the fly on the wall
Anywhere, I know
Anywhere, I know
The song "Fly On The Wall" by Kaiser Chiefs is about being an observer or a bystander, and witnessing things that others aren't privy to. The opening lines set the scene in the middle of the night, which could represent a time of darkness and uncertainty. The singer is "a fly on the wall," which means they are an inconspicuous observer, watching events unfold from a distance without being noticed. The chorus, "Anywhere I know it's clear/I'm a fly on the wall," reinforces the idea that the singer can see everything, no matter where they are, and can remain unnoticed.
The next verse talks about the greatest thing the subject ever said, which was only heard by themself, and wonders if it was ever real, or just something imagined. It highlights the idea that we all have thoughts and moments of brilliance, but they often go unnoticed or unrecognized. The bridge then shifts to the singer's perspective and their desire to observe and watch a gradual fall, see the whites of someone's eyes, and feel the tone of their voice. The lyrics express how the singer needs to be the fly on the wall, an observer, to truly understand and see what's happening.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the importance of paying attention and being an observer in life, even if you're not directly involved. It suggests that there's value in seeing things from a different perspective and challenging ourselves to look beyond what's obvious.
Line by Line Meaning
In the middle of the night, oh oh oh oh
It's a time when you're unsure and can't distinguish between what's right and wrong.
You hardly know what's wrong from right, oh oh oh oh
You're in a state of confusion and can't differentiate good from bad.
And it doesn't even matter, oh oh oh oh
It's a situation where the outcome won't be affected by what you do or don't do.
When you are hidden from the light, oh oh oh
You're concealed from the world and people can't see your actions.
Anywhere, I know it's clear
It doesn't matter where you go, the situation is the same.
The greatest thing you ever said, oh oh oh oh
Something you said to yourself that resonated as important and admirable.
Was on your own and in your head, oh oh oh oh
It was a thought that stayed in your mind and wasn't expressed to anyone else.
And did it ever even happen? Oh oh oh oh
Is the thought just a figment of your imagination or a real memory?
Or written down or ever read? Oh oh oh
It's uncertain if you wrote the idea, read it, or even forget about it entirely.
I'm a fly on the wall
An observer who wants to remain unnoticed and listen in on a private moment.
I love to watch a gradual fall
The observer likes seeing the unfolding of a downfall, perhaps even contributing to it.
I want to see the whites of your eyes
The observer wants to see the other person's emotions and intentions clearly.
I need to feel the tone of your voice
Tone of voice reveals the state of mind and emotions, and the observer wants to experience that.
Anywhere, I know
No matter where they go, the observer can be the unseen witness.
Contributed by Julian N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.