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.
Getting Better
Kaiser Chiefs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the time
I used to get mad
At my school
(No I can't complain)
The teachers
Who taught me
(No I can't complain)
You're holding me down
(Oh)
Turning me round
(Oh)
Filling me up
With your rules
(Foolish rules)
I've got to admit
It's getting better
(Better)
A little better
All the time
(It can't get more worse)
I have to admit
It's getting better
(Better)
It's getting better
Since you've been mine
Me used to be
Angry young man
Me hiding me head
In the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I'm doing
The best that I can
I've got to admit
It's getting better
(Better)
A little better
All the time
(It can't get more worse)
I have to admit
It's getting better
(Better)
It's getting better
Since you've been mine
Getting so much better
All the time
It's getting better
All the time
Better, better, better
It's getting better
All the time
Better, better, better
I used to be cruel
To my woman
I beat her
And kept her apart
From the things
That she loved
Man I was mean
But I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing
The best that I can
(Ooh)
I admit
It's getting better
(Better)
A little better
All the time
(It can't get more worse)
Yes, I admit
It's getting better
(Better)
It's getting better
Since you've been mine
Getting so much better
All the time
It's getting better
All the time
Better, better, better
It's getting better
All the time
Better, better, better
Getting so much better
All the time
The song "Getting Better" by Kaiser Chiefs is a cover of The Beatles' 1967 song of the same name. The lyrics of the song talk about the personal growth and changes in the character's life. The song starts with the character's past struggles with his school teachers and the rules they created. He mentions that he used to get angry with the teachers who weren't cool, but now he can't complain. The teachers were holding him down, turning him around and filling him with their foolish rules. However, the character mentions that he is doing better now and is accepting the changes in his life. The chorus celebrates his gradual progress and acknowledges that things are getting better all the time since he's been with this person. The second verse talks about how he used to be cruel and violent to his partner, but he changed his behavior and is doing the best he can to be a better person.
Line by Line Meaning
It's getting better
The situation is gradually improving
All the time
Continuously, steadily improving
I used to get mad
I used to get angry and upset
At my school
At the institution where I received my education
(No I can't complain)
I cannot express any discontent towards this
The teachers
The individuals responsible for educating me
Who taught me
The individuals who imparted knowledge and skills to me
Weren't cool
Were not trendy, fashionable or admirable
(No I can't complain)
I cannot express any discontent towards this
You're holding me down
You are restricting me and preventing me from achieving my potential
(Oh)
Expressing frustration, disappointment or displeasure
Turning me round
Causing me to change my direction, course or perspective
(Oh)
Expressing frustration, disappointment or displeasure
Filling me up
Influencing me, shaping me and providing me with knowledge or ideas
With your rules
With your instructions, governing principles or regulations
(Foolish rules)
Rules that are unwise, illogical or ineffective
I've got to admit
I must confess, acknowledge or concede
It's getting better
The situation is gradually improving
(Better)
Improved, more satisfactory
A little better
Slightly better
All the time
Continuously, steadily improving
(It can't get more worse)
The situation has reached the lowest point and cannot deteriorate further
I have to admit
I must confess, acknowledge or concede
Since you've been mine
Since you have become a part of my life
Me used to be
I used to be
Angry young man
An adolescent or young adult male who is filled with hostility and frustration
Me hiding me head
I was concealing myself, avoiding confrontations or challenges
In the sand
In the dirt or soil
You gave me the word
You provided me with guidance, advice or wisdom
I finally heard
I finally understood, comprehended or absorbed
I'm doing
I am acting, behaving or performing
The best that I can
To the fullest extent of my ability, skill or effort
I used to be cruel
I used to be abusive, harsh or unkind
To my woman
To the woman in my life, possibly my spouse or partner
I beat her
I physically assaulted her, causing her injuries or harm
And kept her apart
And prevented her from experiencing, enjoying or pursuing certain things
From the things
From the objects, activities, concepts or people
That she loved
That she had an affection, desire or passion for
Man I was mean
I was a vicious, nasty and unpleasant individual
But I'm changing my scene
But I am altering my attitude, behaviour or surroundings
I admit
I confess, acknowledge or concede
Yes, I admit
Definitely, I confess, acknowledge or concede
Better, better, better
Improving, becoming more satisfactory or pleasing
Contributed by John S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Tom Mansell
This is a great cover - and I got the impression that Geoff Emmerick loved it too, and he should know! Well done Kaiser Chiefs, a first class job.... and as for the Fray......equal to the Beatles, but made it their own, I just loved it. The rest I thought were OK to mediocre
D4thincarnation
For what it's worth, I think this is one of the best Beatles cover versions around. Not a massive fan of the Kaiser Chiefs, but gotta give them this one, they did a cracking job with it.
Cindy Holmes
I love a good Beatles cover...and this is a really good cover. McFly does a couple of good Beatles covers too. So does Travis.
Dokka Chapman
The reverb on the vocals of all these covers are incredible! I'd take this style of recording guitar based music over anything else any day.
Francisco Quezada
Congratulations Kaiser Chiefs!!! very great performance !!!
emma crane
that was pretty amazing :D
thebrockieful
love it... sends goose bumps! Good ones x
paul jardine
fantastic cover
moochy
Love this version. Does anyone have an mp3 of it?
João Guilherme Facchina
good...very good cover. love The Beatles!