Kaiser Chiefs consists of Andrew 'whitey' (guitar), Nick 'peanut' (drums), Nick Hodgson (drums and vocals), Ricky Wilson (lead vocals), Simon Rix (bass guitar).
This article is about the band. For the football club, see Kaizer Chiefs Football Club.
The Kaiser Chiefs are an English Indie/ Pop band from Leeds, formed early in 1997 under the moniker Parva. After reinventing themselves as the Kaiser Chiefs in 2003 the band made a strong impact on the British music scene, culminating in winning three Brit Awards for 'Best Group', 'Best British Rock Act' and 'Best Live Act' in 2006
Prior to 2003 the members of the band had been a garage rock group called Parva (before that having been known as Runston Parva). However, after being dropped by their label, 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.
Several members of the band are ardent fans of the English football team Leeds United. The band was named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, the former team of long-serving former Leeds captain Lucas Radebe.
On 18 February 2005 they were the opening act at the NME Awards show and won the Philip Hall Radar Award.
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.
A DVD release, 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.
