VIA PRESS RELEASE | Exactly 20 years after its initial release on May 10th, Keane announce full details of their forthcoming special remastered version of Hopes and Fears, undoubtedly one of the best debut albums ever. Pre-order HERE.
The band also take to the road this year to embark on a full world tour. US dates include LA’s prestigious Greek Theatre on September 5th, Nashville’s fabled The Ryman Auditorium on September 15th, and NYC’s legendary Radio City Music Hall on September 24th. UK and Irish dates include two huge and extremely special shows at London’s O2 Arena on May 10th and 11th.
Making up this 20th anniversary celebratory release, comes a special version of the original album remastered and cut by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios, as well as the unveiling of B-Sides, previously unreleased demos and rarities. 5.1 Dolby Atmos mixes come from David Kosten.
On the same day as the box set release, the band play the first of two London 02 Arena shows as part of a world tour that kicks off April 1st in Mexico City before reaching Europe and the UK. Their U.S. tour starts off in September at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre on September 4th and concludes at Washington, DC’s The Anthem. More dates are to be announced.
Keane recently took their live show to India and South Africa, playing these countries for the very first time and proving the ever-growing demand for the band worldwide. They were joined onstage in Mumbai with Anoushka Shankar to play a special version of “Everybody’s Changing.”
Hopes and Fears was a landmark album for Keane and has set all kinds of records in the process. It’s one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history having sold over 2.5 million in the UK in its first year, and a million in the USA propelled by their absolutely classic song “Somewhere Only We Know.” Hopes and Fears is 9x platinum in the UK, a remarkable achievement. The album has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Keane emerged alongside a new vanguard of bands that would change the shape of music: Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, and Coldplay. They were the first to create a sound solely revolving around keyboards which enhanced the emotional pull of their songs. “Everybody’s Changing” from Hopes and Fears became a fan favorite and a top five hit.
In 2004, Keane were the biggest selling British artist in the UK. The following year they won two BRIT Awards: Best British Album for Hopes and Fears and British Breakthrough act award as voted for by Radio 1 listeners.
“Somewhere Only We Know” has enjoyed a recent revival on Tik Tok going viral in Asia which lit the spark for a global renaissance of the track which is currently clocking up over two million Spotify streams a day, and in the past 12 months has become Island Records’ biggest selling single. In total, it has been streamed over a billion times.
This year’s tour will celebrate Keane’s acclaimed body of work from their imperious debut Hopes and Fears through to their 2019 studio album Cause and Effect.
Lead singer Tom Chaplin says; “I remember standing by that amazing old mixing desk at Heliocentric Studios where we made Hopes and Fears, listening to an early mix of ‘Somewhere Only We Know.’ I had this feeling that we’d come up with something that had an extra bit of magic. Making music is so often a process full of doubt…but on this occasion there was something undeniable about what we’d created. Clearly a lot of people felt the same when the album came out!”
Founding band member and songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley said: “When I think about these songs, I still picture us playing them in little rooms in pubs around the UK. I remember how exciting it was watching the crowds start to grow. Those songs opened the door to another dimension for us; everything that has happened in our lives since then was born out of that moment. It’s an incredible privilege for us that people are still listening after all this time.”
