I definitely unravelled... I’m a much more robust human being these days
Keane frontman Tom Chaplin talks to about their 20-year-old debut album and the impact that its success had on their lives – both good and bad
“THE album was life-changing for me and for the rest of the band”, says Keane frontman Tom Chaplin as he reflects on the indie rock group’s seminal debut LP, Hopes And Fears, 20 years on from its release.
Fuelled by the hits Somewhere Only We Know and Everybody’s Changing, the record soared up the charts, becoming one of the bestselling albums of the year in the UK and picking up the Brit award for best British album.
“I don’t think we ever expected then that Hopes And Fears would be quite the record that it became,” Tom tells me over a video call.
“It really was a mainstream success... and all over the world. For an indie band who just wanted to make records it was exhilarating, but also, at times, quite a terrifying experience as well.
“It was just a beautiful feeling to know that the music seemed to resonate with so many people, I look back on it with huge fondness.”
Keane’s original line-up – composer and multi-instrumentalist Tim Rice-Oxley, drummer Richard Hughes and guitarist Dominic Scott – all attended the private boarding school Tonbridge in Kent.
Dominic left the band in 2001 and Jesse Quin later joined as bassist.
Tom recalls years of graft in the mid-to-late-90s as the band sought to break through.
“We had this dream of making it and trying to get a record deal and trying to emulate our heroes, we had this quite long period of time where we really had to work out a lot of things”, he says.
“And I suppose those years between ‘98, when we first started doing gigs, and getting a record deal in 2003, was just a long process of learning our craft.”
When success did arrive, the group quickly learned that it would come with a new set of challenges. A major pressure on the band was navigating the scrutiny on their music and their private school background.
“What I realised, looking back, is that you need to be so thick-skinned to cope with, not just the criticism, but also the adoration”, Tom reflects.
“You have to be able to take that with a pinch of salt as well, because both ends of the spectrum aren’t really that real.”
The band’s next albums – 2006’s Under The Iron Sea, 2008’s Perfect Symmetry and 2012’s Strangeland all went to number one, but the group announced a hiatus in 2013.
Tom, who suffered with drug and alcohol addiction during the early years of the band, has previously opened up about how he spiralled again during this break.
Reflecting on how the swift rise to fame affected him, he says: “I definitely unravelled in a way, I guess I’m a much more robust human being these days.
“Sometimes I do look back and think ‘Oh God, I wish I’d been equipped with the same healthy emotional world and knowledge of myself that I have now, back then’.”
After six years, the indie rockers made a comeback with their fifth studio album Cause And Effect, which peaked at number two in the UK. They’ve attracted new fans through the power of social media as TikTok users latched on to the melodic charms of Somewhere Only We Know.
Tom feels the secret to the band’s longevity is the “classic sound” of their songs, which he believes has not dated as much as some of their contemporaries’ work.
To mark the 20th anniversary of their debut, the band are releasing a remastered version of the album that started everything for them, and are currently in the middle of a world tour, with shows across the UK in May.
Their summer schedule is also swiftly filling up. It’s recently been announced that they will perform on the main Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in June. As for many groups, getting the call to play Glastonbury in 2004 was a pivotal moment for the band.
“As soon as I experienced Glastonbury I wanted to go back every year and I have done pretty much,” Tom says. “I adore the place, it’s an otherworldly experience.”
In July, Keane will headline Latitude alongside Kasabian, London Grammar and Duran Duran, when the festival returns to Henham Park in Suffolk.
The singer says the festival is also a favourite of his for the diversity of its line-up, and describes the opportunity to headline it as a “great honour”.
“To be top of the bill is very special”, he adds.
“I think you’re a bit more nervous, there’s obviously a bit more pressure when people come with expectation of seeing you as a headliner, but then again we’ve spent 20 years doing this so we more or less know what we’re doing at this stage.
“I feel like we’re playing better and performing better than we ever have done.
“My hope is just that, as the sun goes down and we’re playing a set, that people will be taken on a beautiful and emotional journey.
“Obviously, I feel a little bit nervous but also confident that we can create some memories for people.”