19 September 2023 , 08:00
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Iconic noughties indie band The Kooks look completely unrecognisable in a viral TikTok cover.
The Indie-rock band - who shot to fame with their 2006 hit Naive - have jumped up on TikTok timelines in the best way possible with their response to a viral cover of their biggest hit. The cover was by musician Calum Bowie - who has 423k followers on TikTok for his videos singing with his guitar from his window in Edinburg - showing him receiving a scrunched up £20 note from a passerby on the street below who was impressed with his version of the song. Despite explaining he wasn’t busking and didn’t need the money - the fan insists he takes it - before he continues singing his rendition of Naive.
The Kooks in their heyday (Getty Images)Coming across the fan’s video, The Kooks decided to edit themselves into the clip with Calum, making it seem as if they are the ones trying to hand Calum the cash from the Street below. The band - made up of singer Luke Pritchard, guitarist Hugh Harris and drummer Alexis Nunez - fill in the gaps of conversation pretending to insist he takes the money, before having a boogie in the hilarious clip. When Calum spotted the stitched up video from The Kooks, Calum commented: 'No wayyy. This is absolute gold.' Fans were equally as excited, with one saying: 'This has got to be the best stitch ever made' and another adding: 'This is the greatest thing I've ever seen'.
The Kooks first formed in 2004 at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, where they were all students. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Luke Pritchard, got bassist Max Rafferty involved in a college project, and later lead guitarist Hugh Harris and drummer Paul Garred. Their name reportedly came from the song Kooks on the 1971 David Bowie album Hunky Dory.
They broke into mainstream music with their debut album Inside In/Inside Out in 2006. which went quadruple platinum in the UK within a year and the band won Best UK & Ireland Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006. They also picked up a nomination at The Brit Awards for the single "She Moves in Her Own Way". As well as 'Naive', the other hit singles included 'Eddie's Gun', 'Sofa Song', 'You Don't Love Me' and 'Ooh La'. The album reached No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide since its release.
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The TikToker spotted the band (@thekooksmusic/TikTok)One of the band's former members, Max Rafferty, was fired from in January 2008, with drug addiction allegedly given as one of the reasons for his departure. However, Rafferty disputed this - saying that he had been sacked because he didn't think their new album Konk was good. When their second album Konk was released in April 2008, it went on to debut on the UK Albums Chart at number one with the first week of sales and spawned three top 50 hits, including their highest chart performer 'Always Where I Need to Be'.
The band released another three albums, Junk of the Heart, Listen and Let's Go Sunshine. The Kooks' latest album, 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark, was released last year and they continue to tour with some big festival dates lined up this summer. The band has also been announced as part of the In It Together line-up alongside Anne-Marie, Jake Bugg and James May, which is set to take place in South Wales from 26-28 of May.
It was recently reported that pop icon Kylie Minogue gave her number to Kooks guitarist Hugh, who met the Australian singer in one of London's private members club Annabels. Revealing he was "so drunk" he plucked up the courage to ask her for her number, Hugh told the band Flawes Meet at the Hotel Bar podcast: "I met her recently at Annabel’s and she’s lovely, she’s a really sweet woman. I was so drunk that I actually asked for her phone number.
"I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I was like, 'Am I gonna do this? Yeah, i’m gonna do this' – 'Can I have your phone number please?' Her friend next to her was obviously like, 'Who the f*** does this guy think he is asking for Kylie’s phone number?' But do you know what she did? She turned around and she was like, 'Yeah of course, here you go,' and it was this gorgeous moment."