Keane

[Lorraine]

Don't know how well this will be received here but there are a surprising number of admirers for Duke on the Keane board. Maybe it's the piano/keyboard link and lack of guitars. Melodic songs with a strong message are also a common theme but are there any other Duke fans who will admit to liking Keane's music too? I reckon the art of 'proper' songwriting is alive and kicking in the UK with artists such as these. I know the Keane boys are close friends with Neil Hannon too so there is another common link. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say... :)

[Lazarus]

i hear they might be replacing the word 'mundane' in the dictionary with 'keane'.

[Gemzy]

Ha!ha! very droll :oops: I know what you mean- fairly non-interesting, but really good songwriting I agree- you know it's the keyboard player who writes everything? It would be interesting to hear him sing the songs in a solo acoustic set- he may not consider himself a great singer, but I bet it would actually be really cool to hear him sing 'em.....authentic, you know?just "Googled"....the keyboard player and indeed songwriter is Tim Rice-Oxley- I wonder if he added the "-Oxley" bit of his name so as not to be confused with, well- Sir Tim Rice, writer of many a musical and indeed songs with Elton John in The Lion King?! :)

[Lorraine]

No - it's his real name and he is truly the driving force behind everything they do. He composes all music and lyrics and records all songs in demo form before playing them to the rest of the band. His voice is very good and he now does backing vocals both in the studio and during live shows. He has just written a track for Gwen Stefani :twisted: on her new album and is pretty widely regarded as a songwriter having picked up an Ivor Novello award last year.

If you take time to listen to the lyrics they are largely directed at lead singer Tom Chaplin who has undeniably put the band through torment over the last few years with his publicly acknowledged drink and drug problems - some of the words are heartachingly honest and difficult to listen to if you care about them.

Their live shows are great and, whilst I appreciate some of you here may not like them, essentially it is just keyboards and drums (ok - plus a fair amount of electronic wizadry!) that are used to produce their sound.

[thesneakybandit]

sure tom hasn't even got a proper rockstar addiction!!! i overheard a conversation in the priory one night that went a little something like this...

justin hawkins: "i believe in a thing called whisky... oh yeh and a little heroin!"
pete doherty: "heroin *sniff* yeh fuckin' right man... albion blah blah blah *sniff*
tom chaplin: "oh i feel like perhaps indulging in rather a copious amount of port again tonight... tally-ho chaps!"

[rusty66]

I almost snorted readybrek out through my nose when readin that!

[PD]

Keane are a talented bunch of lads. Tim has def written some amazing songs, absolutely love "We might aswell be Strangers" from Hopes and Fears. The lyrics are gorgeous, such a beautiful song. :)

Good morning Sian!

[thesneakybandit]

but what exactly is "bedshaped"?

:roll: :D :wink:

[H]

Very good, Sneaky (on the Priory conversation) :D

I'm not quite sure what to add to this thread. I've known of Keane since 2003 and their drummer is an acquaintance of mine. I used to adore them, but was slightly disappointed by their second album and when I went to one of their recent gigs I actually left before the end - partly because they no longer held my attention like they did in small venues...

I did, however, pass comment recently that I thought the Duke would gain a number of new fans were he able to support Keane on tour, what with the piano similarities etc which have already been pointed out. So much so that I've actually got a copy of Songs From The Deep Forest sitting here waiting to be sent to the aforementioned drummer who I know has impeccable taste in music.

[H]

but what exactly is "bedshaped"?

:roll: :D :wink:

"I think i'm right in saying that in hospital when someone is ill or infirm and has to spend a lot of time in bed they can become 'bedshaped'. it sounds a bit depressing...well i guess it is a bit depressing in reality, but in the context of the song i wanted to suggest old age and frailty, along the lines that i mentioned before about two old friends coming back together in the twilight of their lives. it's great that you guys like bedshaped...it's a song that means a lot to us." - Tim

There ya go, Sneaky ;) (courtesy of keaneshaped.co.uk)

[thesneakybandit]

interesting... i'm now wondering about that url... what exactly keaneshaped is? lol

i would go for...

"Keaneshapes - Bearing a striking resemblence to the fiery tempered former captain of Manchester United known for his outbursts against friend and foe alike."

Taken from sneakybanditshaped.co.uk :wink:

[H]

interesting... i'm now wondering about that url... what exactly keaneshaped is? lol

i would go for...

"Keaneshapes - Bearing a striking resemblence to the fiery tempered former captain of Manchester United known for his outbursts against friend and foe alike."

Taken from sneakybanditshaped.co.uk :wink:
Wouldn't that be a tad ironic given the previous comments about (the band) Keane and the word mundane? ;)

(I believe the name is actually a play on words with the song you originally asked about, sir ;))

[aarons]

Ive lost a lot of respect for Keane with the whole drugs thing, music is good but im not sure now. Seen them from when they were starting off and that is when they were at their best. I have a signed setlist from them sumwhere.

[H]

Ive lost a lot of respect for Keane with the whole drugs thing, music is good but im not sure now.
Slightly unfair, perhaps, since only one of the three dabbled?

[Lorraine]

I think it's testament to their friendship that they are all working very hard to make things work. The whole drugs thing with Tom could have completely destroyed them as a band (and actually did for a short while) but more importantly ruined family friendships that have existed for nigh on 30 years. The music speaks for itself and lyrically there's a lot to listen to that tells you exactly how hard things have been for a long while now.

[H]

I think it's testament to their friendship that they are all working very hard to make things work. The whole drugs thing with Tom could have completely destroyed them as a band (and actually did for a short while) but more importantly ruined family friendships that have existed for nigh on 30 years. The music speaks for itself and lyrically there's a lot to listen to that tells you exactly how hard things have been for a long while now.
Very well said. The easiest option would no doubt have been to boot Tom out of the band the instant the problem came to light. That they've stuck by him while he hopefully sorts himself out is far more admirable.

[aarons]

I think its more my personal viewpoint of drugs here. Ive never understand why if your depressed you have to turn to something which can kill you and make you more depressed.

[MCGlentworth]

I did, however, pass comment recently that I thought the Duke would gain a number of new fans were he able to support Keane on tour

If only that had been possible on the recent Keane tour. That would have been a wonderful line up , and also avoided me being subjected to the dubious talents of Captain.

[Lorraine]

I agree Martin - Duke supporting Keane would be my idea of a perfect gig :)

[H]

I think its more my personal viewpoint of drugs here. Ive never understand why if your depressed you have to turn to something which can kill you and make you more depressed.
That's fair enough, but still doesn't explain why you said you'd lost respect for Keane when it was only one-third of them doing drugs.

[Lazarus]

for me, keane are a band for people who dont really bother looking for music. if you want piano based niceness with some spirit/balls, check out ben kweller/ben folds/regina spektor.

[H]

for me, keane are a band for people who dont really bother looking for music. if you want piano based niceness with some spirit/balls, check out ben kweller/ben folds/regina spektor.
Bollocks. I love Keane's early stuff and I also love Ben Folds and Regina Spektor.

[Lazarus]

its so bland it makes me want to poke myself with sharp sticks for some mild relief.
radio 1 force fed pish. not to be a musical fascist or anything...

[davelee]

my mature response is keane keane smell of wee lets go and break Tom's knees... or something like that.

i prefered them when they had a guitarist.

What makes you think Tom's the only one on drugs? Maybe the others just don't think it's excessive yet, you don't generally do these things by yourself...

or maybe i'm just playing devil's advocate...

xxxx

[H]

What makes you think Tom's the only one on drugs?

Read back through my earlier posts and you'll find out.

[Flackmeister]

Keane do polarize opinion dont they. I quite like the first album, second is less appealing. Went to see them live not expecting anything amazing but they were really good. Tom Chaplin was surprisingly energetic for a rather porky bloke, though he did look slimmer than some pics from earlier in the year.

[H]

I think he has a fat face, although the rest of him's not that chubby :D

[Lorraine]

He's definitely lost some weight over the last few months and looked in much better shape when I saw them in Brighton recently than he has previously done. I hope I'm not being naive when I say that Tom is the only one with an addiction problem. Richard is quite a health freak and vegetarian so would seem a bit odd to then stuff yourself with illegal substances. Again - if you take time to listen to some of the lyrics it's perfectly clear how much he (Tom) has hurt Tim in particular over the last couple of years. It would be two faced in the extreme if he too was also doing drugs. It's clear that Tom's problems have almost destroyed them so it has been a big deal for them all - and their families. I know the melodies and the music may give people the impression of being poppy but you need to look beyond and read the words - they are very poignant on some songs.Anyway - I agree, they do seem to polarise opinion and I'm not here to sway anyone but respect to Tim for the innovative stuff he does with a keyboard, he really pushes the boundaries with some of the stuff he does and for someone who has not been trained and can't even read music properly he hasn't done too bad :)

[davelee]

Sorry Dawn, i just assumed as the rumoured ammount of coke that was provided when they played The Buffalo Bar was more than enough for just one person that Tom couldn't of been doing it alone.

i don't know the band, only of them through others... i'm sure they're all lovely boys.

It's just as possible that Tom shared his coke with roadies or somebody else other than the band, i don't know.

I stand by my point of you don't generally do these kind of things alone though.

In my defense i did say maybe i was playing devil's advocate ... i just wanted to see how long it'd be before some people i know who are absolutely obessed with Keane picked up on what i was saying. :) Wasn't being nasty about them either... hell i used to know King Adora etc so do sympathize with Tom's situation.

Please don't hate me!

For the record i don't dislike Keane as much as i may pretend. Especially seeing as someone i know got quite a break when he made two of their videos... :)

xxxx

[Lorraine]

Interesting comments although let's hope Tom is keeping clean now. Recent interviews show him in quite a happy light and apparently enjoying life a bit more so long may it continue.

Your comment about obsessive fans is an interesting one too. I don't know if other bands have fans like some of the Keane ones but it certainly provokes discussion. I consider myself pretty keen (scuse the pun) having followed them since before the first album but I was genuinely uncomfortable with some of the fans behaviour I witnessed on their recent tour. Some of these people had taken unpaid leave from jobs and spent best part of a fortnight away from families as they travelled to practically every gig on the tour. They were also at most venues by 10am each day to wait for the show and again waited afterwards for pics and sigs etc

How many times do you want to get an autograph? Some fans have also refused to hear any criticism of Tom and certainly see them through rose tinted specs. There's a line between being a dedicated fan and and obsessive one which I never intend to cross. Hope I don't upset anyone - just my thoughts...

[thesneakybandit]

just wait until you're like *some* members of these boards following duke special all over the place :)

[H]

Sorry Dawn [...]
Please don't hate me!

At this moment in time I hate only two people in the whole world. Rest assured that you're not one of them ;)

[jan]

Only just caught up with this thread.......and probably well out of time too.........but......when I first heard Duke and Chip with their piano/percussion approach, my initial thought was that there was a similarity to Keane, bearing in mind that I'd never heard (of) Duke Special before but had heard Keane's first album 'Hopes and Fears' and liked it a lot.
Now of course the distinctions are obvious.
For what it's worth, the problems of celebrities are vastly over-hyped by the media and I think it's tragic that it is made public when someone succumbs to human frailty and goes OTT with some kind of substance or other.
Being a vegetarian does not preclude such indulgences. I'm a veggie but can't give up the fags and booze......yet. :-&
Some celebs seem to make it part of their hype and they just come across as a load of w..........sorry......idiots. I suspect that in Tom's case it was a hard decision to go public in view of the quite clean-cut image Keane were peddling. Most of us would forgive him and wish the band well for the future......they're a highly talented outfit and there's room for them for a long time to come.
Not accusing anyone on here of ghoulishness.
On the contrary, the postings are mainly based on personally acquired fact rather than tabloid gossip...............
which is why I would rather read opinions here than elsewhere.
xx