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.
Out Of Focus
Kaiser Chiefs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When everything happened
You took it away
But that's the way I like it
I find myself laughing
Cuz everyone's laughing
I don't belong
Making up a number
Then there was nothing
In my mind
Then there was nothing
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
I wasn't behaving
I wasn't invited
She could put it away
That's the way I like it
It's not entertaining
Being entertaining
I don't even work here
I operate the curtains
Then there was nothing
In my mind
Then there was nothing
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
Then there was nothing
In my mind
Then there was nothing
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
The lyrics of Kaiser Chiefs' song "Out of Focus" can be interpreted as a commentary on feeling disconnected and out of place in social situations. The repetition of "then there was nothing in my mind" suggests a feeling of emptiness or detachment from one's surroundings. The singer seems to be observing the world around them but not participating in it fully, feeling like they don't have a place or role to play. The line "I don't belong, making up a number" underscores the feeling of being an outsider, someone who doesn't fit in or have a clear identity.
The theme of not fitting in is reinforced by references to the idea of entertainment - "It's not entertaining, being entertaining" - which suggests a pressure to perform or put on a show in social situations. The singer seems to reject this expectation, preferring to operate from the background as a "curtain operator" rather than a front-and-center performer. The repeated phrase "that's the way I like it" reinforces this sense of choosing to be on the fringes rather than in the spotlight.
The overall effect of the song is a sense of distance and disconnect from the world around the singer. The repetition of the phrase "in my mind" suggests that this feeling is internal, a product of the singer's own thoughts and perceptions rather than external factors outside of their control.
Line by Line Meaning
It's like nothing happened
The situation seems to have changed or been resolved, but there is still lingering effects or tension.
When everything happened
Despite the outward appearance of calm or stability, a lot has occurred and the situation is more complicated than it seems.
You took it away
Someone has deliberately removed or concealed something, whether physical or metaphorical.
But that's the way I like it
The artist prefers this state of affairs, possibly because it removes responsibility or stress from them.
I find myself laughing
Despite the situation, the artist is amused or entertained by what's happening.
Cuz everyone's laughing
The singer is not alone in their reaction, and others are also finding the situation amusing.
I don't belong
The singer feels out of place or unwelcome in the current situation.
Making up a number
The artist is either fabricating information or guessing, and is not confident in their answer.
Then there was nothing
In my mind
Then there was nothing
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
I was just out of focus
In my mind
The repetition and minimalistic lyrics suggest a sense of mental emptiness or confusion.
I wasn't behaving
The artist feels like they were acting strangely or inappropriately.
I wasn't invited
The singer was not included or welcome in the current situation.
She could put it away
Someone else had the power to resolve or end the situation, but chose not to.
That's the way I like it
Again, the singer is content with the status quo and doesn't want to change anything.
It's not entertaining
Being entertaining
The singer is making a distinction between being entertained themselves and entertaining others; they find the latter to be unfulfilling or even burdensome.
I don't even work here
I operate the curtains
The singer is not directly involved or powerful in the situation, but is instead operating from the margins or behind-the-scenes.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDREW WHITE, CHARLES RICHARD WILSON, JAMES RIX, NICHOLAS BAINES, NICHOLAS HODGSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
janayana
Need...replay...button....NOW! I LOVE this song...
Jordan .Holland
One of my favourite Kaiser Chiefs songs, classic track.
Lucas Arturo Melgarejo Albornoz
have they ever played this live?i couldn't find no video of this live and that sucks because this seems like it would be a great song live,this song is probably my favorite on the album only fighting with child of the jago which was meant as kind of an important one considering it gave the album the name,kind of girl which is the only reason i bought the album without listening to the other songs before and if you will have me which is the perfect song for relaxing
Brombit
my favourite from the physical album :)
Senpai Torpid DOW
Awesome song!
The Rusty Wizard
the drums kick ass on this track!!!!
sincronia
mt foda
Vasja Stankovic
These dudes rock.
Frank Barnes
187 likes and 0 dislikes. Although underviewed this is an incredibly good song.
Nathaniel Speranzo
awwwww mannnn fantastic song how can you not like this song