W
ho would have thought 11 years ago
that a trio of preachers sons, along
with their cousin, would be playing a
gig to 25,000 people in Swansea? But
this family band from Tennessee have won Grammys,
BRITS and NME Awards left right and centre, their
new album Mechanical Bull entered the UK charts
at number one and the Swansea gig itself sold over
18,000 tickets in just a few hours.
The road to success for Kings Of Leon, the
minds and musicians behind big hits such as Use
Somebody and Sex On Fire, hasn’t always been
smooth and they’ve only recently returned from a
long-needed hiatus that sparked rumours of rehab
and break-ups.
Whilst touring their last album, Come Around
Sundown, lead singer Caleb Followill famously
walked off the stage during a show in Dallas. He told
the audience that he was going to vomit and grab a
beer, and that he would come back after that to play
more music, but never returned to the stage.
Shortly afterwards, the band cancelled the rest
of their tour, which included 26 shows across the
USA, officially stating that ‘heat exhaustion and
dehydration’ was the reason they decided to end the
tour early.
However, bassist Jared Followill hinted on Twitter
that there was more to the cancellation, tweeting the
following day that the band has “internal sicknesses
and problems that have needed to be addressed” and
that “there are problems in our band bigger than not
drinking enough Gatorade”.
After this dramatic blowout the band assured fans
that they just needed a break from their relentless
schedules and were not planning on breaking up,
and that’s exactly what they did.
After a few months rest the four of them bought
up an old paint factory in Nashville with the aim of
turning it into their own recording and rehearsal
studio. Whilst practising in their clubhouse of music,
however, the band were ready to make their new
album before the studio was.
KOL began recording Mechanical Bull without the
proper setup, but their well-deserved rest and the
freedom of their own recording space enabled the right
mindset for creating the music they’re famous for.
Drummer Nathan sums up the therapeutic powers of
a good holiday: “I think taking a little break reminded
us not just that we’re blessed to get to do what we
do for a living at all... but it also reminded us of the
type of music we can make when we’re all in the right
headspace.”
Returning to the road this summer, the southern
rock superstars have dates lined up across the US
and UK. In between big name festivals here and
across the pond the band will be hitting Swansea
early next month.
They might be hitting the city in a more literal sense
as well, as Nathan states that the band “wanted to
write songs that are like a two and a half minute
punch in the face.” In this case it might be wise
to go to the Liberty Stadium expecting more than
hit singles and beer bottles. Instead be prepared
to witness a band, having regained their musical
strength, put on a show that will pack a punch in
more ways than one.
Kings Of Leon, Liberty Stadium, Swansea,
Wed 2 July. Tickets: £47.50-£60. Info:
08442 770700 / www.kingsofleonswansea.
com
WIN!
Kings Of Leon
Tickets!!
see pg. 78
BUZZ 11