Kings of Leon

For kings of the medieval Kingdom of León, see List of Leonese monarchs.

Kings of Leon

Kings of Leon is a band from Nashville , Tennessee formed in 2000 by the Followill brothers. Both their father (who was actually named Ivan) and grandfather went by the name 'Leon', which is where the band gets its name. The band's early music was an upbeat blend of southern rock and garage rock influences. Since then, the band has branched out and experimented with a variety of genres. Since the band's 2003 debut, they have grown from an indie act to achieve international superstardom, particularly in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The band also experienced a huge growth in popularity in Canada and the United States on the heels of their 2008 album Only by the Night. As of 2009, Kings of Leon have attained 9 Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, including the number-one single "Sex on Fire".

Formation and first years: 1999-2002

Nathan, Caleb, and Jared Followill were born to Ivan Followill, a Pentecostal evangelist minister. Caleb and Jared were born in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, while Nathan and cousin Matthew were born in Oklahoma City. They copied their fashion sense from David Jackson after a trip to Manc. The brothers spent much of their youth traveling around the South with their father, Leon, a traveling United Pentecostal Church preacher and their mother, Betty-Ann, who taught them when they were not in school. The boys learned to play drums, guitar and bass as children while performing gospel songs in the church. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "While Leon preached at churches and tent revivals throughout the Deep South, the boys attended and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums. They were home-schooled or enrolled in small parochial schools. Except for a five-year stretch when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followills spent their childhoods driving through the South, camping for a week or two wherever Leon was scheduled to preach."

Nathan, the eldest of the brothers, graduated from Christian Life Academy (a private school that is now defunct) in Henderson, TN. Caleb dropped out mid-Junior year to pursue a job in construction but later quit to work on music with his brother Nathan. Despite their religious background, they say their father would often play rock records in the car by musicians like the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and Bad Company while their mother was not around. After they signed with RCA in 2002, the boys invited their cousin, Matthew Followill, to join the band as the lead guitarist.

Holy Roller Novocaine and Youth and Young Manhood: 2003

Kings of Leon's first release, The Holy Roller Novocaine EP came out in 2003. Four of its five songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood, with the songs "California Waiting" and "Wasted Time" being remade. The EP also contained the B-side "Wicker Chair". Another track called 'Absent', rumoured to be about singer Caleb's childhood sweetheart Marnie Jensen was discarded prior to release. All the songs were co-written by Angelo Petraglia.

Their debut album, Youth and Young Manhood, was an average success, particularly outside the United States where they were dubbed one of the driving forces behind the so-called "new rock revolution" by the European press, most significantly in the United Kingdom. Their stakes rose when they were chosen by popular rock bands The Strokes and U2 to tour with them. According to Jared, the title of the album was taken from their father's Bible. All songs were again co-written by Petraglia, who also contributed guitar and co-produced the album with Ethan Johns. The songs "Molly's Chambers", "Red Morning Light", and "Holy Roller Novocaine" were used in various video games, movies, and TV advertisements. "Holy Roller Novocaine" was also used in the films Stuck on You, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. In addition, it was featured on an episode of the popular television show "The Shield".

Aha Shake Heartbreak: 2004-2005

The band's second album Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the United Kingdom in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. "The Bucket", "Four Kicks", and "King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with the "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl" was used in the 2007 movie Disturbia and the movie Cloverfield. The band also garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Elvis Costello. The band toured with U2, Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan for much of 2005 and 2006. The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns with Jacquire King handling the recording and mixing duties.

Because of the Times: 2006-2007

Kings of Leon performing at Leeds Festival in Leeds, UK in August 2007

In March 2006 Kings of Leon were back in the studio, working on their third album. Guitarist Matthew Followill told NME: "Man, we're sitting on a bunch of songs right now that we wish we could let the world hear!". The band's third album was titled Because of the Times, which may be a reference to a church ministers conference of the same name held in Alexandria, Louisiana that the brothers often attended.

The album was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the US. NME said that the album "cements Kings of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times." and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date." Another reviewer described Because of the Times as, "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn’t sound natural." However, some critics found the album inferior to their previous efforts. Stylus Magazine rated it a C- and noted "If they wanted us to take them serious this time around, they'd at least try to be right honest about their ascent into minor celebrity and not keep on with the yokel façade. Without cautionary yarns regarding life on the tour bus or banging supermodels, the bright-eyed, legs-stretched mood of the music rings just as hollow." Dave Hood of Artrocker gave the album one star out of five, finding that "Kings of Leon are experimenting, learning, and getting a bit lost." Pitchfork Media contended that "Because of the Times sound[s] suspiciously like a counterattack on womankind, launched from somewhere in the mid-1990s, deep inside a bruised, stadium-sized ego."

The album debuted at number one in Russia and Ireland and entered the Euro charts at number twenty-five, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. The album was preceded by the single "On Call", which became a hit in Britain and Ireland. The album showed a clear evolution from the band's previous work, as the band's trademark dirty, southern-fried swagger was replaced with a more polished, clean-cut sound. Other singles from the album were "Fans" and "Charmer". The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns.

Only by the Night: 2008-2009

After recording throughout most of 2008, "the all American long haired rockers" (The Times), released their fourth studio album Only by the Night on September 19, which on subsequently entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and remained there for 4 weeks, with sales of 1,524,185 copies, achieving 5 times platinum status. The album was released on September 23 in the USA and reached number 5. The album was officially named as the UK's third biggest selling album of 2008 and the biggest selling album of 2008 in Australia. Australia confirmed the album's popularity with 4 tracks being voted into the world's largest online music poll, Triple J Hottest 100. 'Crawl' came in at number 70, 'Closer' at number 24 and 'Use Somebody' was number 3. Their biggest success from Only By The Night was "Sex on Fire" which was voted number 1 in the 2008 Triple J Hottest 100 poll. It is also the song that won the band a Grammy Award at the 51st Grammy Awards Ceremony held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the Brit Awards 2009 where they also performed Use Somebody. Kings of Leon also performed on 14 March 2009 at Sound Relief, a benefit concert, for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28. "Sex on Fire" was then released as a single for download in the UK on the 8th of September. The song became their most successful as it peaked at number one in the UK and in Ireland. It was also their first song to chart number one on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock chart. The second single to be released from the album on 8th December 2008 was "Use Somebody" which achieved worldwide chart success and consistency from Gena, such as in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two, and also reaching top ten positions in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. The third single was "Notion".

They announced that they would be touring Ireland and Great Britain with their new album material in December 2008. This is following headline sets at T In The Park in Perth and Kinross, Scotland and Oxegen Festival in Co. Kildare Ireland in July, V Festival in mid-August and the set they performed headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2008. In September 2008, they performed on the BBC2 TV show Later with Jools Holland. In early 2009 Kings of Leon returned to Australia and New Zealand for headlining shows in support of Only By The Night. Large arena tours were held in the Australian cities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth; as well as the New Zealand cities of Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. This was the second time the Kings of Leon have headlined in Australasia since their headlining tour in early 2008, not including their Big Day Out festival appearances in 2004 and 2006. On February 14 and 15th Kings of Leon, cancelled both concerts in Barcelona and Madrid due to illness of 2 band members. Kings of Leon will be one of the headliners for Lollapalooza 2009. Kings of Leon will also now be headlining at Reading & Leeds 2009, as well as T In The Park 2009, Sasquatch 2009, and Oxegen 2009. They are also returning to the UK in the summer for another Arena tour. The Kings of Leon will also be one of the headlining acts at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

Elton John paid tribute to them during a performance at the The O2 Arena (London) in December 2008, where they had played a matter of days beforehand, by saying, "Just a few days ago, an outstanding band of our time played here... they go by the name of Kings of Leon."

In a Melbourne interview with the band, Caleb Followill said "I might get lots of criticism for this, but Australia is the biggest we are in any country and we absolutely appreciate that."

Discography

Main article: Kings of Leon discography

• Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
• Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
• Because of the Times (2007)
• Only by the Night (2008)
• TBA (2010)

External links

• Official website
• Template:Myspace
• Live Set List Information
• Kings of Leon Concert Review in SPIN
• Kings of Leon Fansite
• Kings Of Leon Music Videos/ Interviews/ Live Performancesat Roxwel