Watch The Kooks’ live session here - featuring new songs, old songs and a Bowie cover

Virgin Radio

8 Apr 2022, 06:41

Indie legends The Kooks joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to perform live from the top of the tower, and to chat about their new music.

The band’s sixth studio album, 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark, is set for release on 22nd July. They are releasing the record in three parts, the first two being 3-track EPs, with the final full-length release adding a further four tracks. 

Lead-singer and guitarist Luke Pritchard told Chris: “It’s all going to connect physically into one album, which will be fun. We just wanted to do things a bit differently, and it’s quite fun to just not bombard people, and we have so many songs out there already. So, we thought, ‘give people a couple of tunes.’”

The first EP, Connection - Echo In The Dark Part 1, was released this week. The band played a live version of the lead single during their live session.

In February, The Kooks finished a UK tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their massive debut album, 2006’s Inside In/Inside Out. While chatting to Chris, Luke recalled when the band signed their first record deal, back in the day. “It was this crazy time,” he said. “We just got a couple of offers very quick, and just went and did it. You’ve got to be grateful. Things went great.”

Speaking about whether the deal came a little too early for the group, he added: “We just dived into it and if we’d just had a little more time… I mean, luckily the label let us develop, so they gave us a year to make our album.” 

During their live session, the band played She Moves in Her Own Way, from Inside In/Inside Out.

When Chris asked where 2022 found The Kooks, Luke replied: “Now, to me, it’s now about the next generation, and I look to all the new artists now.

“We’re in quite a good place, we’re not fighting too hard, we’re inspired by new music and old music, but, for me, it’s just a little bit more of a relaxed place. And it’s good. And we keep making records. That’s our goal.” 

The band’s live set included a cover of David Bowie’s 1971 single, Kooks, which was on the seminal album Hunky Dory. 

Speaking more about being in The Kooks’ with guitarist Hugh Harris for over a decade-and-a-half, Luke said: “It feels good, having time to feel grateful for things, and reflect. [It’s] an amazing thing for me and Hugh to stay in a band for 15 years.”

Hugh added: “Yes it is a marriage. It is, like, upkeep, and as [with] any strong kind of partnership and group, it requires a lot of love and a lot of nurturing, for sure.”

Luke, Hugh and drummer Alexis Nunez were joined by Jonathan Harvey on bass/vocals and Jack Burchwood on trumpet for the live session from the top of the tower, which included Ooh La, which was the sixth single released from Inside In/Inside Out. 

Luke got married at the end of last year and welcomed his first child with his wife, Ellie Rose. The singer was in Mexico when his wife facetimed him during a C-Section. He explained: “My wife was pregnant, we went to Mexico on tour and the due date was like, six weeks [away] or something. She had an abruption… quite scary. We were literally just about to go into the middle of nowhere, in the fields near Mexico City, and luckily, El, she’s amazing, she just goes, ‘Don’t worry, carry on, go and see the fans.’ And I was like, ‘No, I’ve got to go home.’ 

“So, I got on the next flight home, but on the way to the airport I watched the birth. It took, like, eight minutes. It’s incredible. The beauty of life.”

During their live session, The Kooks played Bad Habit, taken from their fourth album, Listen, released in 2014.

The Kooks are playing numerous UK and European music festivals this summer. Luke told Chris he was excited to be playing live again. “It’s an amazing atmosphere out there, isn’t it?” he said. 

The band’s amazing live set for Virgin Radio included Naïve, which was the fourth single from Inside In/Inside Out.

The song charted at number five on the UK Singles Chart and was the UK's 19th-best-selling single of 2006.

The Kooks’ new album, 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark, is out on Friday 22nd July. To pre-order, visit thekooks.com.

For more great live sessions and interviews listen to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.